The General Optical Council (Membership) Order of Council 1998

Statutory Instruments

1998 No. 3117

OPTICIANS

The General Optical Council (Membership) Order of Council 1998

Made

11th December 1998

Laid before Parliament

11th December 1998

Coming into force:

The whole Order except article 3

1st January 1999

Article 3

1st January 2002

At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 11th day of December 1998

By the Lords of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council

Having consulted the General Optical Council and bodies representing the optical professions, Their Lordships, in exercise of the powers conferred on Them by paragraph 13 of Schedule 1 to the Opticians Act 1989(1), and of all other powers enabling Them in that behalf, are pleased to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:–

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the General Optical Council (Membership) Order of Council 1998 and shall come into force on 1st January 1999, except for article 3 which shall come into force on 1st January 2002.

(2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Opticians Act 1989.

Alterations in the membership of the General Optical Council in 1999

2.—(1) The alterations in the membership of the Council reflected in the amendments of Schedule 1 to the Act set out in paragraph (2) shall have effect from 1st January 1999.

(2) Schedule 1 to the Act shall be amended as follows–

(a) in paragraph 1(a) for “six” there shall be substituted “nine”;

(b) in paragraph 1(d) for “six” there shall be substituted “five”;

(c) in paragraph 1(e) for “six” there shall be substituted “four”;

(d) in paragraph 4–

(i) in paragraph (a), for “three” there shall be substituted “two” and for “the British College of Optometrists” there shall be substituted “the College of Optometrists”, and

(ii) for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted–

“(c) one, who shall be a person engaged in the education or examination of persons training as ophthalmic opticians, shall be nominated jointly by–

(i) the Anglia Polytechnic University;

(ii) the University of Aston;

(iii) the University of Bradford;

(iv) the City University;

(v) the Glasgow Caledonian University;

(vi) the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology;

(vii) the University of Ulster; and

(viii) the University of Wales, Cardiff.”;

(e) for paragraph 5 there shall be substituted–

“5.   The four registered medical practitioners on the Council shall be ophthalmologists and shall be nominated by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and one of the four shall be a person appearing to the College to be a suitable person to represent ophthalmologists practising in Scotland.”;

(f) in paragraph 6(1)(c) for “the College of Ophthalmologists” there shall be substituted “the Royal College of Ophthalmologists”;

(g) at the beginning of paragraph 6(2) there shall be inserted “Subject to sub-paragraph (2A) below,”; and

(h) after paragraph 6(2) there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraph–

“(2A) The two persons nominated by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians who hold office from 1st January 1999 shall retire at the end of the period of three years commencing on that date.”.

Further alteration of membership of the General Optical Council

3.—(1) The further alterations in the membership of the Council reflected in the amendments of Schedule 1 to the Act set out in paragraph (2) shall have effect from 1st January 2002.

(2) Schedule 1 to the Act shall be further amended as follows–

(a) in paragraph 1(b) for “seven” there shall be substituted “six”;

(b) in paragraph 1(c) for “three” there shall be substituted “five”;

(c) for paragraph 1(d) there shall be substituted–

“(d) four persons nominated by the examining bodies mentioned in this Schedule;”;

(d) paragraph 4(b), and at the end of that paragraph “and”, shall be repealed; and

(e) at the end of paragraph 4(c) there shall be added–

“; and

(d) one, who shall be a person engaged in the education or examination of persons training as dispensing opticians, shall be nominated by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, after consulting–

(i) the Anglia Polytechnic University;

(ii) the Bradford and Ilkley Community College;

(iii) the City and Islington College (City Campus); and

(iv) the Glasgow Caledonian University.”.

A.K. Galloway

Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides that certain alterations shall be made in the membership of the General Optical Council and makes consequential amendments to Schedule 1 to the Opticians Act 1989. These alterations and amendments are made in two stages, one on 1st January 1999, and the other on 1st January 2002.

The amendments to Schedule 1 include amendments to reflect changes in the names of certain bodies and to allow a member of the Council to be nominated by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians after consulting training institutions engaged in the education or examination of persons training as dispensing opticians.

(1)

1989 c. 44.