11.—(1) A contractor may at any time request in writing a variation of the contract to include in, or remove from, the contract provision to the effect that the contract is an NHS contract and, if it does so—
(a)the Board must agree to the variation; and
(b)the procedure specified in regulation 29 and Part 8 of Schedule 3 for the variation of contracts applies.
(2) If, by virtue of a request under paragraph (1), the contractor is to be regarded as a health service body—
(a)any rights or liabilities under any other contract with a health service body entered into by the contractor before the date on which the contractor is so regarded remain unaffected; and
(b)the contractor is to be regarded as a health service body for the purposes of section 9 of the Act (NHS contracts) from the date on which the variation takes effect in accordance with regulation 29 and Part 8 of Schedule 3.
(3) Where the Board agrees to the variation of the contract, the contractor is to be regarded or, subject to regulation 12, is to cease to be regarded, as a health service body for the purposes of section 9 of the Act (NHS contracts) from the date on which the variation takes effect in accordance with regulation 29 and Part 8 of Schedule 3.