2.13Section 242 of the National Health Service Act 2006 imposes duties of consultation and involvement on NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts in England:
Public involvement and consultation
242(1B) Each relevant English body must make arrangements, as respects health services for which it is responsible, which secure that users of those services, whether directly or through representatives, are involved (whether by being consulted or provided with information, or in other ways) in–
(a)the planning of the provision of those services,
(b)the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and
(c)decisions to be made by that body affecting the operation of those services.
(1C) Subsection (1B)(b) applies to a proposal only if implementation of the proposal would have an impact on–
(a)the manner in which the services are delivered to users of those services, or
(b)the range of health services available to those users.
(1D) Subsection (1B)(c) applies to a decision only if implementation of the decision (if made) would have an impact on–
(a)the manner in which the services are delivered to users of those services, or
(b)the range of health services available to those users.
2.14As noted above, sections 116–116B of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 require local authorities and clinical commissioning groups to consult, assess local needs and publish the assessment and their strategy for meeting local needs, which they must then take into account when discharging their functions.
2.16Section 242 of the National Health Service Act 2006 imposes duties of consultation and involvement on NHS Trusts in Wales, as well as in England.
2.17As noted above, by virtue of sections 14 and 14A of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2006, Local Health Boards in Wales are required to complete and publish their assessment, and a strategy, addressing (a) local needs for care and support; (b) help for carers and (c) preventative services – in relation to both children and adults. This is to be undertaken jointly with Local Health Boards and provision is made for co-ordination with Children and Young People’s Plans:
Assessment of needs for care and support, support for carers and preventative services
14(1) A local authority and each Local Health Board any part of whose area lies within the area of the local authority must, in accordance with regulations, jointly assess–
(a)the extent to which there are people in the local authority’s area who need care and support;
(b)the extent to which there are carers in the local authority’s area who need support;
(c)the extent to which there are people in the local authority’s area whose needs for care and support (or, in the case of carers, support) are not being met (by the authority, the Board or otherwise);
(d)the range and level of services required to meet the care and support needs of people in the local authority’s area (including the support needs of carers);
(e)the range and level of services required to achieve the purposes in section 15(2) (preventative services) in the local authority’s area;
(f)the actions required to provide the range and level of services identified in accordance with paragraphs (d) and (e) through the medium of Welsh.
(2)Regulations under subsection (1) may, for example, provide for the timing and review of assessments.
(3)In section 40 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (health and well-being strategies)–
(a)after subsection (2) insert–
‘(2A) The responsible bodies must take into account the most recent assessment under section 14 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (assessment of needs for care and support, support for carers and preventative services) in the formulation or review of the strategy.(2B) The responsible bodies must jointly publish the strategy.(2C) The Local Health Board (or Boards) responsible for the strategy must submit to the Welsh Ministers any part of the strategy which relates to the health and well-being of carers (and if more than one Board is responsible for the strategy, they must do so jointly).’;
(b)in subsection (6), after paragraph (g) insert–
‘(h) the submission of the strategy or a part of the strategy, to the Welsh Ministers (including, for example, the form in which and the time by which the strategy or part is to be submitted).’;
(c)in subsection (9), insert in the appropriate place–
‘“carer” has the same meaning as in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014,’
(4)In section 26 of the Children Act 2004 (children and young people’s plans), after subsection (1A) insert–
‘(1AA) A local authority in Wales must take into account the most recent assessment under section 14 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (assessment of needs for care and support, support for carers and preventative services) in the preparation and review of the plan.’
Plans following assessments of needs under section 14
14A(1) In this section, ‘relevant body’ means a local authority or Local Health Board which has carried out a joint assessment under section 14(1).
(2)Each relevant body must prepare and publish a plan setting out–
(a)the range and level of services the body proposes to provide, or arrange to be provided, in response to the assessment of needs under paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 14(1);
(b)in the case of a local authority, the range and level of services the authority proposes to provide, or arrange to be provided, in seeking to achieve the purposes in section 15(2) (preventative services);
(c)in the case of a Local Health Board, anything the Board proposes to do in connection with its duty under section 15(5) (Local Health Boards to have regard to the importance of preventative action when exercising functions);
(d)how the services set out in the plan are to be provided, including the actions the body proposes to take to provide, or arrange to provide, the services through the medium of Welsh;
(e)any other action the body proposes to take in response to the assessment under section 14(1);
(f)the details of anything the body proposes to do in response to the assessment jointly with another relevant body;
(g)the resources to be deployed in doing the things set out in the plan.
(3)A relevant body’s plan may be published by including it within a local well-being plan published under section 39 or 44(5) of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (the ‘2015 Act’) by a public services board of which the body is a member.
(4)A local authority and a Local Health Board who have carried out a joint assessment together under section 14(1) may jointly prepare and publish a plan under subsection (2).
(5)Two or more local authorities may jointly prepare and publish a plan under subsection (2); but such a joint plan may be published by including it within a local well-being plan only if each local authority is a member of the public services board (see sections 47 and 49 of the 2015 Act (merging of public services boards)).
(6)A relevant body must submit to the Welsh Ministers–
(a)any part of a plan it has prepared under subsection (2) which relates to the health and well-being of carers;
(b)any other part of such a plan as may be specified by regulations.
(7)Regulations may make provision about plans prepared and published under subsection (2), including provision–
(a)specifying when a plan is to be published;
(b)about reviewing a plan;
(c)about consulting persons when preparing or reviewing a plan;
(d)about the monitoring and evaluation of services and other action set out in a plan.