National Health Service Act 1977

91 Private trusts for hospitals

(1) Where—

(a) the terms of a trust instrument authorise or require the trustees, whether immediately or in the future, to apply any part of the capital or income of the trust property for the purposes of any health service hospital, then

(b) the trust instrument shall be construed as authorising or (as the case may be) requiring the trustees to apply the trust property to the like extent, and at the like times, for the purpose of making payments, whether of capital or income, to the appropriate hospital authority.

(2) Any sum so paid to the appropriate hospital authority shall, so far as practicable, be applied by them for the purpose specified in the trust instrument.

(3) In this section " the appropriate hospital authority" means—

(a) where special trustees are appointed for the hospital, those trustees;

(b) in any other case, the Area Health Authority exercising functions on behalf of the Secretary of State in respect of the hospital.

(4) Nothing in this section applies to a trust for a special hospital, or to property transferred under section 24 of the [1973 c. 32.] National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973.