Health Act, 1970

Transfers of certain property.

36.—(1) On the commencement of section 6 the following property—

(a) all health institutions, and all other property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which, immediately before such commencement, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for a local authority (other than as a sanitary authority) and was property which was solely for the purposes of services to be transferred on such commencement, and

(b) all other property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action), which, immediately before such commencement, was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for a local authority and had been designated by that authority as property to be transferred to the health board,

and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with any such property, shall, without any conveyance or assignment, but subject where necessary to transfer in the books of any bank, corporation or company, become and be vested in or the property of or held in trust for (as the case may require) the health board for all the estate, term or interest for which the same immediately before such commencement was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for the local authority, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the same and then subsisting and capable of being performed.

(2) All property transferred by subsection (1) to a health board which, immediately before the commencement of section 6, was standing in the books of any bank or was registered in the books of any bank, corporation or company in the name of a local authority shall, on the request of the health board made at any time after such commencement, be transferred in the books by the bank, corporation or company into the name of the health board.

(3) Every chose-in-action transferred by subsection (1) to a health board may, after the commencement of this section, be sued on, recovered, or enforced by the health board in its own name and it shall not be necessary for the board to give notice to the person bound by the chose-in-action of the transfer effected by that subsection.

(4) After the commencement of this section, every bond, guarantee, or other security of a continuing character made or given by a local authority to another person, or by any person to a local authority, which was in force immediately before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board, and every contract or agreement in writing made between a local authority and another person which was not fully executed and completed before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on such commencement shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the health board were substituted therein for the name of the local authority, and the security, contract or agreement shall be enforceable by or against the health board accordingly.

(5) After the commencement of this section, every rule and regulation lawfully made by a local authority which was in force immediately before such commencement and which related solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as a rule or regulation made on such commencement by the health board for the residue then unexpired of the period and in respect of the area for and in respect of which the same was actually made by the local authority and, accordingly, every such rule and regulation may be continued, varied or revoked, and penalties and forfeitures arising thereunder before or after such commencement may be recovered and enforced by the health board in the like manner and as fully as the same could have been continued, varied, revoked, recovered or enforced by the local authority if this Act had not been passed.

(6) After the commencement of this section, every resolution passed, order made, and notice served by a local authority before such commencement, the operation, effect or term of which had not ceased or expired before such commencement (being a resolution, order or notice relating solely to services to be transferred on the commencement of section 6 to the health board) shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, continue in force and have effect as if it were a resolution passed, order made, or notice served by the health board on the date on which the same was actually passed, made or served by the local authority and as if the functions of the health authority were on that date performable by the health board.

(7) All loan charges which are in respect of money borrowed for the purposes of property transferred by subsection (1) to a health board and become payable after the commencement of this section shall be payable by the health board.

(8) Any debt of a local authority in respect of which loan charges become payable by a health board under subsection (7) shall become and be a debt of the board.

(9) Where—

(a) property falls to be transferred from a local authority under this section,

(b) the entire functional area of that authority is not included in the functional area of one health board, and

(c) a doubt or dispute arises as to the health board to which the transfer is to be made under this section,

the Minister shall nominate the health board to which the transfer is to be made, and references in this section to a health board shall be construed accordingly in relation to that property.

(10) The Minister may by order provide for the transfer of any specified health institution to a regional hospital board and may in such order provide for the application of any provision of this section to such transfer in the same way as it applies to a transfer to a health board.

(11) Where the Minister has made an order under subsection (10), the relevant property shall not be included in the property transferred to a health board under subsection (1).