The Act received royal assent on 4 April 1979, providing for the establishment of the Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC).
The report of the working group on inequalities in health, chaired by Sir Douglas Black, found that people in lower social groups suffered higher rates of mortality.
The first cases of BSE in cattle were diagnosed in the late 1980s. However, the government told the public there was no evidence that BSE could be transmitted to humans.