Fair Employment (Specification of Public Authorities) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order further amends the Fair Employment (Specification of Public Authorities) Order (Northern Ireland) 1989 (“the 1989 Order”) which specifies a number of persons or bodies as public authorities for certain purposes under Part II of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 (“the Act of 1989”) and provides for the persons who are to be treated for such purposes as the employees of some of those authorities.

Part I of the Schedule to the 1989 Order lists the bodies who are public authorities for the purposes of sections 27 to 42 of the Act of 1989. Article 3 of this Order substitutes a new list of such bodies. The principal changes are:—

(a) the reference to the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration is replaced by a reference to the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland following a change of title under the Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

(b) the Altnagelvin Hospitals Health and Social Services Trust, Armagh and Dungannon Health and Social Services Trust, Foyle Health and Social Services Trust, Homefirst Community Health and Social Services Trust, Sperrin Lakeland Health and Social Services Trust and United Hospitals Health and Social Services Trust, which were established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, are added to the list; and

(c) the Pigs Marketing Board (Northern Ireland) has been voluntarily wound up and is deleted from the list.

Part II of the Schedule to the 1989 Order lists the bodies who are public authorities for the purposes of sections 38-42 of the Act of 1989. Article 3 of this Order substitutes a new list of such bodies. The only change of substance lies in the inclusion of the Director-General of Gas for Northern Ireland appointed under the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.