The General and Specialist Medical Practice (Education, Training and Qualifications) Order 2003

Powers of the Board

10.—(1) Subject to any provision made by or under this Order, the Board may do anything which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of, or in connection with, the performance of its functions.

(2) The Board shall, in particular, have power—

(a) to borrow;

(b) to appoint such staff as it may determine;

(c) to pay its staff such salaries, allowances and expenses as it may determine;

(d) to arrange for the discharge of any of its functions, other than a power to make rules, by its staff or members of the Board;

(e) to make such provision for the payment of such pensions, allowances or gratuities, or of such contributions or payments towards provision for such pensions, allowances or gratuities, to or in respect of its staff as it may determine;

(f) to make such provision in respect of its members and members of its committees and sub-committees as it may determine—

(i) for the payment of allowances or remuneration, including the payment of allowances to employers of such members for the purposes of enabling the members to perform functions under this Order,

(ii) for the reimbursement of such expenses as the members may reasonably have incurred in the course of carrying out their functions under this Order;

(g) to establish such committees, and sub-committees of its committees, as it considers appropriate in connection with the discharge of its functions and to delegate any of its functions to them other than any power to make rules;

(h) to appoint persons who are not members of the Board to any committee or sub-committee it establishes;

(i) subject to any provision made by or under this Order, to regulate the procedure of any of its committees or their sub-committees; and

(j) to abolish any of its committees (except a statutory committee), or any sub-committee of its committees.

(3) The Board shall ensure that persons appointed to any committee or sub-committee who are not Board members shall have such qualifications, interests or experience as, in the opinion of the Board, are relevant to the field with which the committee or sub-committee is mainly concerned.

(4) If it appears to the Board that any committee or sub-committee is failing to perform its functions adequately, the Board may give a direction as to the proper performance of those functions.

(5) The powers of the Board may be exercised even though there is a vacancy among its members.

(6) No proceedings of the Board shall be invalidated by any defect in the appointment of a member.

(7) No person who is a member of the Board or any of its committees or sub-committees who is also a registered medical practitioner may take part in any proceedings of the Board in any period during which he is the subject of any investigation, proceedings or a determination concerning his fitness to practise his profession.