National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973

5 Regional and Area Health Authorities, Family Practitioner Committees and special health authorities

(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to establish by order in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act—

(a) authorities, to be called Regional Health Authorities, for such regions in England as he may by order determine; and

(b) authorities, to be called either Area Health Authorities or Area Health Authorities (Teaching) in accordance with the following subsection, for such areas in Wales and the said regions as he may by order determine;

and orders determining regions or areas in pursuance of this subsection shall be separate from orders establishing authorities for the regions or areas.

(2) An order establishing an Authority in pursuance of paragraph (b) of the preceding subsection may provide for it to be called an Area Health Authority (Teaching) if and only if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the Authority is to provide for a university or universities substantial facilities for undergraduate or post-graduate clinical teaching; and where the Secretary of State is satisfied that an Area Health Authority is to provide or is providing such facilities he may provide by order for the Authority to be called an Area Health Authority (Teaching) and where he is satisfied that an Area Health Authority (Teaching) no longer provides such facilities he may provide by order for the Authority to be called an Area Health Authority.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before providing that an Authority shall be called or cease to be called an Area Health Authority (Teaching), to consult the university or universities concerned with the facilities in question.

(4) Any reference in the following provisions of this Act to an Area Health Authority includes a reference to an Area Health Authority (Teaching) unless the context otherwise requires.

(5) It shall be the duty of each Area Health Authority to establish for its area, in accordance with Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, a body which shall be called a Family Practitioner Committee.

(6) If the Secretary of State considers that a special body should be established for the purpose of performing any functions which he may direct the body to perform on his behalf, or on behalf of an Area Health Authority or a Family Practitioner Committee, he may by order establish a body for that purpose and, subject to the provisions of Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act, make such further provision relating to the body as he thinks fit; and a body established in pursuance of this subsection shall, without prejudice to the power conferred by subsection (3) of the following section to allocate a particular name to the body, be called a special health authority.