7. The Agency may pay, or make such payments towards the provision of, such remuneration, allowances (including allowances for expenses), pensions or gratuities to or in respect of the chairman and other members of the Agency, or any of them, as the Department, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, may determine.
8. In Part II of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975(1) the following entry shall continue to be inserted at the appropriate place in alphabetical order—
“The Labour Relations Agency.”.
9.—(1) The Agency may appoint a panel of persons, who are not members of the Agency, from whom it may from time to time select persons to assist it in the discharge of its functions.
(2) The number of persons which the Agency may appoint under this paragraph shall be determined by the Agency with the approval of the Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel.
(3) The Agency may pay to persons appointed under this paragraph such fees and such allowances for expenses as the Agency, with the approval of the Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel, may determine.
10. The fixing of the common seal of the Agency shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Agency or some other member thereof authorised either generally or specially by the Agency to act for that purpose.
11. Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed by an individual, would not require to be under seal may be entered into or executed on behalf of the Agency by any person generally or specially authorised by the Agency to act for that purpose and any document purporting to be such a contract or instrument shall be deemed to be such a contract or instrument until the contrary is proved.
12. The number of persons employed by the Agency and the terms and conditions of employment of such persons shall be determined by the Agency, with the approval of the Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel.
13. The Agency may, in the case of such persons employed by it as may be determined by the Agency with the approval of the Department and the Department of Finance and Personnel, pay to or in respect of them such pensions or gratuities, or provide and maintain for them such pension schemes (whether contributory or not) or contributory or other pension arrangements as may be so determined.
14. For the purpose of enabling the Agency to carry out its functions, the Department shall pay to the Agency such sums as the Department may, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, determine.
15.—(1) The Agency shall keep proper accounts, in such form as may be approved by the Department, and proper records in relation to the accounts.
(2) The Agency shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of accounts, in particular showing separately any sums disbursed to or on behalf of the Certification Officer in consequence of this Order, in such form as the Department, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, may direct.
(3) The accounts of the Agency shall be audited by auditors appointed by the Agency with the approval of the Department and shall be vouched to the satisfaction of such auditors.
(4) The Agency shall, at such time in each year as the Department may direct, transmit copies of the annual statement of accounts, certified by the auditors, to the Department and to the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland.
(5) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine a copy of each annual statement of accounts and shall make a report thereon and shall send copies of that report to the Department and may in connection with such examination examine any accounts kept by the Agency and any records relating thereto.
16.—(1) The Agency shall, as soon as possible within a period of three months after the end of each financial year, make to the Head of the Department a report, in such form and containing such information as the Department may direct, on the performance of its functions during that financial year.
(2) The Head of the Department shall lay before the Assembly a copy of each report made to him under this paragraph together with a copy of each annual statement of accounts transmitted to the Department under paragraph 15(4) and of the report made by the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon under paragraph 15(5).