The Health Authorities Act 1995 (Rectification of Transitional Arrangements) Order 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

This Order is made under section 44 of the Health Act 1999. It amends the Health Authorities Act 1995 (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996 so as to rectify certain defects in that Order with retrospective effect. The effect of this is that where one Health Authority (“the acting Health Authority”) acted in relation to practitioners providing services under Part II of the National Health Service Act 1977 (“Part II practitioners”), where another Health Authority (“the proper Health Authority”) should have acted, the proper Health Authority will be treated as though it had been the acting one.

There are exceptions to this general rule in the case of payments or deductions made by the acting Health Authority in relation to Part II practitioners, which will be treated as though they had been made on behalf of the proper Health Authority by the acting Health Authority. There is also an exception for certain specified applications by pharmacies to Health Authorities for relocation of, or additional premises, and for Part II practitioners who provided services on the basis that they were on the appropriate Health Authority list.

Article 4 provides that where court proceedings have been brought against an acting authority but not disposed of before the coming into force of this Order, that authority will be treated as though it had acted on behalf of the proper authority. Article 5 provides that where an acting authority had made representations to the Tribunal constituted under section 46 of the 1977 Act and the matter not finally disposed of before the coming into force of this Order, it will be treated as though it had acted on behalf of the proper authority. It shall continue to do so if so requested by the proper authority, and the proper authority must then notify the Tribunal and the practitioner against whom representations have been made, of the request.

Article 6 provides that Article 3 does not apply in the case of fund-holding practices in connection with any provision relating to a fund-holding practice.