The Local Authorities (Public Health Functions and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) Regulations 2013

Protecting the health of the local population

8.—(1) Each local authority shall provide information and advice to every responsible person and relevant body within, or which exercises functions in relation to, the authority’s area, with a view to promoting the preparation of appropriate local health protection arrangements (“health protection arrangements”), or the participation in such arrangements, by that person or body.

(2) In discharging the requirement under paragraph (1), the local authority shall exercise the public health functions of the Secretary of State pursuant to section 2A of the Act(1) (Secretary of State’s duty as to protection of public health).

(3) In this regulation—

“responsible person” means—

(a)

an NHS body(2),

(b)

a Chief Constable of a police force(3),

(c)

a fire and rescue authority(4),

(d)

in relation to a county council which is discharging the requirement under paragraph (1), a council for a district in that county, and

(e)

Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health;

“relevant body” means a body whose activities, in the opinion of the local authority, have a significant effect upon, or whose activities may be significantly affected by a threat to, the health of individuals in the local authority’s area and may include—

(a)

the governing body of a school which is a maintained school within the meaning of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998(5),

(b)

a body which is the proprietor of a school which is not maintained by the local authority,

(c)

providers of social care services, being services that are provided in pursuance of the social services functions of local authorities (within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970)(6),

(d)

voluntary organisations,

(e)

charities registered under the Charities Act 2011(7), and

(f)

businesses.

(4) Local health protection arrangements are arrangements made for the purpose of protecting individuals in the area of the authority from events or occurrences which threaten, or are liable to threaten, their health, and may in particular include—

(a) arrangements to deal with the matters mentioned in paragraph (6); and

(b) arrangements of the kind referred to in sub-paragraphs (d) to (g) of paragraph (7).

(5) In discharging the requirement in paragraph (1), each local authority shall—

(a) consider in relation to each of the responsible persons and relevant bodies concerned what information and advice is necessary effectively to promote the preparation of the health protection arrangements by that person or body and the authority may accordingly provide different information and advice in each case; and

(b) take such steps as it considers necessary to bring to the attention of the person or body concerned the information and advice which is relevant to that person or body.

(6) The information and advice which a local authority shall provide in relation to health protection arrangements may address any threat to the health of individuals in the authority’s area and, in particular, may concern arrangements to deal with the following—

(a) infectious disease;

(b) environmental hazards and contamination; and

(c) extreme weather events.

(7) The information and advice which is to be provided by the local authority in relation to health protection arrangements shall be determined by the authority having regard to the needs of individuals in the authority’s area and may include information and advice relating to the following—

(a) the appropriate co-ordination of roles and responsibilities between any responsible or relevant bodies;

(b) effective testing by the responsible and relevant bodies of the health protection arrangements;

(c) appropriate emergency provision to deal with incidents which occur outside the normal working hours of the responsible or relevant bodies;

(d) arrangements for epidemiological surveillance;

(e) arrangements for environmental hazard monitoring;

(f) arrangements with other local authorities for managing incidents which affect the area of more than one authority in an integrated and co-ordinated manner;

(g) arrangements for stockpiling of medicines and medical supplies.

(1)

Section 2A of the 2006 Act is inserted by section 11 of the 2012 Act.

(2)

See section 275(1) of the 2006 Act for the definition of “NHS body”. The definition was inserted by paragraph 138 of Schedule 4 to the 2012 Act.

(3)

See section 2 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c.13).

(4)

See section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Authorities Act 2004 (c.21).

(5)

See section 20(7) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 for the meaning of “maintained school”.

(6)

1970 c.42. See section 1A of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 for the meaning of social services functions.

(7)

See Part 4 of the Charities Act 2011 (c.25).