10.—(1) (a) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, if a member has a relevant interest in any matter and is present at any meeting of the Council at which the matter is the subject of consideration or discussion, he or she shall at the meeting and as soon as practicable after its commencement, disclose his or her interest and shall not take part in the consideration of the matter or vote on any question with respect to it.
(b)In this regulation “relevant interest in any matter” means an interest in a matter that would lead a fair-minded observer to conclude that there was a real possibility that the member would be biased in his or her discussion or consideration of the matter.
(2) (a) The National Assembly may, to such extent as it sees fit and subject to such conditions as it sees fit, remove any disability imposed by or under this regulation in any case in which it appears to it in the interests of the Council that the disability should be removed.
(b)A removal must be done in writing and may relate to general or particular circumstances.
(3) This regulation applies to a committee or sub-committee of the Council as it applies to the Council itself and applies to a member of any such committee or sub-committee (whether or not he or she is also a member of the Council) as it applies to a member of the Council.
(4) Subject to such directions as may be given by the National Assembly, the Standing Orders that the Council may make under regulation 9(2) and (3) (meetings and proceedings) may provide for the exclusion of a member from a meeting of the Council or a committee or sub-committee of the Council while any matter in which he or she has a relevant interest is under consideration.
(5) Any remuneration, compensation or allowances payable, by virtue of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act (remuneration and allowances), to a member, or to a member of a committee or sub-committee who is not a member of the Council, shall not be treated as a relevant interest for the purposes of this regulation.