The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Other grounds for termination by the Board N.I.

105.—(1) The Board may serve notice in writing on the contractor terminating the contract forthwith, or from such date as may be specified in the notice if –

(a) in the case of a contract with a medical practitioner, that medical practitioner;

(b) in the case of a contract with two or more individuals practising in partnership, any individual or the partnership; and

(c) in the case of a contract with a company limited by shares –

(i) the company,

(ii) any person legally and beneficially owning a share in the company, or

(iii) any director or secretary of the company,

falls within sub-paragraph (2) during the existence of the contract.

(2) A person falls within this sub-paragraph if –

(a) it does not satisfy the conditions prescribed in Article 57B(2)(b) or (3)(b) of the Order;

(b) he is the subject of a general or national disqualification;

(c) subject to sub-paragraph (3), he is disqualified or suspended (other than by an interim suspension order or direction pending an investigation or a suspension on the grounds of ill-health) from practising by any licensing body anywhere in the world;

(d) subject to sub-paragraph (4), he has been dismissed (otherwise than by reason of redundancy) from any employment by a health services body unless before the Board has served a notice terminating the contract pursuant to this paragraph, he is employed by the health services body that dismissed him or by another health and social services body;

(e) he is disqualified from a primary medical services performers list unless his name has subsequently been included in such a list;

(f) he has been convicted in the United Kingdom of murder;

(g) he has been convicted in the United Kingdom of a criminal offence other than murder and has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of over six months;

(h) subject to sub-paragraph (5), he has been convicted elsewhere of an offence which would if committed in Northern Ireland –

(i) constitute murder; or

(ii) constitute a criminal offence other than murder, and been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of over six months;

(i) he has been convicted of an offence referred to in Schedule 1 to the Children and Young Persons (Northern Ireland) Act 1968(1), Schedule 1 to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933(2) or Schedule 1 to the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995(3);

(j) he has –

(i) been adjudged bankrupt or had sequestration of his estate awarded unless (in either case) he has been discharged or the bankruptcy order has been annulled,

(ii) been made the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Schedule 4A to the Insolvency Act 1986(4), unless that order has ceased to have effect or has been annulled,

(iii) made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors unless he has been discharged in respect of it,

(iv) been wound up under Part V of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(5);

(k) there is –

(i) an administrator, administrative receiver or receiver appointed in respect of him, or

(ii) an administration order made in respect of him under Part III of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;

(l) that person is a partnership and –

(i) a dissolution of the partnership is ordered by any competent court, tribunal or arbitrator, or

(ii) an event happens that makes it unlawful for the business of the partnership to continue, or for members of the partnership to carry on in partnership;

(m) he has been –

(i) removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commissioners or the High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which he was responsible or to which he was privy, or which he by his conduct contributed to or facilitated, or

(ii) removed under section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990(6) (powers of the Court of Session to deal with management of charities), from being concerned in the management or control of any body;

(n) he is subject to a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002(7), the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986(8) or to an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986(9) (failure to pay under county court administration order);

(o) he has refused to comply with a request by the Board for him to be medically examined on the grounds that it is concerned that he is incapable of adequately providing services under the contract and, in a case where the contract is with two or more individuals practising in partnership or with a company, the Board is not satisfied that the contractor is taking adequate steps to deal with the matter.

(3) A Board shall not terminate the contract pursuant to sub-paragraph (2)(c) where the Board is satisfied that the disqualification or suspension imposed by a licensing body outside the United Kingdom does not make the person unsuitable to be –

(a) a contractor;

(b) a partner, in the case of a contract with two or more individuals practising in partnership; or

(c) in the case of a contract with a company limited by shares –

(i) a person legally and beneficially holding a share in the company, or

(ii) a director or secretary of the company,

as the case may be.

(4) A Board shall not terminate the contract pursuant to sub-paragraph (2)(d) –

(a) until a period of at least three months has elapsed since the date of the dismissal of the person concerned; or

(b) if, during the period of time specified in head (a), the person concerned brings proceedings in any competent tribunal or court in respect of his dismissal, until proceedings before that tribunal or court are concluded,

and the Board may only terminate the contract at the end of the period specified in head (b) if there is no finding of unfair dismissal at the end of those proceedings.

(5) A Board shall not terminate the contract pursuant to sub-paragraph (2)(h) where the Board is satisfied that the conviction does not make the person unsuitable to be –

(a) a contractor;

(b) a partner, in the case of a contract with two or more individuals practising in partnership; or

(c) in the case of a contract with a company limited by shares –

(i) a person legally and beneficially holding a share in the company, or

(ii) a director or secretary of the company,

as the case may be.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 5 para. 105 in operation at 29.3.2004, see reg. 1

(1)

c. 34 (N.I)

(2)

1933 c 12 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (1988 c. 33), section 170, Schedule 15, paragraph 8 and Schedule 16, paragraph 16; Sexual Offences Act 1956 (1956 c. 69), sections 48 and 51 and Schedule 3 and as modified by the Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 170(1), Schedule 15, paragraph 9

(3)

1995 c. 46

(4)

1986 c. 45. Schedule 4A was inserted by section 257 of and Schedule 2 to the Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40)

(5)

S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I. 19)

(6)

1990 c. 40

(7)

S.I. 2002/3150 (N.I. 4)

(8)

1986 c. 46 as amended by the Insolvency Act 2000 (2000 c. 39)

(9)

1986 c. 45