Part 1: Health Service in England: Integration, Collaboration and Other Changes Collaborative Working Section 75: Co-operation by NHS bodies etc
This section amends sections 72 and 82 of the NHS Act 2006 and section 96 of the 2012 Act.
	Section 72 of the NHS Act 2006 imposes a duty on NHS bodies, including some Welsh NHS bodies, to co-operate with each other. Section 75(2) inserts a new power into section 72 of the NHS Act 2006 for the Secretary of State to make guidance on how this duty is discharged. It also imposes a duty on NHS bodies, except for Welsh NHS bodies, to have regard to this guidance.
	Section 82 of the NHS Act 2006 imposes a duty on NHS bodies and local authorities (including Welsh NHS bodies and Welsh local authorities) to co-operate with one another in order to advance the health and welfare of the people of England and Wales. S 75(3) inserts a new power for the Secretary of State to make guidance related to England. It also imposes a duty on NHS bodies and local authorities, except for Welsh NHS bodies and Welsh local authorities, to have regard to this guidance.
	Section 96 of the 2012 Act specifies the purposes for which NHS England (previously Monitor) can set or modify licensing conditions of NHS health service providers. Previously section 96(2)(g) and section 96(3) of the 2012 Act allow the licence conditions to be modified if the purpose of modification is to enable co-operation between providers where that achieves one or more of the objectives of: (a) improving the quality of health care services for the NHS or the efficiency of their provision; (b) reducing inequalities in people’s ability to access those services; and (c) reducing inequalities in the outcomes people achieve in the provision of those services.
	Section 75(4)(a) of the Act amends section 96(2)(g) and section 96(3) of the 2012 Act so that the section 96(2)(g) purpose of enabling co-operation between providers of health care services no longer needs to be dependent upon achieving the objectives in (a), (b) or (c) before it can be considered as a basis for modifying the licence conditions. This does not mean that the licence cannot be modified to achieve the objectives set out in (a), (b), and (c) in connection with subsections 2(e) and (f) but means that modification of the licence under section 96(2)(g) is no longer conditional on achieving those objectives.
	Subsection (4)(a) also expands section 96(2)(g) so that licence conditions can be modified to enable, promote and secure co-operation not just amongst NHS health service providers, but also between NHS bodies as defined in section 72 of the NHS Act 2006 and local authorities in England.