(1)Any one or more medical practitioners who are providing general medical services in accordance with arrangements under section 29 of the principal Act may apply to the relevant Regional Health Authority for recognition as a fund-holding practice.
(2)The relevant Regional Health Authority shall not grant recognition as a fund-holding practice unless the medical practitioner or, as the case may be, each of the medical practitioners concerned fulfils such conditions as may be prescribed.
(3)Subject to subsection (4) below, in relation to a medical practitioner, any reference in this Part of this Act to the relevant Regional Health Authority is a reference to that Authority which, in relation to the practitioner’s relevant Family Health Services Authority, is the relevant Regional Health Authority.
(4)Where two or more medical practitioners wish to make an application under subsection (1) above and, apart from this subsection, the relevant Family Health Services Authority in respect of one or more of them would be different from that in respect of the other or others, then, for the purposes of this section and any other provisions relating to fund-holding practices, the relevant Family Health Services Authority for each of them shall be determined as if they were all practising in a single partnership.
(5)In the application of this section to any medical practitioner whose relevant Family Health Services Authority has a locality in Wales, for any reference to the relevant Regional Health Authority there shall be substituted a reference to the Secretary of State.
(6)Regulations may make provision with respect to—
(a)the making of applications under subsection (1) above;
(b)the granting and refusal of recognition as a fund-holding practice;
(c)the conditions to be fulfilled for obtaining and continuing to be entitled to such recognition;
(d)appeals against any refusal of such recognition by a Regional Health Authority;
(e)withdrawing from, or becoming a member of, an existing recognised fund-holding practice;
(f)the continuity or otherwise of a recognised fund-holding practice in the event of the death or withdrawal of a member or the addition of a new member; and
(g)the operation of this section in a case where one or more of the medical practitioners wishing to make an application under subsection (1) above is also on the medical list of a health board;
and regulations making the provision referred to in paragraph (g) above may make such modifications of the preceding provisions of this section as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.