(1) This section applies to any arrangement under which NHS England, ... ... or such other health service body as may be prescribed arrange for the provision to it—
(a) by a contractor under a general ophthalmic services contract,
(b) by a person on an ophthalmic list,
(c) by a person on a pharmaceutical list, or
(d) by a person who has entered into a pharmaceutical care services contract under section 17Q of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (c. 29),
of the goods or services mentioned in subsection (2).
(2) The goods or services are those that the body reasonably requires for the purposes of its functions, other than functions under—
(a) section 115 (primary ophthalmic services),
(b) Chapter 1 or 2 of Part 7 (pharmaceutical services and local pharmaceutical services under pilot schemes), or
(c) Part 6 of, or Chapter 1 or 2 of Part 7 of, the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42) (general ophthalmic services and pharmaceutical services and local pharmaceutical services under pilot schemes).
(3) Any such arrangement must be treated as an NHS contract for the purposes of section 9 (other than subsections (7) and (10)).
(4) “Health service body” means a body which is a health service body for the purposes of section 9.
(5) “Ophthalmic list” means a list published in accordance with regulations made under—
(a) section 72(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,
(b) section 26(2)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or
(c) Article 62(2)(a) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I.14)).
(6) The reference to a list published in accordance with regulations made under paragraph (a) of section 26(2) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 is a reference to the first part of the list (referred to in sub-paragraph (i) of that paragraph) which is published in accordance with regulations under that paragraph.
(7) “Pharmaceutical list” includes a list published in accordance with regulations made under—
(a) section 83(2)(a) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, or
(b) Article 63(2A)(a) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.
12 Secretary of State's arrangements with other bodies
(1) The Secretary of State may arrange with any person or body to provide, or assist in providing, anything which the Secretary of State has a duty or power to provide, or arrange for the provision of, under section 2A or 2B or Schedule 1.
(2) The bodies with whom arrangements may be made under subsection (1) include—
(a) NHS England,
(b) integrated care boards,
(c) any other public authorities, and
(d) voluntary organisations.
(3) The Secretary of State may make available any facilities provided by the Secretary of State under section 2A or 2B or Schedule 1 to any service provider or to any eligible voluntary organisation.
(3A) In subsection (3)—
“eligible voluntary organisation” means a voluntary organisation eligible for assistance under section 64 or section 65 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968;
“service provider” means a person or body with whom the Secretary of State has made an arrangement under subsection (1).
(4) Where facilities are made available under subsection (3), the Secretary of State may make available the services of any person employed in connection with the facilities by—
(a) the Secretary of State,
(aa) NHS England,
(ab) an integrated care board,
(ac) a local authority,
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) a Special Health Authority, or
(e) a Local Health Board.
(4A) In subsection (4), “local authority” has the same meaning as in section 2B.
(5) Powers under this section may be exercised on such terms as may be agreed, including terms as to the making of payments by or to the Secretary of State.
(6) Goods or materials may be made available either temporarily or permanently.
(7) Any power to supply goods or materials under this section includes—
(a) a power to purchase and store them, and
(b) a power to arrange with third parties for the supply of goods or materials by those third parties.
12ZA Commissioning arrangements by NHS England or integrated care boards
(1) This section applies in relation to arrangements made by NHS England or an integrated care board in the exercise of functions under section 3, 3A, 3B or 4 or Schedule 1.
(2) The arrangements may be made with any person or body (including public authorities and voluntary organisations).
(2A) The arrangements may confer discretions on a person with whom they are made in relation to anything to be provided under the arrangements.
(3) If NHS England or an integrated care board arranges for the provision of facilities by a service provider, it may also make arrangements for those facilities to be made available to another service provider or to an eligible voluntary organisation.
(4) NHS England or an integrated care board may make available any of its facilities to—
(a) a service provider, or
(b) an eligible voluntary organisation.
(5) Where facilities are made available under subsection (4) any of the following persons may make available the services of any employee of that person who is employed in connection with the facilities—
(a) the Secretary of State,
(b) NHS England,
(c) an integrated care board,
(d) a Special Health Authority, or
(e) a Local Health Board.
(6) Goods or materials may be made available under this section either temporarily or permanently.
(7) Any power to supply goods or materials under this section includes—
(a) a power to purchase or store them, and
(b) a power to arrange with third parties for the supply of goods or materials by those third parties.
(8) Powers under this section may be exercised on such terms as may be agreed, including terms as to the making of payments.
(9) In this section—
“eligible voluntary organisation” means a voluntary organisation eligible for assistance under section 64 or section 65 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968;
“service provider” means a person or body with whom NHS England or an integrated care board has made arrangements in the exercise of the functions mentioned in subsection (1).
(1) Regulations may make provision in relation to the processes to be followed and objectives to be pursued by relevant authorities in the procurement of—
(a) health care services for the purposes of the health service in England, and
(b) other goods or services that are procured together with those health care services.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must include provision specifying steps to be taken when following a competitive tendering process.
(3) Regulations under subsection (1) must, in relation to the procurement of all health care services to which they apply, make provision for the purposes of—
(a) ensuring transparency;
(b) ensuring fairness;
(c) ensuring that compliance can be verified;
(d) managing conflicts of interest.
(4) NHS England must publish such guidance as it considers appropriate about compliance with the regulations.
(5) A relevant authority must have regard to guidance published under this section.
(6) Before publishing guidance under this section, NHS England must obtain the approval of the Secretary of State.
(7) In this section—
“health care service” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (see section 150 of that Act);
“relevant authority” means—
a combined authority;
a combined county authority;
an integrated care board;
a local authority in England;
NHS England;
an NHS foundation trust;
an NHS trust established under section 25.
12ZC Eradicating slavery and human trafficking in supply chains
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make such provision as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate with a view to eradicating the use in the health service in England of goods or services that are tainted by slavery and human trafficking.
(2) The regulations may, in particular, include—
(a) provision in connection with the processes to be followed by public bodies in the procurement of goods or services for the purposes of the health service in England (including provision as to circumstances in which a supplier is excluded from consideration for the award of a contract);
(b) provision as to steps that must be taken by public bodies for assessing and addressing the risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place in relation to people involved in health service supply chains;
(c) provision as to matters for which provision must be made in contracts for goods or services entered into by public bodies for the purposes of the health service in England.
(3) In this section—
“health service supply chains” means supply chains for providing goods or services for the purposes of the health service in England;
“public body” means a body exercising functions of a public nature;
“slavery and human trafficking” has the meaning given by section 54(12) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015;
“tainted”: goods or services are “tainted” by slavery and human trafficking if slavery and human trafficking takes place in relation to anyone involved in the supply chain for providing those goods or services.
(1) The Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority may, for the purpose of securing the provision to a patient of anything to which this subsection applies, make payments, with the patient's consent, to the patient or to a person nominated by the patient.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to—
(a) anything that the Secretary of State or a local authority has a duty or power to provide or arrange under section 2A or 2B or Schedule 1;
(aa) anything that NHS England or an integrated care board may or must arrange for the provision of under this Act or any other enactment.
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Subsection (1) is subject to any provision made by regulations under section 12B.
(4) If regulations so provide, an integrated care board may, for the purpose of securing the provision for a patient of services that the board must provide under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (after-care), make payments, with the patient's consent, to the patient or to a person nominated by the patient ; and the references in this subsection to an integrated care board are, so far as necessary for the purposes of regulations under subsection (2E) of that section, to be read as references to NHS England.
(5) A payment under subsection (1) ... is referred to in this Part as a “direct payment”.
(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(7) In this section and sections 12B to 12D, “local authority” has the same meaning as in section 2B.
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations about direct payments.
(2) The regulations may in particular make provision—
(a) as to circumstances in which, and descriptions of persons and services in respect of which, direct payments may or must be made;
(b) as to circumstances in which direct payments may or must be made to a person nominated by the patient;
(c) as to the making of direct payments (and, in particular, as to persons to whom payments may or must be made) where the patient lacks capacity to consent to the making of the payments;
(d) as to conditions that the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority must comply with before, after or at the time of making a direct payment;
(e) as to conditions that the patient or (if different) the payee may or must be required to comply with before, after, or at the time when a direct payment is made;
(f) as to the amount of any direct payment or how it is to be calculated;
(g) as to circumstances in which the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority may or must stop making direct payments;
(h) as to circumstances in which the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority may or must require all or part of a direct payment to be repaid, by the payee or otherwise;
(i) as to monitoring of the making of direct payments, of their use by the payee, or of services which they are used to secure;
(j) as to arrangements to be made by the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority for providing patients, payees or their representatives with information, advice or other support in connection with direct payments;
(k) for such support to be treated to any prescribed extent as a service in respect of which direct payments may be made.
(3) If the regulations make provision in the case of a person who lacks capacity to consent to direct payments being made, they may apply that provision, or make corresponding provision, with or without modifications, in the case of a person who has lacked that capacity but no longer does so (whether because of fluctuating capacity, or regaining or gaining capacity).
(4) The regulations may provide for a sum which must be repaid to the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority by virtue of a condition or other requirement imposed by or under the regulations to be recoverable as a debt due to the Secretary of State NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority (as the case may be).
(5) The regulations may make provision—
(a) for a service in respect of which a direct payment has been made under section 12A(1) to be regarded, only to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, as provided or arranged for by the Secretary of State or a local authority or as arranged for by NHS England or an integrated care board (as the case may be) under an enactment mentioned in section 12A(2);
(b) displacing functions or obligations of NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority with respect to the arrangement for the provision of after-care services under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, only to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
(6) In this section—
(a) “service” includes anything in respect of which direct payments may be made;
(b) references to a person lacking capacity are references to a person lacking capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) Provision as to the review of a pilot scheme may in particular include provision—
(a) for a review to be carried out by an independent person;
(b) for publication of the findings of a review;
(c) as to matters to be considered on a review.
(6) Those matters may in particular include any of the following—
(a) the administration of the scheme;
(b) the effect of direct payments on the cost or quality of care received by patients;
(c) the effect of direct payments on the behaviour of patients, carers or persons providing services in respect of which direct payments are made.
(7) After any review of one or more pilot schemes, the Secretary of State may make an order under subsection (8) or (10).
(8) An order under this subsection is an order making provision for either or both of the following—
(a) repealing section 12A(6) and subsections (1) to (4) of this section;
(b) amending, repealing, or otherwise modifying any other provision of this Act.
(9) An order may make provision within subsection (8)(b) only if it appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of the powers conferred by section 12A(1) or by regulations under section 12A(4).
(10) An order under this subsection is an order repealing sections 12A, 12B, 12D and this section.
12D Arrangements with other bodies relating to direct payments
(1) The Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority may arrange with any person or body to give assistance in connection with direct payments.
(2) Arrangements may be made under subsection (1) with voluntary organisations.
(3) Powers under this section may be exercised on such terms as may be agreed, including terms as to the making of payments by the Secretary of State , NHS England, an integrated care board or a local authority.
12E Secretary of State's duty as respects variation in provision of health services
(1) The Secretary of State must not exercise the functions mentioned in subsection (2) for the purpose of causing a variation in the proportion of services provided as part of the health service that is provided by persons of a particular description if that description is by reference to—
(a) whether the persons in question are in the public or (as the case may be) private sector, or
(b) some other aspect of their status.
(2) The functions mentioned in this subsection are the functions of the Secretary of State under—
(a) section 6E;
(b) section 12ZB;
(c) section 13A.
(1) The Secretary of State must, in respect of each financial year, publish and lay before Parliament a document—
(a) stating, by comparison with the previous financial year—
(i) whether the Secretary of State expects there to be an increase in the amount of expenditure incurred by NHS England and integrated care boards (taken together) in relation to mental health, and
(ii) whether the Secretary of State expects there to be an increase in the proportion of the expenditure incurred by NHS England and integrated care boards (taken together) that relates to mental health, and
(b) explaining why.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish and lay the document before the financial year to which it relates.
(1) ... The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament a document to be known as “the mandate”.
(2) The Secretary of State must specify in the mandate—
(a) the objectives that the Secretary of State considers NHS England should seek to achieve in the exercise of its functions ..., and
(b) any requirements that the Secretary of State considers it necessary to impose on NHS England for the purpose of ensuring that it achieves those objectives.
(2A) The objectives specified by the Secretary of State under subsection (2)(a) for NHS England must include objectives relating to outcomes for cancer patients, and those objectives are to be treated by NHS England as having priority over any other objectives relating specifically to cancer.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) The Secretary of State may also specify in the mandate the matters by reference to which the Secretary of State proposes to assess NHS England’s performance....
(6) The Secretary of State may not specify in the mandate an objective or requirement about the exercise of NHS England’s functions in relation to only one integrated care board.
(6A) The Secretary of State may revise the mandate.
(6B) If the Secretary of State revises the mandate, the Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament the mandate as revised.
(7) NHS England must—
(a) seek to achieve the objectives specified in the mandate, and
(b) comply with any requirements so specified.
(8) Before specifying any objectives or requirements in the mandate, the Secretary of State must consult—
(a) NHS England,
(b) the Healthwatch England committee of the Care Quality Commission, and
(c) such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(9) Requirements included in the mandate have effect only if regulations so provide.
(1) NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions—
(a) act with a view to securing that health services are provided in a way which promotes the NHS Constitution, and
(b) promote awareness of the NHS Constitution among patients, staff and members of the public.
(2) In this section, “patients” and “staff” have the same meaning as in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Health Act 2009 (see section 3(7) of that Act).
(1) NHS England must exercise its functions with a view to securing continuous improvement in the quality of services provided to individuals for or in connection with—
(a) the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness, or
(b) the protection or improvement of public health.
(2) In discharging its duty under subsection (1), NHS England must, in particular, act with a view to securing continuous improvement in the outcomes that are achieved from the provision of the services.
(3) The outcomes relevant for the purposes of subsection (2) include, in particular, outcomes which show—
(a) the effectiveness of the services,
(b) the safety of the services, and
(c) the quality of the experience undergone by patients.
(4) In discharging its duty under subsection (1), NHS England must have regard to—
(a) any document published by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section, and
(b) the quality standards prepared by NICE under section 234 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, have regard to the need to—
(a) reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access health services, and
(b) reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services (including the outcomes described in section 13E(3)).
NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, promote the involvement of patients, and their carers and representatives (if any), in decisions which relate to—
(a) the prevention or diagnosis of illness in the patients, or
(b) their care or treatment.
NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, act with a view to enabling patients to make choices with respect to aspects of health services provided to them.
(1) NHS England must obtain advice appropriate for enabling it effectively to discharge its functions from persons who (taken together) have a broad range of professional expertise in—
(a) the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness, and
(b) the protection or improvement of public health.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to NHS England’s education and training functions (see section 102 of the Care Act 2014 for the obtaining of advice in relation to those functions).
(1) NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, promote innovation in the provision of health services (including innovation in the arrangements made for their provision).
(2) NHS England may make payments as prizes to promote innovation in the provision of health services.
(3) A prize may relate to—
(a) work at any stage of innovation (including research);
(b) work done at any time (including work before the commencement of section 23 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012).
NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, facilitate or otherwise promote—
(a) research on matters relevant to the health service, and
(b) the use in the health service of evidence obtained from research.
NHS England must, in exercising its functions other than its education and training functions, have regard to the need to promote education and training for the persons mentioned in section 1F(1) so as to assist ... in the discharge of the duty under that section.
(1) NHS England must exercise its functions with a view to securing that health services are provided in an integrated way where it considers that this would—
(a) improve the quality of those services (including the outcomes that are achieved from their provision),
(b) reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access those services, or
(c) reduce inequalities between persons with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of those services.
(2) NHS England must exercise its functions with a view to securing that the provision of health services is integrated with the provision of health-related services or social care services where it considers that this would—
(a) improve the quality of the health services (including the outcomes that are achieved from the provision of those services),
(b) reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access those services, or
(c) reduce inequalities between persons with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of those services.
(2A) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply in relation to the exercise of NHS England’s education and training functions.
(3) NHS England must encourage integrated care boards to enter into arrangements with local authorities in pursuance of regulations under section 75 where it considers that this would secure—
(a) that health services are provided in an integrated way and that this would have any of the effects mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c), or
(b) that the provision of health services is integrated with the provision of health-related services or social care services and that this would have any of the effects mentioned in subsection (2)(a) to (c).
(4) In this section—
“health-related services” means services that may have an effect on the health of individuals but are not health services or social care services;
“social care services” means 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 or for the purposes of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014).
(5) For the purposes of this section, the provision of housing accommodation is a health-related service.
13NA Duty to have regard to wider effect of decisions
(1) In making a decision about the exercise of its functions, NHS England must have regard to all likely effects of the decision in relation to—
(a) the health and well-being of the people of England;
(b) the quality of services provided to individuals—
(i) by relevant bodies, or
(ii) in pursuance of arrangements made by relevant bodies,
for or in connection with the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness, as part of the health service in England;
(c) efficiency and sustainability in relation to the use of resources by relevant bodies for the purposes of the health service in England.
(2) In subsection (1)—
(a) the reference to a decision does not include a reference to a decision about the services to be provided to a particular individual for or in connection with the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness;
(b) the reference to effects of a decision in relation to the health and well-being of the people of England includes a reference to its effects in relation to inequalities between the people of England with respect to their health and well-being;
(c) the reference to effects of a decision in relation to the quality of services provided to individuals includes a reference to its effects in relation to inequalities between individuals with respect to the benefits that they can obtain from those services.
(3) In discharging the duty under this section, NHS England must have regard to guidance published by it under section 13NB.
(4) In this section “relevant bodies” means—
(a) NHS England,
(b) integrated care boards,
(c) NHS trusts established under section 25, and
(d) NHS foundation trusts.
(1) NHS England may publish guidance about the discharge of—
(a) the duty imposed on it by section 13NA;
(b) the duty imposed on integrated care boards by section 14Z43;
(c) the duty imposed on NHS trusts by section 26A;
(d) the duty imposed on NHS foundation trusts by section 63A.
(2) NHS England must consult any persons NHS England considers it appropriate to consult—
(a) before first publishing guidance under this section, and
(b) before publishing any revised guidance containing changes that are, in the opinion of NHS England, significant.
(1) NHS England must, in the exercise of its functions, have regard to the need to—
(a) contribute towards compliance with—
(i) section 1 of the Climate Change Act 2008 (UK net zero emissions target), and
(ii) section 5 of the Environment Act 2021 (environmental targets), and
(b) adapt to any current or predicted impacts of climate change identified in the most recent report under section 56 of the Climate Change Act 2008.
(2) In discharging the duty under this section, NHS England must have regard to guidance published by it under section 13ND.
13ND Guidance about discharge of duty under section 13NC etc
NHS England may publish guidance about the discharge of—
(a) the duty imposed on it by section 13NC;
(b) the duty imposed on integrated care boards by section 14Z44;
(c) the duty imposed on NHS trusts by section 26B;
(d) the duty imposed on NHS foundation trusts by section 63B.
13O Duty to have regard to impact on services in certain areas
(1) In making commissioning decisions, NHS England must have regard to the likely impact of those decisions on the provision of health services to persons who reside in an area of Wales or Scotland that is close to the border with England.
(2) In this section, “commissioning decisions”, in relation to NHS England, means decisions about the carrying out of its functions in arranging for the provision of health services.
13P Duty as respects variation in provision of health services
NHS England must not exercise its functions for the purpose of causing a variation in the proportion of services provided as part of the health service that is provided by persons of a particular description if that description is by reference to—
(a) whether the persons in question are in the public or (as the case may be) private sector, or
(b) some other aspect of their status.
13PA Duty to cooperate for education and training functions and specified functions
(1) NHS England must, in exercising its education and training functions, co-operate with the Secretary of State in the exercise of the public health functions of the Secretary of State.
(2) Regulations may require NHS England and a person specified in those regulations to co-operate with each other in the exercise of—
(a) NHS England’s education and training functions;
(b) the functions of the specified person;
(c) such of the functions in paragraphs (a) or (b) as may be specified.
13Q Public involvement and consultation by NHS England
(1) This section applies in relation to any health services which are, or are to be, provided pursuant to arrangements made by NHS England in the exercise of its functions (“commissioning arrangements”).
(2) NHS England must make arrangements to secure that individuals to whom the services are being or may be provided , and their carers and representatives (if any), are involved (whether by being consulted or provided with information or in other ways)—
(a) in the planning of the commissioning arrangements by NHS England,
(b) in the development and consideration of proposals by NHS England for changes in the commissioning arrangements where the implementation of the proposals would have an impact on the manner in which the services are delivered to the individuals or the range of health services available to them, and
(c) in decisions of NHS England affecting the operation of the commissioning arrangements where the implementation of the decisions would (if made) have such an impact.
(3) The reference in subsection (2)(b) to the delivery of services is a reference to their delivery at the point when they are received by users.
(4) This section does not require NHS England to make arrangements in relation to matters to which a trust special administrator’s draft or final report under section 65F or 65I relates before—
(a) in a case where the administrator’s report relates to an NHS trust, NHS England and the Secretary of State have made their decisions under section 65K(1) and (2), or
(b) in a case where the administrator’s report relates to an NHS foundation trust, the Secretary of State is satisfied as mentioned in section 65KB(1) or 65KD(1) or makes a decision under section 65KD(9).
13R Information on safety of services provided by the health service
(1) NHS England must establish and operate systems for collecting and analysing information relating to the safety of the services provided by the health service.
(2) NHS England must make information collected by virtue of subsection (1), and any other information obtained by analysing it, available to such persons as NHS England considers appropriate.
(3) NHS England may impose charges, calculated on such basis as it considers appropriate, in respect of information made available by it under subsection (2).
(4) NHS England must give advice and guidance, to such persons as it considers appropriate, for the purpose of maintaining and improving the safety of the services provided by the health service.
(5) NHS England must monitor the effectiveness of the advice and guidance given by it under subsection (4).
(6) An integrated care board must have regard to any advice or guidance given to it under subsection (4).
(7) NHS England may arrange for any other person (including another NHS body) to exercise any of NHS England’s functions under this section.
(8) Arrangements made under subsection (7) do not affect the liability of NHS England for the exercise of any of its functions.
13S Guidance in relation to processing of information
(1) NHS England must publish guidance for registered persons on the practice to be followed by them in relation to the processing of—
(a) patient information, and
(b) any other information obtained or generated in the course of the provision of the health service.
(2) Registered persons who carry on an activity which involves, or is connected with, the provision of health care must have regard to any guidance published under this section.
(3) In this section, “patient information”, “processing” and “registered person” have the same meaning as in section 20A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
(1) NHS England must publish a statement setting out—
(a) a description of the powers available to relevant NHS bodies to collect, analyse and publish information relating to—
(i) inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access health services;
(ii) inequalities between persons with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services (including the outcomes described in section 13E(3)); and
(b) the views of NHS England about how those powers should be exercised in connection with such information.
(2) NHS England may from time to time publish a revised statement under subsection (1).
(3) In this section “relevant NHS bodies” means—
(a) integrated care boards,
(b) NHS trusts established under section 25, and
(c) NHS foundation trusts.
13SB Minimising conflicts between regulatory and other functions
(1) NHS England must make arrangements for—
(a) minimising the risk of conflicts between the exercise of its regulatory functions and its other functions;
(b) managing any conflicts that arise.
(2) In this Act “regulatory functions”, in relation to NHS England, means—
(a) its functions under the provisions listed in subsection (3),
(b) its functions under Chapter 5A of Part 2 (trust special administrators) in relation to NHS foundation trusts, except for any functions that are conferred on it under section 65DA, 65F or 65G as a commissioner, and
(c) any other functions of NHS England so far as exercisable in connection with functions within paragraph (a) or (b).
(3) Those provisions are—
(a) in Part 2 of this Act, Chapter 5 (NHS foundation trusts);
(b) in Part 3 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012—
(i) Chapter 3 (licensing);
(ii) Chapter 4 (NHS payment scheme);
(iii) Chapter 5 (health special administration);
(iv) Chapter 6 (financial assistance in special administration cases).
13SC Provision of regulatory information or assistance to the CMA
(1) NHS England must give the Competition and Markets Authority (“the CMA”)—
(a) any regulatory information that the CMA may require to enable the CMA to exercise its relevant functions,
(b) any other regulatory information it considers would assist the CMA in exercising its relevant functions, and
(c) any other assistance the CMA may require to assist the CMA in exercising its relevant functions.
(2) In this section—
“regulatory information” means information held by NHS England in connection with—
its regulatory functions falling within section 13SB(2)(a) or (b), or
its functions under—
sections 6F and Schedule 1ZA (patient choice: enforcement);
sections 27A and 27C (NHS trusts: oversight and support and recommendations about restructuring);
“relevant functions”, in relation to the CMA, means its functions under the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002 so far as those functions are exercisable on behalf of the CMA by the CMA Board or a CMA group (within the meaning of Schedule 4 to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013).
(1) Before the start of each financial year, NHS England must publish a business plan setting out how it proposes to exercise its functions in that year and each of the next two financial years.
(2) The business plan must, in particular, explain how NHS England proposes to discharge its duties under—
(a) sections 13E, 13G , 13L and 13Q, and
(b) sections 223C to 223E.
(3) The business plan must, in particular, explain how NHS England proposes to achieve the objectives, and comply with the requirements, specified in the mandate ....
(3A) The fact that the mandate is revised during the period to which a business plan relates does not require NHS England to revise the plan.
(4) NHS England may revise the plan.
(5) NHS England must publish any revised plan.
(1) As soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, NHS England must publish an annual report on how it has exercised its functions during the year.
(2) The annual report must, in particular, contain an assessment of—
(a) the extent to which, in that year, it met any objectives or requirements specified in the mandate,
(b) the extent to which it gave effect to the proposals for that year in its business plan, ...
(c) how effectively it discharged its duties under or by virtue of—
section 6E(1A) and (1B);
section 13E;
section 13G;
section 13I;
section 13L;
section 13Q.
(d) how effectively it discharged its relevant data functions (as defined by section 253(3) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012), and
(e) how effectively it has discharged its education and training functions including, in particular, the extent to which it has during the year achieved the outcomes set by the Secretary of State for the purpose of section 100(2) of the Care Act 2014.
(2A) The annual report must include a statement explaining what NHS England has done, during the financial year, to comply with its duties under section 13SB.
(2B) The annual report must include—
(a) a statement of the amount of expenditure incurred by NHS England and integrated care boards during the year (taken together) in relation to mental health,
(b) a calculation of the proportion of the expenditure incurred by NHS England and integrated care boards during the year (taken together) that relates to mental health, and
(c) an explanation of the statement and calculation.
(3) NHS England must—
(a) lay the annual report before Parliament, and
(b) once it has done so, send a copy of it to the Secretary of State.
(4) The Secretary of State must, having considered the annual report, set out in a letter to NHS England the Secretary of State's assessment of NHS England’s performance of its functions in the financial year in question.
(5) The letter must, in particular, contain the Secretary of State's assessment of the matters mentioned in subsection (2)(a) to (c).
(6) The Secretary of State must—
(a) publish the letter to NHS England, and
(b) lay it before Parliament.