National Health Service Act 2006 (c. 41)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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(b) both as it has effect at that time and as amended subsequently.

Other provisions relating to charging

185 Charges for more expensive supplies

(1) Regulations may provide for the making and recovery of such charges falling within subsection (2) as may be prescribed.

(2) The charges are charges by the Secretary of State, a Primary Care Trust, an NHS trust or an NHS foundation trust--

(a) in respect of the supply of any appliance or vehicle which is, at the request of the person supplied, of a more expensive type than the prescribed type, or

(b) in respect of the repair or replacement of any such appliance, or the replacement of any such vehicle, or the taking of any such action in relation to the vehicle as is mentioned in paragraph 10(2) of Schedule 1.

186 Charges for repairs and replacements in certain cases

(1) Regulations may provide for the making and recovery of such charges falling within subsection (2) as may be prescribed.

(2) The charges are charges by the Secretary of State, a Primary Care Trust, an NHS trust or an NHS foundation trust, in respect of the repair or replacement of any appliance or vehicle, where it is determined in the prescribed manner--

(a) in any case, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission of the person supplied, or

(b) in a case where the person supplied was under the age of 16, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission, occurring while that person was under that age, of a person having charge of him.

187 Charges for designated services or facilities

Regulations may provide for the making and recovery of charges in respect of services or facilities designated by the regulations as services or facilities provided in pursuance of section 3(1)(d) or (e).

188 Sums otherwise payable to those providing services

(1) Subsection (2) applies to regulations under--

(a) section 172 (charges for drugs, medicines or appliances, or pharmaceutical service),

(b) section 179 (charges for optical appliances),

(d) section 186 (charges for repairs and replacements in certain cases),

which provide for the making and recovery of charges in respect of any services.

(2) The regulations may provide for the sums which would otherwise be payable by a Primary Care Trust or Special Health Authority to the persons by whom the services are provided, to be reduced by the amount of the charges authorised by the regulations in respect of the services.

189 Hospital accommodation on part payment

(1) The Secretary of State--

(a) may authorise accommodation to be made available for patients to such extent as he may determine, and

(b) may recover such charges as he may determine in respect of such accommodation and calculate them on any basis that he considers to be the appropriate commercial basis.

(2) Accommodation means--

(a) accommodation in single rooms or small wards which is not needed by any patient on medical grounds,

(b) accommodation at any health service hospital or group of hospitals, or a hospital in which patients are treated under arrangements made by virtue of section 12, or at the health service hospitals in a particular area or a hospital in which patients are so treated.

(3) References in subsection (2) to a health service hospital include references to such a hospital within the meaning of section 206 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42), but do not include references to a hospital vested in an NHS trust or an NHS foundation trust.

190 Expenses payable by employed patients

(1) The Secretary of State may require any person--

(a) who is a resident patient for whom the Secretary of State provides services under this Act, and

(b) who is absent during the day from the hospital where he is a patient for the purpose of engaging in remunerative employment,

to pay such part of the cost of his maintenance in the hospital and any incidental cost as may seem reasonable to the Secretary of State having regard to the amount of that person's remuneration.

(2) The Secretary of State may recover the amount required under subsection (1).

Recovery, etc

191 Recovery of charges

(1) All charges recoverable under this Act by--

(a) the Secretary of State,

(b) a local social services authority, or

may be recovered summarily as a civil debt (but this does not affect any other method of recovery).

(2) If any person, for the purpose of evading the payment of any charge under this Act, or of reducing the amount of any such charge--

(a) knowingly makes any false statement or false representation, or

(b) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information which he knows to be false in a material particular,

the charge or the balance of the charge, may be recovered from him by the person by whom the cost of the service in question was defrayed.

192 Recovery of charges and payments in relation to goods and services

(1) Where goods or services to which this section applies are provided and--

(a) any charge payable by any person under this Act in respect of the provision of the goods or services is reduced, remitted or repaid, but that person is not entitled to the reduction, remission or repayment, or

(b) any payment under this Act is made to, or for the benefit of, any person in respect of the cost of obtaining the goods or services, but that person is not entitled to, or to the benefit of, the payment,

the amount mentioned in subsection (2) is recoverable summarily as a civil debt from the person in question by the responsible authority.

(2) That amount--

(a) in a case within subsection (1)(a), is the amount of the charge or (where it has been reduced) reduction,

(b) in a case within subsection (1)(b), is the amount of the payment.

(3) Where two or more persons are liable under section 191(1) or this section to pay an amount in respect of the same charge or payment, those persons are jointly and severally liable.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the circumstances in which a person is treated as not entitled to a reduction, remission or repayment of a charge, or to (or to the benefit of) a payment, include in particular those in which it is received (wholly or partly)--

(a) on the ground that he or another is a person of a particular description, where the person in question is not of that description,

(b) on the ground that he or another holds a particular certificate, when the person in question does not hold such a certificate or does hold such a certificate but is not entitled to it,

(c) on the ground that he or another has made a particular statement, when the person in question has not made such a statement or the statement made by him is false.

(5) In this section and section 193, "responsible authority" means--

(a) in relation to the recovery of any charge under section 191(1) in respect of the provision of goods or services to which this section applies, the person by whom the charge is recoverable,

(b) in relation to the recovery by virtue of this section of the whole or part of the amount of any such charge, the person by whom the charge would have been recoverable,

(6) But the Secretary of State may by directions provide for--

(a) the functions of any responsible authority of recovering any charges under this Act in respect of the provision of goods or services to which this section applies,

(b) the functions of any responsible authority under this section and section 193,

to be exercised on behalf of the authority by another health service body.

(7) This section applies to the following goods and services--

(a) dental treatment and appliances provided in pursuance of this Act,

(b) drugs and medicines provided in pursuance of this Act,

(d) optical appliances,

(e) any other appliances provided in pursuance of this Act.

(8) "Health service body" means a body which is a health service body for the purposes of section 9.

193 Penalties relating to charges

(1) Regulations may provide that, where a person fails to pay--

(a) any amount recoverable from him under section 191(1) in respect of the provision of goods or services to which section 192 applies, or

(b) any amount recoverable from him under section 192,

a notice (referred to in this section as a penalty notice) may be served on the person by the responsible authority.

(2) A penalty notice is a notice requiring the person on whom it is served to pay the amount to the authority within a prescribed period, together with a charge (referred to in this section as a penalty charge) of an amount determined in accordance with the regulations.

(3) The regulations may not provide for the amount of the penalty charge to exceed whichever is the smaller of--

(a) £100,

(b) the amount referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) multiplied by 5.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order provide for subsection (3) to have effect as if, for the sum specified in paragraph (a) or the multiplier specified in paragraph (b) (including that sum or multiplier as substituted by a previous order), there were substituted a sum or multiplier specified in the order.

(5) Regulations may provide that, if a person fails to pay the amount he is required to pay under a penalty notice within the period in question, he must also pay to the responsible authority by way of penalty a further sum determined in accordance with the regulations.

(6) The further sum must not exceed 50 per cent of the amount of the penalty charge.

(7) Any sum payable under the regulations (including the amount referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b)) may be recovered by the responsible authority summarily as a civil debt.

(8) But a person is not liable by virtue of a penalty notice--

(a) to pay at any time so much of any amount referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) for which he is jointly and severally liable with another as at that time has been paid, or ordered by a court to be paid, by that other, or

(b) to a penalty charge, or a further sum by way of penalty, if he shows that he did not act wrongfully, or with any lack of care, in respect of the charge or payment in question.

194 Offences relating to charges

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he does any act mentioned in subsection (2) with a view to securing for himself or another--

(a) the evasion of the whole or part of any charge under this Act in respect of the provision of goods or services to which section 192 applies,

(b) the reduction, remission or repayment of any such charge, where he or the other is not entitled to the reduction, remission or repayment,

(c) a payment under this Act (whether to, or for the benefit of, himself or the other) in respect of the cost of obtaining such goods or services, where he or the other is not entitled to, or to the benefit of, the payment.

(2) The acts referred to in subsection (1) are--

(a) knowingly making, or causing or knowingly allowing another to make, a false statement or representation, or

(b) in the case of any document or information which he knows to be false in a material particular, producing or providing it or causing or knowingly allowing another to produce or provide it.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

(4) A person, although he is not a barrister or solicitor, may conduct any proceedings under this section before a magistrates' court if he is authorised to do so by the Secretary of State.

(5) Proceedings for an offence under this section may be begun within--

(a) the period of three months beginning with the date on which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the Secretary of State to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to his knowledge, or

(b) the period of 12 months beginning with the commission of the offence.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), a certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State as to the date on which such evidence as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection came to his knowledge, is conclusive evidence of that date.

(7) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section in respect of any charge or payment under this Act, he is not liable in respect of the charge or payment to pay any penalty charge or further sum by way of penalty which would otherwise be recoverable from him under section 193.

(8) Where a person pays any penalty charge, or further charge by way of penalty, recoverable under section 193 in respect of any charge or payment under this Act, he must not be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of the charge or payment.

(9) Subsection (4) of section 192 applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that.

Part 10 Protection of NHS from fraud and other unlawful activities

Preliminary

195 Compulsory disclosure of documents

(1) This Part confers power to require the production of documents in connection with the exercise of the Secretary of State's counter fraud functions or security management functions in relation to the health service.

(2) The Secretary of State's "counter fraud functions" in relation to the health service means his power (by virtue of section 2(1)(b)) to take action for the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating fraud, corruption or other unlawful activities carried out against or otherwise affecting--

(a) the health service, or

(b) the Secretary of State in relation to his responsibilities for the health service.

(3) The Secretary of State's "security management functions" in relation to the health service means his power (by virtue of section 2(1)(b)) to take action for the purpose of protecting and improving the security of--

(a) persons employed by the Secretary of State or an NHS body in the provision of services for the purposes of the health service ("NHS services"),

(b) health service providers and persons employed by them so far as they or persons so employed are engaged in any activity directly related to the provision of NHS services,

(c) NHS contractors and persons employed by them so far as they or persons so employed are engaged in any activity directly related to the provision of NHS services,

(d) persons not within paragraphs (a) to (c) who work in any capacity on premises used by the Secretary of State, an NHS body, a health service provider, or an NHS contractor, in connection with the provision of NHS services,

(e) persons on such premises--

(i) who are there for the purpose of receiving, or are receiving or have received, treatment or other services as patients, or

(ii) who are accompanying persons within sub-paragraph (i),

(f) property and information used or held by the Secretary of State, an NHS body, a health service provider, or an NHS contractor, in connection with the provision of NHS services.

(4) In this Part, the Secretary of State's counter fraud functions and security management functions in relation to the health service are collectively referred to as functions to which this Part applies.

(5) "Investigating" means investigating in relation to civil or criminal proceedings.

196 Persons and bodies about which provision is made by this Part

(1) This section applies for the purposes of this Part.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), and any provision made under subsection (7), "NHS body" has the meaning given by section 28(6).

(3) In section 195(3), and in section 197(1) so far as having effect in relation to the Secretary of State's security management functions referred to in section 195(3), an "NHS body" means--

(a) a Strategic Health Authority,

(b) a Special Health Authority, so far as performing functions in respect of England,

(d) an NHS trust all or most of whose hospitals, establishments and facilities are situated in England, or

(e) an NHS foundation trust.

(4) A "health service provider" means any person (other than an NHS body) providing--

(a) primary medical services, primary dental services or pharmaceutical services under this Act or the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42),

(b) general ophthalmic services under that Act, or

(5) An "NHS contractor" means any person (other than an NHS body or a person within subsection (4)) providing services of any description under arrangements made with an NHS body.

(6) A "statutory health body" means any body (other than an NHS body, or a person within subsection (4) or (5)) established by or under an enactment and--

(a) providing services in connection with the provision of, or

(b) exercising functions in relation to,

the health service in either England or Wales or both.

(7) The Secretary of State may by order--

(a) make such amendments of any of subsections (2) to (6) as he considers appropriate,

(b) make such consequential amendments of this Part as he considers appropriate.

Disclosure notices

197 Notice requiring production of documents

(1) This section applies if it appears to the Secretary of State that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting--

(a) that any documents containing information relevant to the exercise of any of his functions to which this Part applies are in the possession or under the control of any NHS body, statutory health body, health service provider or NHS contractor ("the relevant organisation"), and

(b) that a person within subsection (3) is accountable for the documents.

(2) The Secretary of State may serve on that person a notice requiring him to produce the documents to an authorised officer.

(3) The persons within this subsection are--

(a) any member, officer or director of the relevant organisation,

(b) any other person who takes part in the management of the affairs of that organisation,

(d) (in the case of a health service provider or NHS contractor who is an individual) that individual.

(4) A notice under this section must specify or describe the documents to which it relates.

(5) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the notice may require those documents to be produced--

(a) at or by such time as is specified in the notice, or at once, and

(b) at such place, and in such manner, as is so specified.

(6) When specifying a time at or by which the documents must be produced, the notice must not require them to be produced otherwise than at a reasonable hour.

(7) If the notice requires documents to be produced at once, it may only be served at a reasonable hour.

(8) An authorised officer may, by agreement with the person served with a notice within subsection (6) or (7), vary the notice so as to extend the time for compliance with it.

(9) Any notice under this section, and any variation of such a notice under subsection (8), must be in writing.

(10) An individual is "accountable" for any documents if he has either day-to-day, or an overall, responsibility for the custody or control of the documents.

198 Production of documents

(1) This section applies where a notice has been served under section 197.

(2) An authorised officer may--

(a) take away any documents produced in compliance with the notice,

(b) take copies of or extracts from any documents so produced,

(3) If--

(a) the officer takes away any such document,

(b) the person producing it requests the officer to provide him with a copy of it, and

the officer must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, provide that person with a copy of the document (in such form as the officer considers appropriate).

(4) Documents produced in compliance with a notice under section 197 may be retained for so long as the Secretary of State considers that it is necessary to retain them (rather than copies of them) in connection with the exercise of any of his functions to which this Part applies.

(5) If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds for believing--

(a) that any such documents may have to be produced for the purposes of any legal proceedings, and

(b) that they might otherwise be unavailable for those purposes,

they may be retained until the proceedings are concluded.

(6) If a person who is required by a notice under section 197 to produce any documents does not produce the documents in compliance with the notice, an authorised officer may require that person to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where they are.

(7) A person is not bound to comply with any requirement imposed by a notice under section 197 or any requirement under subsection (6) unless evidence of authority is given--

(a) at the time when the notice is served, or

(b) at the time when the requirement is imposed under subsection (6).

(8) In addition, a person may not be required under section 197 or subsection (6) to produce any document or disclose any information which he would be entitled to refuse to produce or disclose in proceedings in the High Court on grounds of legal professional privilege.

199 Delegation of functions

(1) This section applies if the Secretary of State gives a direction under section 7 directing a Special Health Authority to exercise so much of his functions under sections 197 and 198 as is specified in the directions ("the delegated functions").

(2) The Secretary of State may give directions providing for senior officers of the Special Health Authority to exercise the delegated functions on behalf of the Special Health Authority.

(3) "Senior officer" means an officer of or above a level specified in the directions.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such provision as he considers appropriate in connection with the exercise of the delegated functions.

(5) The regulations may, in particular, make provision--

(a) specifying conditions as to training that must be satisfied in relation to officers of the Special Health Authority involved in the exercise of the delegated functions,

(b) for requiring officers to obtain specific authorisation before the delegated functions are exercised in relation to personal records,

(d) otherwise prescribing the manner in which the delegated functions may be exercised.

200 Code of practice relating to delegated functions

(1) The Secretary of State may issue a code of practice relating to--

(a) the exercise of functions under section 197 or 198 by or on behalf of a Special Health Authority,

(b) procedures to be followed in relation to the disclosure (in accordance with sections 201 and 202) of information obtained by or on behalf of a Special Health Authority in the exercise of such functions.

(2) The Secretary of State must keep the code under review and may from time to time--

(a) revise the whole or any part of the code, and

(b) issue a revised code.

(3) Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a code of practice under this section he must--

(a) prepare a draft of the code, and

(b) consult such persons as he considers appropriate about the draft.

(4) Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a revised code under this section which in his opinion would result in a substantial change in the code, he must--

(a) prepare a draft of the revised code, and

(b) consult such persons as he considers appropriate about the change.

(5) Where, following consultation under subsection (3) or (4), the Secretary of State issues the code or revised code (whether in the form of the draft or with such modifications as he considers appropriate), it comes into force at the time when it is issued by the Secretary of State.

(6) A failure to observe any provision of a code or revised code issued under this section does not of itself make a person liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.

(7) A code or revised code issued under this section is admissible in evidence in any criminal or civil proceedings.

(8) Consultation undertaken by the Secretary of State before the commencement of this section is as effective for the purposes of this section as consultation undertaken after that time.

201 Disclosure of information

(1) This section applies to information which--

(a) is held by or on behalf of the Secretary of State, and

(b) was obtained by virtue of section 197 or 198.

(2) The information must not be disclosed except in accordance with subsection (3).

(3) A disclosure is made in accordance with this subsection if it is made--

(a) for the purposes of the exercise of any of the Secretary of State's functions in relation to the health service in England,

(b) for the purposes of the exercise of any of the Welsh Ministers' functions in relation to the health service in Wales,

(c) for the purposes of any civil proceedings brought in the exercise of any of the functions mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b),

(d) for the purposes of any criminal investigation or proceedings,

(e) for the purposes of any relevant disciplinary proceedings, or

(f) in accordance with an enactment or order of a court or tribunal.

(4) In subsection (3)--

"relevant disciplinary proceedings" means disciplinary proceedings conducted in relation to an individual by--
(a)
an NHS body, statutory health body or health service provider, or
(b)
any of the regulatory bodies mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 (c. 17) (bodies within remit of Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals).

(5) Where information to which this section applies is disclosed to any person in accordance with subsection (3), the information must not be used or further disclosed except--

(a) for a purpose connected with the functions, investigation or proceedings for the purposes of which it was so disclosed, or

(b) in accordance with an enactment or order of a court or tribunal.

(6) Information to which this section applies may be disclosed in accordance with subsection (3) despite any obligation of confidence that would otherwise prohibit or restrict the disclosure.

(7) This section does not prohibit any disclosure or use of information relating to a particular person if it is made with the consent of that person.

202 Protection of personal information disclosed for purposes of proceedings

(1) Information obtained from personal records produced in compliance with a notice under section 197 is "protected information" for the purposes of this section if--

(a) a person ("the discloser"), in accordance with section 201(3), discloses the information for the purposes of any proceedings, and

(b) either--

(i) the identity of the individual in question can be ascertained from the information itself, or

(ii) the discloser has reasonable cause to believe that it will be possible for a person who obtains the information as a direct or indirect consequence of the disclosure to ascertain the individual's identity from that information taken with other information obtained by virtue of section 197 or 198 and disclosed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State.

(2) The discloser must take all reasonable steps to ensure that, once disclosed by him in accordance with section 201(3), the protected information is not further disclosed to any person who is not someone to whom it is necessary to disclose the information for any purpose connected with the proceedings mentioned in subsection (1)(a).

(3) In subsection (2) the reference to further disclosure of the information does not include any such disclosure--

(a) by way of evidence in any proceedings, or

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