Public Hospitals Act, 1933

Hospital library grant.

26.—(1) The Minister may at any time, at the request of any person controlling or about to establish a lending library for supplying books for the use of patients or inmates in hospitals, make a grant (to be known and in this section referred to as a hospital library grant) to such person out of the Hospitals Trust Fund, of such amount as the Minister shall think proper, for the purpose of defraying all or any of the expenses of such lending library.

(2) A hospital library grant may, as the Minister shall in each case think proper, be in the form of a sum to be paid out of the capital of the Hospitals Trust Fund or in the form of payments to be made annually, for such period as the Minister shall direct, out of the income of the Hospitals Trust Fund and the National Hospital Trustees shall, if so directed by the Minister, set aside a portion of the capital of the Hospitals Trust Fund and invest such portion for the purpose of securing any hospital library grant made in the form of payments to be made annually.

(3) Whenever the Minister determines to make under this section a hospital library grant, he shall direct the National Hospital Trustees to pay such grant out of the Hospitals Trust Fund and thereupon the said Trustees shall pay the amount of such grant out of the said Fund to such person and at such time or in instalments at such times as the Minister directs.

(4) Whenever the Minister makes under this section a hospital library grant, he shall specify the purposes for which such hospital library grant is to be expended and may attach to the receipt of such hospital library grant such conditions (whether to be performed before or after such receipt) as he thinks proper for securing the due expenditure of such hospital library grant on the purposes specified by the Minister.

(5) If, after the making of a hospital library grant under this section to any person and before payment of such hospital library grant or before the making of any particular payment in respect thereof, the Minister is satisfied that any condition attached under the foregoing sub-section to the receipt of such hospital library grant has not been complied with by the person to whom such grant was made, the Minister may certify to the National Hospital Trustees that such condition has not been complied with and, upon the Minister so certifying, the National Hospital Trustees shall not make, and the person to whom such grant was made shall cease to be entitled to, any such payment of or in respect of such hospital library grant or to any future payment in respect thereof unless and until the Minister otherwise directs.