The Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust (Establishment) (Amendment) Order 2026

Published: Fri 11th Sept 26 Came into force: Thu 1st Oct 26

Department: Department of Health and Social Care
Made under: National Health Service Act 2006
Applies to: England, Wales

Increased the required number of non-executive directors for the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust from six to seven.

This Order modifies the governance structure of the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust by increasing the number of non-executive directors.

It directs the trust to maintain a board consisting of a chairman, seven non-executive directors, and five executive directors.

The Order applies specifically to the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust and its internal administrative composition.

Arguments For

The order states that the Secretary of State has completed the required consultation with the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust prior to making these changes.
The Explanatory Note indicates the amendment is necessary to increase the number of non-executive directors serving on the trust's board from six to seven.
The department reports that no full impact assessment was produced because the instrument has no effect on the private sector or civil society and no significant effect on the public sector.

Arguments Against

Legal scholars might note that the legal basis for the order relies on Section 25 of the National Health Service Act 2006, a provision that was previously slated for repeal before that repeal was itself repealed by the Health and Care Act 2022.
The document does not provide a specific policy justification for why the board requires an additional non-executive director at this time, which may lead to questions regarding the necessity of the expansion.

Citation, commencement, interpretation and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust (Establishment) (Amendment) Order 2026 and comes into force on 1st October 2026.
(2) In this Order, "the Establishment Order" means the Northampton General Hospital National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1993.
(3) This Order extends to England and Wales.

This section establishes the official name of the order and sets the date it becomes legally active as 1 October 2026.

It identifies the 1993 order that this document amends.

The legal reach of the order is limited to the jurisdictions of England and Wales.

Amendment of requirements relating to directors

2 For article 4 of the Establishment Order (directors of the trust) substitute—
"4. The trust must have, in addition to the chairman, 7 non-executive directors and 5 executive directors.".

This section replaces the existing rule regarding the composition of the trust's board of directors.

It mandates that the trust must employ seven non-executive directors and five executive directors, alongside the chairman.

Non-executive directors are board members who are not part of the daily executive management team, while executive directors hold specific operational responsibilities within the hospital trust.

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