National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973

53 Acquisition and use of land and other property

(1) In section 58(1) of the principal Act (which enables the Secretary of State to acquire by agreement or compulsorily any land required by him for the purposes of that Act), for the words " this Act" there shall be substituted the words " the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 " and for the words " at any hospital vested in the Minister " there shall be substituted the words " for any purposes of those Acts " ; and the Secretary of State may acquire any property, other than land, required by him for the purposes of the Health Service Acts.

(2) Section 128 of the [1971 c. 78.] Town and Country Planning Act 1971 (which among other things provides that where a Minister acquires consecrated land or land comprised in a burial ground compulsorily he may, subject to the safeguards provided by that section, use the land for the purpose for which he acquired it notwithstanding any obligation or restriction imposed by ecclesiastical law or anything in any enactment relating to burial grounds) shall apply to consecrated land and land comprised in a burial ground within the meaning of that section which is held by the Secretary of State for any of the purposes of the health service and has not been acquired by him as mentioned in subsection (1) of that section as if the land had been so acquired for those purposes.

(3) The Secretary of State may use, for the purposes of any of the functions conferred on him by the Health Service Acts, any property belonging to him by virtue of any of those Acts; and it is hereby declared that the Secretary of State has power to maintain all such property.