National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973

10 (1) An authority other than a Family Practitioner Committee may employ, on such terms as it may determine in accordance with regulations and such directions as may be given by the Secretary of State, such officers as it may so determine ; and regulations made for the purposes of this sub-paragraph may contain provision—

(a) with respect to the qualifications of persons who may be employed as officers of an authority ;

(b) requiring an authority to employ, for the purpose of performing prescribed functions of the authority or any other body, officers having prescribed qualifications or experience ; and

(c) as to the manner in which any officers of an authority are to be appointed.

(2) Regulations may make provision for the transfer of officers from one authority to another which is not a Family Practitioner Committee and for the making of arrangements under which the services of an officer of an authority are placed at the disposal of another authority or a local authority.

(3) The Secretary of State may direct an authority to place services of any of its officers at the disposal of another authority and, subject to any directions given by the Secretary of State in pursuance of this sub-paragraph, a Regional Health Authority may direct an Area Health Authority of which the area is included in its region to place services of any of its officers at the disposal of another such Area Health Authority ; and it shall be the duty of an authority to which directions are given in pursuance of this sub-paragraph to comply with the directions.

(4) The Secretary of State may direct an authority, other than a Family Practitioner Committee, to employ as an officer of the authority any person who is or was employed by another authority and is specified in the direction, and a Regional Health Authority may direct an Area Health Authority of which the area is included in its region to employ as an officer of the Area Health Authority a person who is or was employed by an authority other than the Area Health Authority and is specified in the direction; and it shall be the duty of an authority to which a direction is given in pursuance of this sub-paragraph to comply with the direction.

(5) Regulations made in pursuance of this paragraph shall not require that all consultants employed by an authority are to be so employed whole-time.