156.This section amends section 5(9) of the 1990 Act which places limits on NHS trusts’ exercise of their charging and income generation powers conferred by paragraphs 14 and 15 of Schedule 2 to the 1990 Act. Section 5(9) currently provides that NHS trusts may only exercise these powers if this will not to a significant extent interfere with their functions as set out in their establishment order or their obligations under NHS contacts.
157.Section 14 extends the current provision to ensure that the restriction it imposes on the exercise of income generation powers applies in respect of all NHS trust functions, not just those conferred on an NHS trust in its establishment order. The exercise of an NHS trust’s charging and income generation powers should not to a significant extent interfere with, for example, the trust’s obligations under the duty of co-operation (section 26). It also allows the Secretary of State to specify in directions circumstances in which NHS trusts will also require his consent to exercise their charging and income generation powers. Directions could, for example, specify an amount of income above which his consent is required.