Health and Social Care Act 2012

Health and Wellbeing Boards: establishment

194 Establishment of Health and Wellbeing Boards

(1) A local authority must establish a Health and Wellbeing Board for its area.

(2) The Health and Wellbeing Board is to consist of—

(a) subject to subsection (4), at least one councillor of the local authority, nominated in accordance with subsection (3),

(b) the director of adult social services for the local authority,

(c) the director of children’s services for the local authority,

(d) the director of public health for the local authority,

(e) a representative of the Local Healthwatch organisation for the area of the local authority,

(f) a representative of each relevant clinical commissioning group, and

(g) such other persons, or representatives of such other persons, as the local authority thinks appropriate.

(3) A nomination for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) must be made—

(a) in the case of a local authority operating executive arrangements, by the elected mayor or the executive leader of the local authority;

(b) in any other case, by the local authority.

(4) In the case of a local authority operating executive arrangements, the elected mayor or the executive leader of the local authority may, instead of or in addition to making a nomination under subsection (2)(a), be a member of the Board.

(5) The Local Healthwatch organisation for the area of the local authority must appoint one person to represent it on the Health and Wellbeing Board.

(6) A relevant clinical commissioning group must appoint a person to represent it on the Health and Wellbeing Board.

(7) A person may, with the agreement of the Health and Wellbeing Board, represent more than one clinical commissioning group on the Board.

(8) The Health and Wellbeing Board may appoint such additional persons to be members of the Board as it thinks appropriate.

(9) At any time after a Health and Wellbeing Board is established, a local authority must, before appointing another person to be a member of the Board under subsection (2)(g), consult the Health and Wellbeing Board.

(10) A relevant clinical commissioning group must co-operate with the Health and Wellbeing Board in the exercise of the functions of the Board.

(11) A Health and Wellbeing Board is a committee of the local authority which established it and, for the purposes of any enactment, is to be treated as if it were a committee appointed by that authority under section 102 of the Local Government Act 1972.

(12) But regulations may provide that any enactment relating to a committee appointed under section 102 of that Act of 1972—

(a) does not apply in relation to a Health and Wellbeing Board, or

(b) applies in relation to it with such modifications as may be prescribed in the regulations.

(13) In this section—

(a) “enactment” includes an enactment contained in subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978);

(b) “elected mayor”, “executive arrangements” and “executive leader”, in relation to a local authority, have the same meaning as in Part 1A of the Local Government Act 2000;

(c) “relevant clinical commissioning group”, in relation to a local authority, means any clinical commissioning group whose area coincides with or falls wholly or partly within the area of the local authority.

(14) In this section and in sections 195 to 199, “local authority” means—

(a) a county council in England;

(b) a district council in England, other than a council for a district in a county for which there is a county council;

(c) a London borough council;

(d) the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

(e) the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority.