Legislation – Health and Social Care Act 2012
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Health and Social Care Act 2012, Cross Heading: Compliance with standards is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 13 April 2026. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
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PART 9Health and adult social care services: information
CHAPTER 1Information standards
F1Compliance with standards
F2251ZAF3Monitoring compliance
(1)
The Secretary of State may require a person to provide the Secretary of State with documents, records or other information for the purposes of monitoring the person’s compliance with information standards published under section 250.
(2)
A requirement under subsection (1) may specify—
(a)
the form and manner in which information is to be provided, and
(b)
when information is to be provided.
(3)
A requirement under subsection (1) must be in writing.
(4)
For enforcement of requirements under subsection (1) against persons other than public bodies, see section 277E.
F4251ZBNotice requesting compliance by relevant IT providers
(1)
If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to suspect that a relevant IT provider is not complying with an information standard which applies to the provider, the Secretary of State may give the provider a written notice which—
(a)
identifies the standard in question,
(b)
sets out the Secretary of State’s grounds for suspecting that the provider is not complying with the standard,
(c)
asks the provider to comply with the standard within a period specified in the notice,
(d)
asks the provider, within a period specified in the notice, to provide evidence to the Secretary of State’s satisfaction that the provider is complying with the standard, and
(e)
if the Secretary of State considers it appropriate, sets out the steps that the Secretary of State considers the provider must take, within a period specified in the notice, in order to comply with the standard.
(2)
A period specified for the purposes of subsection (1)(c), (d) or (e) must be a period of at least 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice is given.
(3)
The Secretary of State may, by giving the relevant IT provider a further written notice, vary or revoke a notice given under subsection (1).
251ZCPublic censure of relevant IT providers
(1)
If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to suspect that a relevant IT provider is not complying with an information standard which applies to the provider, the Secretary of State may publish a statement to that effect.
(2)
The statement may include the text of a notice given to the provider under section 251ZB.
(3)
Before publishing a statement under this section, the Secretary of State must give the relevant IT provider—
(a)
a copy of the terms of the proposed statement, and
(b)
an opportunity to make representations about the decision to publish a statement and the terms of the statement.
(4)
If, after considering any representations, the Secretary of State decides to publish the statement, the Secretary of State must inform the relevant IT provider before publishing it.
(5)
This section does not authorise the processing of information if the processing would contravene the data protection legislation (but in determining whether it would do so, take into account the power conferred by this section).
(6)
In this section, “the data protection legislation” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act).
251ZDExercise of functions of Secretary of State by other persons
(1)
The Secretary of State may—
(a)
direct a public body to exercise some or all of the functions listed in subsection (3), and
(b)
give the public body directions about the exercise of those functions, including directions about the processing of information that the body obtains in exercising those functions.
(2)
The Secretary of State may make arrangements for a person prescribed by regulations under this subsection to exercise some or all of the functions listed in subsection (3).
(3)
Those functions are—
(a)
the Secretary of State’s functions under section 251ZA, so far as they relate to relevant IT providers, and
(b)
the Secretary of State’s functions under section 251ZB.
(4)
Arrangements under subsection (2) may—
(a)
provide for the Secretary of State to make payments to the person, and
(b)
make provision as to the circumstances in which such payments are to be repaid to the Secretary of State.
(5)
Section 304(9) applies in relation to the power to make arrangements under subsection (2) as it applies to a power of the Secretary of State to give directions under this Act.