The National Health Service (Appellate and Other Functions) Regulations 1992

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Appellate and Other Functions) Regulations 1992, and shall come into force on 1st April 1992.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977;

“FHSA” means a Family Health Services Authority(1);

“the Medical Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992(2);

“the Pharmaceutical Regulations” means the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1992(3);

“relevant functions” means the functions which, by virtue of section 13 of the Act and of these Regulations, are exercisable by the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority;

“the Schedule” means the Schedule to these Regulations;

“the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority” means the Regional Health Authority established for the Counties of Humberside, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire(4).

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires—

(a) any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations;and

(b) any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation.

Functions made exercisable by Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), any function of the Secretary of State under a provision mentioned in column (1) of Part I, II or III of the Schedule (the subject matter of which is indicated in a corresponding entry in column (2)) shall be exercised on his behalf by the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) and regulation 6 (transitional provisions), where, by virtue of—

(a) regulation 25 of the Pharmaceutical Regulations, the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974(5) continue to have effect as respects any function conferred on the Secretary of State under any provision mentioned in column (1) of Part IV of the Schedule (the subject matter of which is indicated in a corresponding entry in column (2)); or

(b) regulation 38 of the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992(6), the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1974(7) continue to have effect as respects any function conferred on the Secretary of State under any provision mentioned in column (1) of Part V of the Schedule (the subject matter of which is indicated in a corresponding entry in column (2)),

that function shall be exercised on his behalf by the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority.

(3) Nothing in paragraph (1) or (2) makes exercisable by the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority any function of the Secretary of State in relation to—

(a) any—

(i) investigation or proposed investigation, or

(ii) referral or proposed referral of any matter for investigation,

by a committee of an FHSA whose locality is in Wales;

(b) the appointment of any member of such a committee;

(c) any decision, report or recommendation of—

(i) an FHSA whose locality is in Wales,

(ii) a committee of such an FHSA, or

(iii) any other body appointed by such an FHSA;

(d) any appeal against such a decision;

(e) the appointment of any person to hold a hearing, give advice or make a determination in connection with any matter referred to in sub-paragraph (c) or (d) of this paragraph.

Exercise of appellate functions by Yorkshire Regional Health Authority

4.—(1) The Yorkshire Regional Health Authority shall, as respects its relevant functions, make arrangements for the exercise of those functions on its behalf—

(a) as respects any function under regulation 36(12) and (15) of the Medical Regulations or regulation 8(7), (10) or (15), 10(5) or (6) or 13(5), (8) or (13) of the Pharmaceutical Regulations or regulation 29(4A) of, or paragraph 4 of Schedule 4C to, the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974, by a committee established by that Authority for the purpose and constituted—

(i) in the case of regulation 36(12) and (15) of the Medical Regulations, in accordance with paragraph (2), and

(ii) in the case of any other provision mentioned in this sub-paragraph, in accordance with paragraph (4);

(b) as respects any function arising under any other provision mentioned in the Schedule, by an officer of that Authority.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a committee established for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)(i) shall comprise a chairman and two other members, of whom—

(a) the chairman shall be a barrister or a solicitor;

(b) one of the other members shall be a medical practitioner whose name is included in a list published by an FHSA under section 29(2)(a) of the Act; and

(c) the remaining member shall be a medical practitioner.

(3) A medical practitioner shall not be appointed as a member of a committee constituted under paragraph (2) if his name is included in the list published under section 29(2)(a) of the Act by the FHSA whose decision is the subject of an appeal which the committee is established to determine.

(4) A committee established for the purposes of paragraph(1)(a)(ii)—

(a) may, but need not, be composed wholly or partly of officers of the Yorkshire Regional Health Authority; and

(b) shall consist of no more than 5 members, of whom—

(i) in the case of a committee consisting of two members, both members shall be lay persons, or

(ii) in the case of a committee consisting of more than two members, either all, or a majority, of the members shall be lay persons; but

(c) shall not, when exercising any function conferred by—

(i) regulation 8(7), (10) or (15) of the Pharmaceutical Regulations, include any person whose name is included in a list published under section 42(2)(a) of the Act (lists of persons undertaking to provide pharmaceutical services) or any employee of such a person,

(ii) any provision to which paragraph (1)(a)(ii) applies, include any person, or any employee of a person, whose name is included in any list published under section 29(2)(a) or 42(2)(a) of the Act (lists of persons undertaking to provide general medical services or pharmaceutical services) by the FHSA whose decision is the subject of an appeal which the committee is established to determine.

(5) In this regulation, “lay person” means a person who is not, and never has been—

(a) a medical practitioner;

(b) a dental practitioner;

(c) a registered pharmacist;

(d) a registered ophthalmic optician or a registered dispensing optician within the meaning of the Opticians Act 1989(8); or

(e) a registered nurse, a registered midwife or a registered health visitor(9) .

Transitional provision

5.  Where, before 1st April 1992—

(a) any appeal or application under a provision mentioned in column (1) of Part V of the Schedule is received by the Secretary of State; or

(b) any other matter is referred to the Secretary of State under any such provision,

the Secretary of State shall, as respects that appeal, application or other matter, discharge his functions under the provision in question as if these Regulations had not come into force.

Revocation

6.  The National Health Service (Appellate Functions) (Directions to Authorities) Regulations 1991(10) are hereby revoked.

William Waldegrave

Secretary of State for Health

10th March 1992