Part 1: Health Service in England: Integration, Collaboration and Other Changes NHS England Section 4: NHS England Mandate: general
Section 4 amends sections 13A 13B, 13T and 13U of the NHS Act 2006. Subsections (2)(a) and (b) remove the requirement for a mandate to be set before the start of each financial year, providing flexibility on when a mandate may be set, and how long it may continue to have statutory force.
	Section 4(2)(c) omits subsections (3) and (4) from section 13A, removing the requirement on the Secretary of State to specify in the mandate the financial limits set for the purposes of section 223D.
	Section 4(2)(d) amends section 13A(5) to allow the Secretary of State to specify the matters which the Secretary of State proposes to assess NHS England’s performance against, and removes the limit for this to apply for only the first financial year to which the mandate relates.
	Section 4(2)(e) inserts new subsections (6A) and (6B) into section 13A, providing that the Secretary of State may revise the mandate and making clear that any revised mandate must be published and laid before Parliament.
	Section 4(3) amends section 13B, omitting subsections (2) to (5). This removes the requirement for the mandate to be revised where the Secretary of State varies financial directions given under section 223D. It also removes the limitations as to when the Secretary of State may revise the mandate.
	Section 4(4) amends section 13T(3) and inserts new subsection (3A) into section 13T, making clear that NHS England is not required to revise its business plan should the mandate be revised during the period that the plan relates to.
	Section 4(5) substitutes paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 13U to require NHS England to set out in its annual report the extent to which it met any objectives or requirements set out in any mandates covering the relevant financial year.