Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 (“the 1990 Regulations”) which make provision in connection with the membership and procedure of NHS trusts established under Part I of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.

Regulation 3 of the 1990 Regulations is amended to require that all non-executive directors of NHS trusts in England and Wales are to be appointed by the Secretary of State (regulation 2(3)). (Until the abolition of Regional Health Authorities in April 1996, two of the non-executive directors of each NHS trust in England were appointed by one of those Authorities.) In consequence of this change, references to the “appointing authority” are amended in regulations 7, 8, 9 and 12 of the 1990 Regulations, which are concerned with the tenure of office of directors and the removal of disqualification for appointment as a chairman or director (regulation 2(4)-(7)), and the definition of “appointing authority” is omitted in regulation 1(2) of the 1990 Regulations (regulation 2(2)).