s 1
(1) The Minister of Health may make the conduct of nursing homes within the of the Public Health Act 1936 and Part XI (London) Act 1936, and such regulations may (a) make provision as to the facilities provided in such homes ; (b) empower the local authority responsible for the registration of any such home under the said enactments to limit the number of persons, or persons of any description, who may be received into the home, and enable registration of any such home to be made subject to the condition that persons shall not be received therein in excess of the number fixed for the home in accordance with the regulations ; (c) provide that a contravention of, or failure to comply with, any specified provision of the regulations shall be an offence against the regulations ; and (d) empower local authorities responsible for the registration of any such homes to institute proceedings against any person for such an offence. (2) Any person guilty of an offence against regulations under this section shall be liable on summary conviction, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding five pounds, and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds; and without prejudice to the foregoing provision, the power to cancel the registration of a person in respect of a nursing home under section 188 of the Public Health Act 1936 and under section 242 of the Public Health (London) Act 1936 shall inckude power to cancel the registration of any person on the ground that he has been convicted of such an offence. (3) Where an offence against regulations under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (4) The power to make regulations under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and any statutory instrument made by virtue of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament. (5) Nothing in this section shall affect mental nursing homes within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1959, or nursing homes exempted under section 193 of the Public Health Act 1936 or section 247 of the Public Health (London) Act 1936 (Christian Science nursing homes).