Health Act 1999

22 Arrangements with Ministers

(1) Arrangements may be made between the Commission and a Minister of the Crown—

(a) for the Commission to perform any of its functions in relation to any prescribed health scheme for which the Minister has responsibility, or

(b) for the Commission to provide services or facilities in so far as they are required by the Minister in connection with any such health scheme.

(2) Arrangements may be made between the Commission and a Northern Ireland Minister—

(a) for the Commission to perform on behalf of the Minister any functions of the Minister which—

(i) correspond to any functions of the Commission, and

(ii) relate to the Northern Irish health service, or

(b) for the Commission to provide services or facilities in so far as they are required by the Minister in connection with the exercise by him of any such functions.

(3) Arrangements under this section may be made on such terms and conditions as may be agreed between the parties to the arrangements.

(4) Those terms and conditions may include provision with respect to the making of payments to the Commission in respect of the cost to the Commission of performing or providing any functions, services or facilities under the arrangements.

(5) Any arrangements under subsection (2)(a) are not to affect the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Minister on whose behalf any functions are exercised.

(6) In this section—

• “health scheme” means any scheme which appears to the Secretary of State to be a health or medical scheme paid for out of public funds,

• “Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the [1975 c. 26.] Ministers of the Crown Act 1975,

• “Northern Ireland Minister” includes the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and a Northern Ireland department,

• “Northern Irish health service” means any of the health services under any enactment which extends to Northern Ireland and which corresponds to section 1(1) of the 1977 Act,

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.