ABSTRACT
Introduction: background to the Health A ct 1999 The 'flexibilities' contained in section 31 of the Health Act 1999 remove some of the formal barriers that have long been alleged to impede closer collaboration between the NHS and local authority services. They also provide the essential legal mechanism for constructing the constitutional framework of care trusts. The experiences of the first sites to use these new flexibilities therefore offer valu able insights into the problems and benefits that are also likely to characterise care trusts.
