National Health Service Act 1977

Land and other Property

87 Acquisition, use and maintenance of property

(1) The Secretary of State may acquire—

(a) any land, either by agreement or compulsorily,

(b) any other property,

required by him for the purposes of this Act; and (without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a) above) land may be so acquired to provide residential accommodation for persons employed for any of those purposes.

(2) The Secretary of State may use for the purposes of any of the functions conferred on him by this Act any property belonging to him by virtue of this Act, and he has power to maintain all such property.

(3) A local social services authority may be authorised to purchase land compulsorily for the purposes of this Act by means of an order made by the authority and confirmed by the Secretary of State.

(4) The [1946 c. 49.] Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 shall apply to the compulsory purchase of land by the Secretary of State under this section, and accordingly shall have effect—

(a) as if section 1(1) of that Act (which refers to the compulsory purchase of land by local authorities under public general Acts in force immediately before the commencement of that Act and by the Minister of Transport under certain enactments) included a reference to any compulsory purchase of land by the Secretary of State under this section; and

(b) as if this section had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.

(5) Section 120(3) of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 (which relates to the application of Part I of the [1965 c. 56.] Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 where a council are authorised to acquire land by agreement) applies to the acquisition of land by the Secretary of State under this section in like manner as it applies to such acquisition by a council under that section.

(6) Section 128 of the [1971 c. 78.] Town and Country Planning Act 1971 (use and development of consecrated land and burial grounds) applies to consecrated land and land comprised in a burial ground within the meaning of that section which—

(a) the Secretary of State holds for any of the purposes of the health service, and

(b) has not been acquired by him as mentioned in subsection (1) of that section,

as if that land had been so acquired for those purposes.

88 Transferred property free of trusts

(1) All property vested in the Secretary of State in consequence of the transfer of that property under section 6 of the [1946 c. 81.] National Health Service Act 1946 (transfer of hospitals) so vests free of any trust existing immediately before that transfer.

(2) The Secretary of State may use any such property for the purpose of any of his functions under this Act, but he shall so far as practicable secure that the objects for which any such property was used immediately before that transfer are not prejudiced by section 6 of that Act of 1946.

89 Power of voluntary organisations to transfer property

Notwithstanding anything contained—

(a) in the constitution or rules of any voluntary organisation formed for the purpose of providing a service of nurses for attendance on the sick in their own homes, or of midwives, or

(b) in any trust deed or other instrument relating to such organisation or service,

any property vested in the organisation or held by any persons on trust for the organisation or service or for any specific purposes connected with the organisation or service may be transferred to the Secretary of State, on such terms as may be agreed between him and the organisation or trustees, with a view to the property being used or held by him for purposes similar to the purposes for which it was previously used or held.