Part 1: Health Service in England: Integration, Collaboration and Other Changes NHS England Section 13: Exercise of functions relating to provision of services
This section inserts section13YB into the NHS Act 2006. It allows NHS England to direct an integrated care board to exercise any of NHS England’s relevant functions. This is an alternative to entering into section 65Z5 arrangements to allow NHS England to delegate relevant functions to integrated care boards.
	Subsection (2) sets out the NHS England functions which integrated care boards can be directed to exercise:
Any commissioning function that NHS England has been given by virtue of section 3B(1);
Any function beyond those given to NHS England under section 3B(1) that relates to providing primary medical services, primary dental services, primary ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services specified under Part 7;
Any function delegated to NHS England by virtue of section 7A or section 7B, which relate to Secretary of State’s public health functions; and
Any other function that may be exercised in connection with the above functions.
This last category is designed, for example, to cover NHS England’s power to provide assistance or support under section 13YA.
	The Secretary of State will be able to make regulations under section 13YB(3) which can specify any limits or conditions on the functions that NHS England may delegate via directions to integrated care boards under this section.
	Subsection (4) gives NHS England powers, when delegating functions to integrated care boards under this section, to limit the ability of integrated care boards to arrange for other bodies to carry out these functions.
	NHS England may also make payments to an integrated care board in relation to the exercise of the relevant function (subsection (6)) and give directions regarding the exercise of that function (subsection (7)).
	Subsection (8) requires NHS England to publish any directions under subsection (1). This is so that it is clear who is exercising which of these relevant functions – NHS England or integrated care boards. An integrated care board that has been directed to exercise a function as part of these arrangements is liable for the exercise of that function (subsection (9)).