Dentists Act 1984

Part I U.K. The Council

Constitution U.K.

1 (1) The Council shall consist of the President and twenty-nine other members, together with the members nominated under this Part of this Schedule by the authorities who are for the time being dental authorities.

(2) Of those twenty-nine members of the Council—

(a) eighteen shall be elected by registered dentists from among themselves;

(b) four shall be the persons who are for the time being the chief dental officers of each of the [F1 Department of Health], the Welsh Office and the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland and the chief dental officer to the Secretary of State for Scotland;

(c) six, who shall not be registered dentists and of whom three shall be chosen for England and one for each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, shall be nominated by Her Majesty on the advice of Her Privy Council; and

(d) one shall be elected in accordance with paragraph 12(9) below;

and of the remaining members, all of whom shall be registered dentists, the University of London (so long as it is a dental authority) shall nominate two, and every other authority which is for the time being a dental authority shall nominate one.

(3) In addition there shall be three persons nominated by the General Medical Council from among members of that Council who shall act and vote as members of the General Dental Council in connection with dental education and examinations, but who, except as otherwise expressly provided by this sub-paragraph or any other provision of this Act, shall not be treated as members of the General Dental Council for the purposes of this Act.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by S.I. 1988/1843, art. 5(4), Sch. 3 para. 3

Election and nomination of members U.K.

2 (1) The period for which those elected as members of the Council shall hold office shall end with 30th September 1986, and at the end of that day, and at the end of each succeeding period of five years, all the persons who are then elected members of the Council shall retire together, and elections shall be held accordingly before the end of each of the said periods.

(2) An election shall be held to fill a casual vacancy among the elected members, if and only if, the vacancy occurs more than twelve months before the beginning of the following five-year period.

(3) Of the elected members—

(a) fourteen shall be elected by the dentists whose addresses in the register are in England, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands;

(b) one shall be elected by the dentists whose addresses in the register are in Wales;

(c) two shall be elected by the dentists whose addresses in the register are in Scotland; and

(d) one shall be elected by the dentists whose addresses in the register are in [F2 Northern Ireland].

(4) Elections under this paragraph shall be conducted in accordance with rules made by the Council which shall include provision—

(a) for nominations being made by registered dentists;

(b) for the use of voting papers and for voting by post.

Textual Amendments

F2 Word substituted by S.I. 1987/2047, art. 2(b)

F3 Registered dentist and dental auxiliary members U.K.

Textual Amendments

F3 Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-4 and cross-headings substituted (coming into force in accordance with art. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) for Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-5 and cross-headings by S.I. 2001/3926, art. 4

3 (1) The period for which those nominated as members of the Council shall hold office shall end with 30th September 1989, and at the end of that day, and at the end of each succeeding period of five years, all the persons who are then nominated members of the Council shall retire together; and nominations shall be made accordingly before the end of each of the said periods.

(2) A nomination shall be made to fill a casual vacancy among the nominated members whenever it occurs.

(3) In this paragraph references to nominated members include members nominated by the General Medical Council for the limited purposes set out in paragraph 1(3) above.

(4) Where in the course of one of the periods referred to in sub-paragraph (1) above an authority becomes for the first time a dental authority, the right of that authority to nominate a member of the Council shall be postponed until the end of that period.

F4 Council President U.K.

Textual Amendments

F4 Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-4 and cross-headings substituted (coming into force in accordance with art. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) for Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-5 and cross-headings by S.I. 2001/3926, art. 4

4 (1) The Council shall elect a registered dentist as President from among the persons who are for the time being members of the Council.

(2) If the President when he takes office is an elected or nominated member of the Council he shall thereupon cease to be such a member, and the Council shall accordingly take the appropriate steps to fill the vacancy so created.

(3) The period for which the President shall hold office shall be the period for which a nominated member of the Council taking office at the same time as the President would hold office.

F5 5 A person shall not be disqualified for being elected or nominated as a member of the Council or for being elected as President of the Council by reason of having already served as a member or, as the case may be, as President.

Textual Amendments

F5 Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-4 and cross-headings substituted (coming into force in accordance with art. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) for Sch. 1 Pt. I paras. 1-5 and cross-headings by S.I. 2001/3926, art. 4

General powers of Council U.K.

6 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Schedule, the Council shall have power to do any thing which in their opinion is calculated to facilitate the proper discharge of their functions.

(2) The Council shall, in particular, have power to pay to their members (including those nominated by the General Medical Council) such fees and such travelling, subsistence or other allowances as they may determine.

(3) The powers of the Council and of any of the Council’s committees may be exercised notwithstanding any vacancy.

(4) No proceedings of the Council or of any of the Council’s committees shall be invalidated by any defect in the appointment of a member, and no proceedings of the Council shall be invalid by reason of any member nominated by the General Medical Council having acted or voted in a manner not permitted by paragraph 1(3) above.

7 (1) The Council may, after paying their expenses, including the payments authorised under this Schedule to be made to their members and the salaries or remuneration of their officers, allocate any money received by them (whether by way of fees or otherwise) to purposes connected with dental education and research or any other public purposes connected with the profession of dentistry in such manner as they may think fit.

(2) The Council shall keep accounts of all sums received or paid by them under this Act, and the accounts shall be audited in the manner prescribed by regulations made by the Privy Council and shall be published annually and laid before Parliament.

8 (1) The Council may make rules—

(a) for regulating the proceedings (including quorum) of the Council,

(b) for delegating, subject to the provisions of this Act, to committees, including the committees referred to in Part II of this Schedule, functions of the Council, and

(c) subject as aforesaid, for appointing the members and regulating the proceedings (including quorum) of any committees, including the committees referred to in Part II of this Schedule and any sub-committees.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (1) above, rules may be made under that sub-paragraph with respect to the appointment of members to, and the proceedings (including quorum) of, the Health Committee referred to in section 2(4) of this Act.

(3) The power conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above shall also include power to make rules as to the procedure to be followed and rules of evidence to be observed in proceedings before the Professional Conduct Committee (other than proceedings under section 27 of this Act); but rules under this sub-paragraph shall not come into force until approved by order of the Privy Council contained in a statutory instrument, and before making any such rules the Council shall consult such bodies of persons representing dentists as appear to the Council requisite to be consulted.

(4) Nothing in this paragraph shall authorise the Council to delegate any power of making rules or regulations under any other provision of this Act.