National Health Service Act 2006

The National Health Service Act 2006 consolidated existing legislation related to the health service.

There were significant provisions relating to the integration of health and social care services in sections 75-78 and 82, however these provisions were not new:

• sections 75 and 76 enabled NHS bodies and local authorities to enter into formal partnership arrangements and allowed the pooling of budgets to discharge common health-related functions
• section 77 gave the Secretary of State for Health the power to designate Primary Care Trusts or NHS Trusts as Care Trusts if he/she deemed that such an arrangement would promote effective ways of working
• section 78 further empowered the Secretary of State for Health to direct failing bodies into arrangements, where partner organisations could pool funds.

As per existing legislation, local authorities and NHS bodies were required to cooperate in order to 'secure and advance the health and wellbeing' of people in England.

The Act made a number of legislative changes, designed to improve and protect the health of the public:

• enclosed public places and shared workplaces were required to be smoke-free unless exempted by regulations
• the secretary of state was given the power to amend the minimum age of the sale of tobacco from 16 to 18 years of age
• measures were introduced relating to the prevention and control of health care-associated infections.