National Assistance Act 1948

7 (1) Where immediately before the appointed day any premises being part of a workhouse were being used for hospital purposes, but the workhouse as a whole was mainly being used for other purposes, subsection (2) of section six of the Act of 1946 (which provides for the transfer to the Minister of Health of hospitals and property and liabilities connected therewith) shall not apply in relation to the premises, but—

(a) the local authority by which the workhouse was provided shall to the satisfaction of the Minister of Health enter into arrangements with the Regional Hospital Board whereby, until the said Minister otherwise determines, the like accommodation shall be available for the provision of hospital and specialist services under the Act of 1946 as was available for hospital purposes immediately before the appointed day, and such facilities in relation to the accommodation made available shall be afforded by the local authority as may be necessary for the purposes of the Act of 1946;

(b) the Regional Hospital Board shall make to the local authority such payments in respect of accommodation and facilities as may be agreed between the authority and the Board, or in default of agreement as may be determined by the Minister of Health.

(2) Where immediately before the appointed day any person was by virtue of a lunacy order or a mental deficiency order detained in any such premises as are mentioned in the last foregoing sub-paragraph,—

(a) the premises shall be deemed, until the time determined under head (a) of that sub-paragraph, to be a mental hospital or institution for defectives, as the case may be; and

(b) the lunacy order shall have effect as if it were an order made on the appointed day under section sixteen of the Lunacy Act, 1890, for the detention of the said person in the premises.

(3) Subsection (4) of section fifty of the Act of 1946 shall not have effect.

(4) Regulations as to the transfer of officers made under section sixty-eight of the Act of 1946 shall provide for the transfer of officers and servants of local authorities who immediately before the appointed day were employed solely or mainly at or for purposes of such premises as are mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph to the Regional Hospital Board for the area in which the premises are situated.

(5) Any expenditure of a Regional Hospital Board under head (6) of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall be deemed for the purposes of section fifty-four of the Act of 1946 to be expenditure of the Regional Hospital Board incurred under that Act and approved as mentioned in that section.