Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

Education Act 1997 (c. 44)

17 After section 32 insert—

“32ZA Qualifications functions of Welsh Ministers: co-operation and joint working etc.

(1) The Welsh Ministers may co-operate or work jointly with a relevant authority where it is appropriate to do so in connection with the carrying out of any of their qualifications functions.

(2) The Welsh Ministers may provide information to a relevant authority for the purpose of enabling or facilitating the carrying out of a relevant function of the authority.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Welsh Ministers and any other relevant authority may establish a committee jointly, and any committee so established may establish sub-committees.

(4) The Welsh Ministers may only exercise the power in subsection (3) if they consider it appropriate to do so for the purpose of the carrying out of any of their qualifications functions.

(5) In this section a committee established under subsection (3) is referred to as a “joint committee” and a sub-committee established under that subsection is referred to as a “joint sub-committee”.

(6) A joint committee and a joint sub-committee must include at least one member of staff of the Welsh Assembly Government.

(7) A joint committee may regulate—

(a) its own procedure (including quorum), and

(b) the procedure (including quorum) of any sub-committee established by it.

(8) The validity of proceedings of a joint committee or a joint sub-committee is not affected by—

(a) a vacancy, or

(b) a defective appointment.

(9) The Welsh Ministers may delegate any of their qualifications functions to a joint committee to the extent and on the terms that they determine.

(10) A joint committee may delegate any of its functions to a sub-committee established by it to the extent and on the terms that the joint committee determines.

(11) The powers of a joint committee under subsection (10) are subject to the power of the Welsh Ministers and any other person with whom they established the joint committee to direct (acting jointly) what the committee may and may not do.

(12) Nothing in subsection (2)—

(a) affects any power to disclose information that exists apart from that subsection, or

(b) authorises the disclosure of information in contravention of any provision made by or under any Act which prevents disclosure of the information.

(13) In this section—

• “qualifications functions” means functions in connection with relevant qualifications;

• “relevant authority” means any person who carries out a function (whether or not in the United Kingdom) which is similar to any of the qualifications functions of the Welsh Ministers;

• “relevant function” means a function which is similar to any of the qualifications functions of the Welsh Ministers.”