".—(1) The Secretary of State shall by regulations provide for the establishment of bodies to be known as Patients' Councils (referred to in this section as "Councils") the members of which are to be appointed in each case b v two or more Patients' Forums.
(2) The regulations shall provide for determining—
- (a) the Patients' loruins by which the members of a Council are to be app Hinted, and
- (b) the area in relation to which the functions of a Council are exercisable.
(3) The functions of a Council are—
- (a) to facilitate he co-ordination by member Forums of their activities;
- (b) to make reports to health authorities, local authorities and their committees and to the Secretary of State in accordance with the regulations;
- (c) to carry out such arrangements as may be made with the Council under section I9A of the 1977 Act (independent advocacy services);
- (d) such other functions as the regulations may prescribe.
(4) The "member Forums" of a Council are the Patients' Forums by which its members are for the time being appointed.'.
Clause
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
