National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973

54 General ancillary provisions

(1) If the Secretary of State considers that by reason of an emergency it is necessary, in order to ensure that a service falling to be provided in pursuance of the Health Service Acts is provided, to direct that during a period specified in the directions a function conferred on any body or person by virtue of those Acts shall to the exclusion of or concurrently with that body or person be performed by another body or person, he may give directions accordingly and it shall be the duty of the bodies or persons in question to comply with the directions; and the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by this subsection are in addition to any other powers exercisable by him.

(2) The Secretary of State may by order make such incidental, supplemental, transitional or consequential provision (including provision making modifications of enactments) as he considers appropriate for any of the purposes of this Act or in consequence of or for giving full effect to any provision of this Act; and nothing in the following subsection or any other provision of this Act shall be construed as prejudicing the generality of the power conferred by this subsection.

(3) An order made by virtue of the preceding subsection may include provision—

(a) for any thing duly done by a body in the exercise of functions which by virtue of this Act become functions of another body to be deemed to have been duly done by the other body; and

(b) without prejudice to the generality of the preceding paragraph, for any instrument, in so far as it was made in the exercise of such functions, to continue in force until varied or revoked by the other body.

(4) In so far as—

(a) any apportionment, agreement, order or regulation made by virtue of an enactment repealed by this Act; or

(b) any approval, consent, direction or notice given by virtue of such an enactment; or

(c) any proceedings begun or thing done by virtue of such an enactment,

could, if a corresponding enactment which is contained in this Act had been in force at the relevant time, have been made, given, begun or done by virtue of the corresponding enactment, it shall, if effective immediately before the relevant corresponding enactment comes into force, continue to have effect thereafter as if made, given, begun or done by virtue of that corresponding enactment.

(5) The Secretary of State may by order provide that any right which a Regional Hospital Board, a Board of Governors or a Hospital Management Committee was entitled to enforce by virtue of section 13 of the principal Act immediately before the appointed day and any liability in respect of which such a board or committee was liable by virtue of that section immediately before that day shall, on and after that day, be enforceable by or as the case may be against a Regional Health Authority, Area Health Authority or special health authority specified in the order as if the authority so specified were concerned as a principal with the matter in question and did not exercise functions on behalf of the Secretary of State.