The Functions of Health Boards (Scotland) Order 1991

Functions to be exercised by Health Boards

4.  The functions referred to in article 3(1) include—

(a)the power of the Secretary of State under section 16(1) to assist any voluntary organisations whose activities include the provision of a service similar or related to a service provided by a Health Board under the Act;

(b)the power of the Secretary of State under section 16B(1) to give financial assistance to voluntary organisations limited to assistance to such organisations whose activities consist in or include the provision of services similar to services provided by Health Boards or for the provision of which Health Boards are under a duty to make arrangements by virtue of the Act and the assistance so given is given on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Treasury might determine;

(c)the duty of the Secretary of State under section 36 to provide to the extent that the Health Board considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements facilities consisting of hospital accommodation and premises other than hospitals at which facilities are available for any of the services provided by a Health Board under the Act including—

(i)services provided in accordance with arrangements made under Part II by a Health Board;

(ii)medical, nursing or other services;

(iii)the determination under sub-section (2) of that section of terms and conditions under which accommodation or premises provided under sub-section (1) of that section are to be made available for the provision of general medical, general dental or general ophthalmic services or of pharmaceutical services;

but not including the provision of accommodation and facilities at state hospitals;

(d)the duty of the Secretary of State under section 37 to make arrangements to such extent as the Health Board considers necessary for the purposes of the prevention of illness, the care of persons suffering from illness and the after-care of such persons;

(e)the duty of the Secretary of State to make arrangements under section 38 to such extent as the Health Board considers necessary for the care, including in particular the medical or dental care, of expectant mothers and nursing mothers and of young children;

(f)the duty of the Secretary of State under section 39(2) to provide for the medical and dental inspection, supervision and treatment of pupils in attendance at any school under the management of an education authority and of all young persons in attendance at any junior college or other educational establishment under such management and for the education in dental health of such pupils and young persons but not including any duties under that section of an education authority;

(g)the power of the Secretary of State under section 40 to make arrangements with medical practitioners for the vaccination or immunisation of persons against any disease and to supply vaccines, sera or other preparations for such vaccination or immunisation;

(h)the duty of the Secretary of State under section 41 to such extent as the Health Board considers necessary to make arrangements for the giving of advice on contraception, the medical examination of persons seeking advice on contraception, the treatment of such persons and the supply of contraceptive substances or appliances;

(i)the power of the Secretary of State under section 42 to disseminate information relating to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention of illness;

(j)the power of the Secretary of State under section 43 to provide or secure the provision of a service to control the spread of infectious disease, on such terms and conditions as to which services are provided at laboratories for that purpose as the Health Board may determine;

(k)the duty of the Secretary of State under section 47 to make available such facilities as appear to the Health Board to be reasonably necessary for undergraduate and post-graduate clinical teaching and research and for the education and training of persons providing or intending to provide services under the Act and to conduct or assist by grants or otherwise under that section research into any matters relating to the causation, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness, or into other matters relating to the health service;

(l)the power of the Secretary of State under section 48 to provide on such terms and conditions as may he agreed residential accommodation for officers employed for the purposes of any functions of the Health Board under the Act, including residential and practice accommodation for medical and dental practitioners;

(m)the power of the Secretary of State under section 55(3) to authorise accommodation to be made available to patients including the power to—

(i)determine the extent to which such accommodation should be made available;

(ii)to recover charges for such accommodation; and

(iii)to calculate the charges on any basis that they consider to be the appropriate commercial basis;

(n)the power of the Secretary of State under section 57(4) to authorise accommodation and services at a health service hospital to be made available for patients who give undertakings (or for whom undertakings are given) to pay, in respect of the accommodation and services made available such charges as may be determined including—

(i)the power of the Secretary of State to determine whether it is reasonable to make such accommodation and services available under that section;

(ii)the power of the Secretary of State to determine the extent to which such accommodation and services should be made available;

(iii)the power to determine the charges payable in respect of such accommodation and services;

(iv)the power to recover such charges;

(v)the power to calculate those charges on any commercial basis which he considers to be appropriate; and

(vi)the power under sub-section (2) of section 57 to allow accommodation and services to which an authorisation under sub-section (1) of that section relates to be made available in connection with treatment made available as specified in that sub-section;

(o)the power of the Secretary of State under section 64 to consider applications to grant permission for the use of relevant health service accommodation or facilities for the purpose of providing medical, dental, pharmaceutical, ophthalmic or chiropody services to non-resident private patients including the power from time to time to determine the terms including terms as to the payment of charges for the use of the relevant health service accommodation or facilities pursuant to any permission given under that section;

(p)the power of the Secretary of State under section 75A(5) to pay the travelling expenses of persons (including the travelling expenses of a companion of such persons) incurred for the purposes of availing themselves of any services provided under the Act by a Health Board and to pay overnight expenses of such persons, including the power to pay to NHS trusts such sums as will reimburse them for any sums paid by them in respect of such expenses;

(q)the powers of the Secretary of State under section 79(6) to purchase by agreement any moveable property or land which is required for the purposes of a Health Board or to take any such property on lease and to use for such purposes any property, heritable or moveable, acquired under the Act including any power of the Secretary of State to manage such property, and to dispose of any land no longer required for the purposes of the Health Board disregarding so much of section (1A) of that section as relates to the function of the Secretary of State under that sub-section to authorise certain officers to execute instruments on his behalf;

(r)the power of the Secretary of State under section 88(1)(e) and (2)(d) to pay to the members of a body specified in an Order under those provisions such travelling and other allowances and remuneration as the Secretary of State may determine from time to time with the approval of the Treasury;

(s)the powers of the Secretary of State under section 98(7) in relation to persons not ordinarily resident in Great Britain to—

(i)make and recover in accordance with regulations under that section charges for the provision by Health Boards to such persons of services under the Act;

(ii)determine the charges to be made and recovered; and

(iii)to calculate such charges on any basis which the Health Board considers to be the appropriate commercial basis;

(t)the power of the Secretary of State under paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Act(8) to pay remuneration to the chairman and such other members of the Health Board as may be prescribed so, however, that this sub-paragraph shall not be construed as extending to the powerwith the approval of the Treasury to determine the amount of such remuneration(9);

(u)the power of the Secretary of State under paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to the Act to pay to members of a Health Board, the committees and sub-committees thereof, travelling and other allowances so, however, that this sub-paragraph shall not be construed as extending to the power, with the approval of the Treasury, to determine the same;

(v)the duty of the Secretary of State under paragraph 23 of Schedule 7A to the Act(10) to remunerate an NHS trust in respect of the provision of goods and services in accordance with that paragraph but not including the power of the Secretary of State to determine the rate or rates appropriate for such remuneration.

(1)

Section 16B was inserted by the 1983 Act, section 3.

(2)

Section 39 was amended by the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49) (“the 1988 Act”), section 10(2).

(3)

Section 55 was amended by the 1988 Act, section 7(9) and Schedule 3.

(4)

Section 57 was substituted by the 1988 Act, section 7(11) and amended by the 1990 Act, Schedule 10.

(5)

Section 75A was inserted by the Social Security Act 1988 (c. 7), section 14 and was amended by the 1990 Act, Schedule 9, paragraph 19(13).

(6)

Section 79 was amended by the 1983 Act, Schedule 7, paragraph 3 and by the 1990 Act, Schedule 9, paragraph 19(15).

(7)

Section 98 was amended by the 1988 Act, section 7(13) and (14).

(8)

Paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 was amended by the 1990 Act, Schedule 5, paragraph 3.

(9)

The functions of the Minister of the Civil Service under paragraphs 4 and 13 of Schedule 1 to the Act were transferred to the Treasury by S.I. 1981/1670.

(10)

Schedule 7A was inserted by the 1990 Act, Schedule 6.