7.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the partners may enter into arrangements for or in connection with the establishment and maintenance of a fund (“pooled fund arrangements”) which is made up of contributions by the partners and out of which payments may be made towards expenditure incurred in the exercise of any National Health Service functions or health-related functions.
(2) A partner which is a National Health Service trust may not enter into pooled fund arrangements with a partner which is a local authority unless it obtains the consent of each Health Authority with which it has an NHS contract for the provision of services for persons in respect of whom the functions which are the subject of the pooled fund arrangements may be exercised.
(3) Where the partners have decided to enter into pooled fund arrangements the agreement must be in writing and must specify —
(a)the agreed aims and outcomes of the pooled fund arrangements;
(b)the contributions to be made to the pooled fund by each of the partners and how those contributions may be varied;
(c)both the National Health Service functions and the health-related functions the exercise of which are the subject of the arrangements;
(d)the persons in respect of whom and the kinds of services in respect of which the functions referred to in sub-paragraph (c) may be exercised;
(e)the staff, goods, services or accommodation to be provided by the partners in connection with the arrangements;
(f)the duration of the arrangements and provision for the review or variation or termination of the arrangements; and
(g)how the pooled fund is to be managed and monitored including which partner is to be the host partner in accordance with paragraph (4).
(4) The partners shall agree that one of them (“the host partner”) will be responsible for the accounts and audit of the pooled fund arrangements and the host partner shall appoint an officer of theirs (“the pool manager”) to be responsible for —
(a)managing the pooled fund on their behalf; and
(b)submitting to the partners quarterly reports, and an annual return, about the income of, and expenditure from, the pooled fund and other information by which the partners can monitor the effectiveness of the pooled fund arrangements.
(5) The partners may agree that an officer of either may exercise both the National Health Service functions and health-related functions which are the subject of the pooled fund arrangements.
(6) The host partner shall arrange for the audit of the accounts of the pooled fund arrangements and shall require the Audit Commission to make arrangements to certify an annual return of those accounts under section 28(1)(d) of the Audit Commission Act 1998(1).