Health and Social Care Act 2012

66 Matters to have regard to in exercise of functions

(1) In exercising its functions, Monitor must have regard, in particular, to the need to maintain the safety of people who use health care services.

(2) Monitor must, in exercising its functions, also have regard to the following matters in so far as they are consistent with the matter referred to in subsection (1)—

(a) the desirability of securing continuous improvement in the quality of health care services provided for the purposes of the NHS and in the efficiency of their provision,

(b) the need for commissioners of health care services for the purposes of the NHS to ensure that the provision of access to the services for those purposes operates fairly,

(c) the need for commissioners of health care services for the purposes of the NHS to ensure that people who require health care services for those purposes are provided with access to them,

(d) the need for commissioners of health care services for the purposes of the NHS to make the best use of resources when doing so,

(e) the desirability of persons who provide health care services for the purposes of the NHS co-operating with each other in order to improve the quality of health care services provided for those purposes,

(f) the need to promote research into matters relevant to the NHS by persons who provide health care services for the purposes of the NHS,

(g) the need for high standards in the education and training of health care professionals who provide health care services for the purposes of the NHS, and

(h) where the Secretary of State publishes a document for the purposes of section 13E of the National Health Service Act 2006 (improvement of quality of services), any guidance published by the Secretary of State on the parts of that document which the Secretary of State considers to be particularly relevant to Monitor’s exercise of its functions.

(3) Where the Secretary of State publishes guidance referred to in subsection (2)(h), the Secretary of State must lay a copy of the published guidance before Parliament.

(4) The Secretary of State—

(a) may revise the guidance, and

(b) if the Secretary of State does so, must publish the guidance as revised and lay it before Parliament.