Regulations updating the Down Syndrome Act 2022 were made on 11 December 2025 and took effect on 12 December, the day after being made. The Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1312) apply to NHS functions exercisable in England and extend to England and Wales, as recorded on legislation.gov.uk and the Parliament statutory instrument register.
Regulation 2 replaces, within the Act’s Schedule, the references to “the National Health Service Commissioning Board” and “a clinical commissioning group” with “NHS England” and “an integrated care board”. The current published Schedule on legislation.gov.uk still shows the pre‑amendment wording, illustrating the specific terms being updated.
These textual changes reflect structural reforms enacted by the Health and Care Act 2022. Clause 1 renamed the NHS Commissioning Board as NHS England, and government factsheets confirm the creation of integrated care boards as statutory commissioners replacing clinical commissioning groups across England.
The Down Syndrome Act requires relevant authorities to have due regard to statutory guidance when exercising relevant functions. By updating the NHS bodies named in the Schedule, the duty now clearly applies to NHS England and each integrated care board in respect of their functions in or in relation to England.
Ministers told the House of Lords Grand Committee that this is a technical alignment and does not create new functions; authorities not listed in the Schedule are not under a statutory duty. The aim is to ensure the guidance applies to the NHS bodies that currently exist.
Timing is aligned with the Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation on the draft statutory guidance, opened on 5 November 2025. Commons committee scrutiny noted the regulations have limited practical effect until the guidance is finalised.
The instrument extends to England and Wales but applies only in relation to NHS functions exercisable in England; local government and education provisions in the Act are unaffected by this specific amendment. The primary Act itself extends to England and Wales.
Policy Wire analysis: For health system governance, explicit reference to NHS England and integrated care boards reduces ambiguity around accountability ahead of final guidance. It also aligns with NHS England’s expectation that every ICB has a board‑level Down syndrome lead, allowing corporate teams to reference the statutory ‘due regard’ duty more directly in commissioning documentation.