The Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-being (Membership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the Regional Agency for Public Health and Social Well-being (Membership) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2009.

(2) In these regulations—

“the Act” means the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009;

“bankruptcy restrictions order” means an order made under Schedule 2A of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(1);

“charity trustee” means one of the persons having the general control and management of the administration of a charity;

“health service body” means—

(a)

any of the following within the meaning of the National Health Service Act 2006(2)—

(i)

a Strategic Health Authority;

(ii)

a Primary Care Trust;

(iii)

an NHS trust;

(iv)

a Special Health Authority;

(v)

a Local Health Board;

(b)

any of the following within the meaning of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(3)—

(i)

a Health Board;

(ii)

a Special Health Board;

(iii)

the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service;

(iv)

the Scottish Dental Practice Board;

(c)

the Wales Centre for Health established under section 2 of the Health (Wales) Act 2003(4);

(d)

the Health Protection Agency established under section 1 of the Health Protection Agency Act 2004(5); and

(e)

the Care Quality Commission established under section 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008(6);

“trustee for a charity” is a person not being a charity trustee, in whom legal title to the property of the charity is vested.

Membership

2.—(1) The prescribed number of persons appointed by the Department for the purposes of paragraph 3(1)(b) of Schedule 2 to the Act shall be 5.

(2) The prescribed officers for the purposes of paragraph 3(1)(d) of Schedule 2 to the Act shall be—

(a) the Director of Public Health; and

(b) the Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professions.

(3) The prescribed number of officers for the purposes of paragraph 3(1)(e) of Schedule 2 to the Act shall be 1.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph 3(1)(f) of Schedule 2 to the Act the prescribed number of members of district councils appointed by the Department shall be 2 and the appointments shall be made in accordance with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies(7).

Joint membership

3.  Where more than one person is appointed jointly to a post in the Agency which qualifies the holder for membership in accordance with paragraph 3(1)(d) of Schedule 2 to the Act or in relation to which an officer is to be appointed in accordance with paragraph 3(1)(e) of Schedule 2 to the Act those persons shall become or be appointed as a member jointly, and shall count for the purposes of regulation 2 as one person.

Disqualification for appointment

4.—(1) Subject to regulation 5, a person shall be disqualified for appointment under regulation 2(1) and 2(4) if that person—

(a) has within five years of the day the appointment would otherwise have taken effect been convicted, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, of any offence and has been given a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three months without the option of a fine;

(b) has been dismissed, other than by reason of redundancy, from any paid employment with the Department, a health and social care body or a health service body;

(c) is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order;

(d) is subject to a disqualification under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002(8), the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986(9) or to an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986(10) (failure to pay under county court administration order);

(e) has been

(i) removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity in Northern Ireland or by an order made by the Charity Commissioners or the High Court in England and Wales on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which that person was responsible or to which that person was privy, or which that person by his conduct contributed to or facilitated; or,

(ii) removed under section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990(11) (powers of the Court of Session to deal with management of charities), from being concerned in the management or control of any body;

(f) is a Chair, chairman, member or non-executive director of a health and social care body or a health service body;

(g) holds any paid employment or office with the Department, a health and social care body or a health service body;

(h) is a person who has been removed from office as the Chair, chairman, member or non-executive director of a health and social care body or a health service body.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph 1(a)—

(a) the date of conviction shall be deemed to be the date on which the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the conviction expires or, if such an appeal or application is made, the date on which the appeal or application is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails by reason of its not being prosecuted; and

(b) there shall be disregarded—

(i) any conviction by or before a court outside the United Kingdom for an offence in respect of conduct which, if it had taken place in any part of the United Kingdom, would not have constituted an offence under the law in force in that part of the United Kingdom;

(ii) any sentence of imprisonment passed by such a court on a person who at the time the sentence was passed was under 21 years of age.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph 1(b)—

(a) a person shall not be treated as having been in paid employment by reason only of his being a Chair, chairman, member or non-executive director of a health and social care body or a health service body; and

(b) “dismissed” excludes dismissal which was established to have been unfair in industrial tribunal proceedings.

Cessation of disqualification

5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a person is disqualified under regulation 4(1)(b) (dismissed employees) that person may, after the expiry of a period of not less than two years, apply in writing to the Department to remove the disqualification and the Department may direct that the disqualification shall cease.

(2) Where the Department refuses an application to remove a disqualification no further application may be made by that person until the expiration of two years from the date of the application.

(3) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 4(1)(h) (certain Chairs, chairmen, members and non-executive directors whose appointments have been terminated), the disqualification shall cease on the expiry of a period of two years or such longer period as the Department specifies when terminating his period of office but the Department may on application being made to it by that person reduce the period of disqualification.

Annual report

6.  The Agency shall, in respect of each financial year, prepare and send to the Department a report on the exercise of its functions which shall—

(a) specify the financial year to which it relates;

(b) describe the organisational structure of the Agency and the matters for which the Agency is responsible;

(c) review the Agency’s activities during that year, including details of—

(i) the priorities and objectives which have been set;

(ii) the achievements of the Agency, measured by reference to the priorities and objectives which have been set; and

(iii) the co-operation with other bodies to secure improvement in the health and social well-being of people in Northern Ireland;

(d) specify any material events affecting performance; and

(e) include the names of any persons who at any time during the relevant financial year have been a member of the Agency.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 11th March 2009

Dr J F Livingstone

A senior officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety