EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations are made as part of a suite of regulations connected with the establishment of corporate joint committees in Wales by regulations under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
There are 9 Parts to these Regulations.
Part 1 makes general provision about commencement and interpretation.
Part 2 applies Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”) to corporate joint committees by amending section 49 of that Act to make a corporate joint committee a “relevant authority” for the purposes of Part 3 of that Act. Any member of a corporate joint committee and any person appointed to a sub-committee of the corporate joint committee and entitled to vote on matters to be decided by that sub-committee (referred to as a “co-opted member” in the 2000 Act) is required to comply with the code of conduct adopted by the corporate joint committee.
Allegations of non-compliance with a code of conduct are investigated by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales and decided by the Adjudication Panel for Wales who may suspend or disqualify a member or co-opted member in the event of a finding of non-compliance. Additionally, a council or National Park authority member of a corporate joint committee who is suspended from their authority is automatically suspended from the corporate joint committee as a result.
Part 2 also applies sections 92 (payments in cases of maladministration etc.) and 101 (indemnification of members and officers) of the 2000 Act to corporate joint committees, as a result of making a corporate joint committee a “relevant authority” in Part 3 of the 2000 Act.
Part 2 also applies section 92 of the Local Government Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”), which makes provision about legal proceedings against a person who has allegedly acted as a member of a local authority while disqualified.
Part 3 confers a power on the constituent councils and constituent National Park authorities of the four existing corporate joint committees to appoint a substitute member to a corporate joint committee in the event that the council or National Park authority member is themselves unable to act. This power applies both where the usual member is unable to act or is suspended or partially suspended from the corporate joint committee and where the usual member is partially suspended from the council or National Park authority, as the case may be. The law will apply to substitute members in the same way it would have applied to the members for whom they are standing in.
Part 4 makes provision about the commercial activities of a corporate joint committee and the ability of a corporate joint committee to enter into contracts (including by amending the Local Authorities (Contracts) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/2862) which are made under the Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997 (c. 65); that Act applies to corporate joint committees by virtue of those bodies being authorities to which Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 2003 applies – see paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Corporate Joint Committees (General) (Wales) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/327 (W. 85))).
Part 5 makes provision about other financial matters. These include a requirement for the four existing corporate joint committees to maintain a general fund, and functions in respect of specific types of contract and insurance conferred on corporate joint committees generally.
Part 6 makes provision about the status of corporate joint committees as well as members and members of staff of corporate joint committees in relation to legal proceedings. These include applying section 222 of the 1972 Act (rights to bring and defend legal proceedings) to corporate joint committees and applying protections from personal liability for members and members of staff of corporate joint committees equivalent to those conferred on such individuals within local authorities by section 39 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
Part 7 makes provision about records and service of notices and documents to and by a corporate joint committee.
Part 8 applies in relation to the staff of corporate joint committees, general provision applying in relation to staff of local authorities as set out in the 1972 Act and the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. This includes requirements to appoint staff on merit and rights of staff to certain leave and allowances.
Part 9 makes miscellaneous and consequential provision which largely extends existing provision in respect of local authorities to corporate joint committees: in particular, provision disqualifying holders of certain paid positions for being appointed as members of corporate joint committees and also provision applying Part 2 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 (rights to family absence) to members of corporate joint committees.
These Regulations are connected with the regulations which established certain corporate joint committees under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and which came into force on 1 April 2021 and 30 June 2021. A regulatory impact assessment was prepared at the time of making those establishment regulations and a copy can be obtained from the Local Government Strategic Finance Division, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.