The Primary Care Trusts (Functions) (England) Amendment Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Primary Care Trusts (Functions) (England) Regulations (“the principal Regulations”), which make provision for functions of Health Authorities to be exercised by Primary Care Trusts and for certain restrictions on the exercise of those functions by Primary Care Trusts. The Regulations apply to Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts in England.

The Regulations remove some of the existing restrictions on the delegation of functions by Health Authorities.

Regulation 3(2) removes the restriction in Regulation 3(6) of the principal Regulations preventing PCTs from exercising functions under the 1997 Act relating to pilot schemes made before the date on which the PCT was established except with the consent of those providing services under the scheme.

Regulation 3(3) removes the bar in Regulation 3(7) of the principal Regulations on PCTs providing emergency ambulance services, making arrangements for public health surveillance and protection, preparing plans for responding to major incidents, providing cancer registration services and preparing and implementing population screening programmes. The only restriction relates to the establishment and funding of research ethics committees.

Regulation 4 removes the bar in Regulation 4(2) of the principal Regulations on PCTs exercising certain delegable functions relating to General Medical Services.

Regulation 5 adds further regulations to the list in Schedule 3 of regulations conferring functions to be exercisable by PCTs.

Regulation 6 removes a number of functions from the list of delegable functions which are not to be exercised by a Primary Care Trust set out in Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations and amends the entry in that Schedule relating to the Mental Health Act.