National Health Service Act 2006

National Health Service Act 2006 ^[1]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the health service.
Citation	2006 c. 41
Territorial extent	England and Wales, [2] except sections 261 to 266, which also extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland. [3]
Dates
Royal assent	8 November 2006
Commencement	1 March 2007, subject to section 277 [4]
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The National Health Service Act 2006 (c. 41) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out the structure of the National Health Service in England.

Contents

The act consolidated the law in relation to the National Health Service. ^[5]

Section 75 of the act allows for formal partnerships agreements integrate commissioning, pool budgets or set up joint teams across different councils and the NHS. ^[6]

The act placed various obligations on primary care trusts, including: ^[7]

• to ensure that its expenditure in any year is not higher than the allotment from the Secretary of State relating to that year
• to ensure that its use of resources is not higher than as specified by the Secretary of State
• to keep proper records including accounts
• to publish annual accounts

The act also gave PCTs the power to provide hospital services for private patients and to provide services for the purpose of making additional income. ^[7]

The act contained an obligation to engage the public and patients. ^[8]

Further developments

It was significantly amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. ^[9]

See also

• British enterprise law
• National Health Service (England), the national healthcare system overhauled by the bill.

Legislation

• National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c 19)
• National Health Service (Private Finance) Act 1997 (c 56) section 1, on private finance
• NHS Redress Act 2006

Notes

1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 278(1) of this Act.
2. The National Health Service Act 2006, section 278(2)
3. The National Health Service Act 2006, section 278(3)
4. The National Health Service Act 2006, section 277(1)
5. "National Health Service Act 2006". Policy Navigator. 19 July 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
6. Samuel, Mithran (28 March 2013). "What social workers need to know about the new NHS". Community Care. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
7. "List of PCT functions drawn up to aid formation of GP consortia". Local Government Chronicle. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
8. Nicholson-Banks, Kathy (1 January 2010). "Involving local people to improve services". British Journal of Healthcare Management. 16 (1): 10–17. doi:10.12968/bjhc.2010.16.1.45894.
9. Parkhill, Lee (6 June 2013). "The new role for local authorities in public health". Local Government Lawyer. Retrieved 13 February 2026.

References

• Halsbury's Statutes
• National Health Service Act 2006 (C. 41): Table of Origins. HMSO. 2007.

External links

• The National Health Service Act 2006, as amended from the National Archives.
• The National Health Service Act 2006, as originally enacted from the National Archives.