MINISTRY OF HEALTH ACT, 1919. 9 & 10 GEO. 5, C. 21. An Act to establish a Ministry of Health to exercise in England and [3rd June, 1919.] BE it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Establishment of Minister. 1. For the purpose of promoting the health of the people throughout England and Wales, and for the purpose of the exercise of the powers transferred or conferred by this Act, it shall be lawful for His Majesty to appoint a Minister of Health (hereinafter called 'the Minister"), who shall hold office during His Majesty's pleasure. General Powers and Duties of Minister in Relation to Health. 2. It shall be the duty of the Minister, in the exercise and performance of any powers and duties transferred to or conferred upon him by or in pursuance of this Act, to take all such steps as may be desirable to secure the preparation, effective carrying out and co-ordination of measures conducive to the health of the people, including measures for the prevention and cure of diseases, the avoidance of fraud in connection with alleged remedies therefor, the treatment of physical and mental defects, the treatment and care of the blind, the initiation and direction of research, the collection, preparation, publication, and dissemination of information and statistics relating thereto, and the training of persons for health services. Transfer of Powers and Duties to and from Minister. 3. (1) There shall be transferred to the Minister (a) all the powers and duties of the Local Government Board; (b) all the powers and duties of the Insurance Commissioners and the Welsh Insurance Commissioners; (c) all the powers of the Board of Education with respect to attending to the health of expectant mothers and nursing mothers and of children who have not attained the age of five years and are not in attendance at schools recognised by the Board of Education; (d) all the powers and duties of the Board of Education with respect to the medical inspection and treatment of children and young persons under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section thirteen of the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1907, as amended and extended by the 8 Education Act, 1918: Provided that, for the purpose of ** B 1919. 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 21. 7 Edw. 7. c. 43. & 9 Geo. 5. c. 39. 1919. 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 21. 2 Edw. 7. c. 17. 8 & 9 Geo. 5. c. 43. 8 Edw. 7. c. 67. 1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 55. facilitating the effective exercise and performance of these powers and duties, the Minister may make arrangements with the Board of Education respecting the submission and approval of schemes of local education authorities and the payment of grants to local education authorities, so far as such schemes and payment relate to or are in respect of medical inspection and treatment, and the powers and duties of the Minister may under any such arrangements be exercised and performed by the Board on his behalf and with his authority under such conditions as he may think fit; (e) all the powers of the Privy Council and of the Lord President, of the Council under the Midwives Acts, 1902 and 1918; (f) such powers of supervising the administration of Part I. of the Children Act, 1908 (which relates to infant life protection), as have heretofore been exercised by the Secretary of State: Provided that (i) the power conferred on the Insurance Commissioners by the (2) It shall be lawful for His Majesty from time to time by Order in Council to transfer to the Minister (a) all or any of the powers and duties of the Minister of Pensions with respect to the health of disabled officers and men after they have left the service; (b) all or any of the powers and duties of the Secretary of State under the enactments relating to lunacy and mental deficiency; (c) any other powers and duties in England and Wales of any Government department which appear to His Majesty to relate to matters affecting or incidental to the health of the people. (3) It shall be lawful for His Majesty from time to time by Order in Council to transfer from the Minister to any other Government department any of the powers and duties of the Minister, whether relating to the relief of the poor or otherwise, which appear to His Majesty not to relate to matters affecting or incidental to the health of the people. And it is hereby declared that it is the intention of this Act that, in the event of provision being made by Act of Parliament passed in the present or in any future session for the revision of the law relating to the relief of the poor and the distribution amongst other authorities of the powers exerciseable by boards of guardians, there shall be transferred from the Minister to other Government departments such of the powers and duties under the enactments relating to the relief of the poor then vested in the Minister (not being powers or duties relating or incidental to the health of the people) as appear to His Majesty to be such as could be more conveniently exercised and performed by such other departments. (4) His Majesty may by Order in Council make such incidental, consequential, and supplemental provisions as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving full effect to any transfer of powers or duties by or under this section, including provisions for the transfer of any property, rights, and liabilities held, enjoyed, or incurred by any Government department in connection with any powers or duties transferred, and may make such adaptations in the enactments relating to such powers or duties as may be necessary to make exerciseable by the Minister and his officers or by such other Government department and their officers, as the case may be, the powers and duties so transferred. (5) In connection with the transfer of powers and duties to or from the Minister by or under this Act, the provisions set out in the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect. Consultative Councils. 4. (1) It shall be lawful for His Majesty by Order in Council to establish consultative councils in England and Wales for giving, in accordance with the provisons of the Order, advice and assistance to the Minister in connection with such matters affecting or incidental to the health of the people as may be referred to in such Order. (2) Every such council shall include women as well as men, and shall consist of persons having practical experience of the matters referred to the council. Provisions as to Wales. 5. The Minister shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, appoint such officers as he may think fit to constitute a Board of Health in Wales through whom he may exercise and perform in Wales in such manner as he may think fit any of his powers and duties; the Board and any officer who is a member thereof shall act under the directions, and comply with the instructions, of the Minister. * 1919. 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 21 1919. 9 & 10 Geo. 5. e. 21. Staff and Remuneration. 6.—(1) The Minister may appoint one parliamentary secretary and such secretaries, officers, and servants as the Minister may, subject to the consent of the Treasury as to number, determine, and in the making of such appointments shall give equal consideration to the suitability of persons of both sexes. (2) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to the Minister an annual salary not exceeding five thousand pounds, and to the secretaries, officers, and servants of the Ministry such salaries or remuneration as the Treasury may from time to time determine. (3) The expenses of the Ministry, including payments to members of consultative councils and committees thereof, to such amount as may be sanctioned by the Treasury, shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament: Provided that no payments shall be made to members of consultative councils and committees thereof other than the repayment of travelling expenses and the payment of subsistence allowance and reasonable compensation for loss of remunerative time. (4) There shall be transferred and attached to the Ministry the persons employed under the Local Government Board, the Insurance Commissioners and the Welsh Insurance Commissioners, and such of the persons employed under any other Government department in or about the execution of the powers and duties transferred by or under this Act to the Minister, as the Minister and Government department, with the sanction of the Treasury, may determine. (5) The Minister may from time to time distribute the business of the Ministry amongst the several persons transferred or attached thereto in pursuance of this Act in such manner as he may think right, and those persons shall perform such duties in relation to that business as may be directed by the Minister : Provided that such persons shall be in no worse position as respects the tenure of office, salary or superannuation allowances than they would have been if this Act had not been passed. Seal, Style, and Acts of Minister. 7.-(1) The Minister may sue and be sued by the name of the Minister of Health, and may for all purposes be described by that name. (2) The Minister shall have an official seal, which shall be officially and judicially noticed, and shall be authenticated by the signature of the Minister, or of a secretary, or any person authorised by the Minister to act in that behalf. (3) For the purpose of acquiring and holding land, the Minister for the time being shall be a corporation sole by the name of the Minister of Health, and all land vested in the Minister shall be held in trust for His Majesty for the purposes of the Ministry of Health. (4) Upon and by virtue of the appointment of any person to be Minister, the benefit of all deeds, contracts, bonds, securities, or things in action vested in his predecessor at the time of his prede |