Road Traffic Act 1960

121 Appointment and terms of service of traffic commissioners outside Metropolitan Traffic Area

(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect as respects the appointment and terms of service of the traffic commissioners for each traffic area other than the Metropolitan Traffic Area.

(2) The commissioners shall De appointed by the Minister.

(3) Where the Minister proposes to appoint a person to be one of the commissioners he shall, before making the appointment, require the person whom he proposes to appoint to declare if he has any, and if so what, financial interest in any transport undertaking which carries passengers.

(4) Of the three commissioners—

(a) one shall be such person as the Minister thinks fit to appoint to be chairman of the commissioners,

(b) one shall be appointed by the Minister from a panel of persons nominated by the councils of the counties whose area, or any part of whose area, is situated in the traffic area, and

(c) the third shall be appointed by the Minister from a panel of persons nominated by the councils of the boroughs and urban districts whose area, or any part of whose area, is situated in the traffic area.

In the application of this subsection to Scotland for the reference to boroughs there shall be substituted references to large burghs as defined in the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929.

(5) For the purpose of constituting the panels mentioned in the last foregoing subsection, each of the councils concerned shall nominate one person annually as a member of the panel, and a person so nominated shall continue to be a member of the panel for one year from the date of his nomination but shall be eligible for re-nomination from time to time, and provision may be made by regulations as to the dates on which nominations to panels are to be made and as to the filling of casual vacancies.

(6) The chairman of the commissioners shall hold office during Her Majesty's pleasure, and shall be required to devote the whole of his time to the duties of his office.

(7) The chairman of the commissioners shall vacate his office on attaining the age of seventy years.

(8) A commissioner, other than the chairman, shall hold office for such term not exceeding three years as the Minister may determine at the time of his appointment and shall, if at the date on which his term of office expires his name is still included in the panel from which he was appointed, be eligible for reappointment.

(9) The Minister may remove a commissioner from his office for inability or misbehaviour.

(10) If a commissioner acquires a financial interest in a transport undertaking which carries passengers he shall, within four weeks after so doing, give notice thereof in writing to the Minister specifying the interest so acquired and the Minister, after taking the matter into consideration, may if he thinks fit declare that the commissioner has vacated his office.