The General Optical Council (Constitution) Order 2009

Disqualification from appointment as a member

5.  A person is disqualified from appointment as a member of the Council if that person—

(a) has at any time been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or deception in the United Kingdom and the conviction is not a spent conviction;

(b) has at any time been convicted of an offence in the United Kingdom, and—

(i) the final outcome of the proceedings was a sentence of imprisonment or detention, and

(ii) the conviction is not a spent conviction;

(c) has at any time been removed—

(i) from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commissioners, the Charity Commission, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or the High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity—

(aa) for which the person was responsible or to which the person was privy, or

(bb) which the person by their conduct contributed to or facilitated, or

(ii) under—

(aa) section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990(1) (powers of Court of Session to deal with management of charities), or

(bb) section 34(5)(e) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005(2) (powers of the Court of Session),

from being concerned with the management or control of any body;

(d) has at any time been removed from office as the chair, or as a member, convenor or director, of any public body on the grounds, in terms, that it was not in the interests of, or conducive to the good management of, that body that the person should continue to hold that office;

(e) at any time has been adjudged bankrupt or sequestration of the person’s estate has been awarded, and—

(i) the person has not been discharged, or

(ii) the person is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Schedule 4A to the Insolvency Act 1986(3) or Schedule 2A to the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(4) (which relate to bankruptcy restrictions orders and undertakings);

(f) has at any time made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, the person’s creditors and the person has not been discharged in respect of it;

(g) is subject to—

(i) a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986(5),

(ii) a disqualification order under Part 2 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(6) (company directors disqualification),

(iii) a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002(7), or

(iv) an order made under section 429(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986(8) (disabilities on revocation of a county court administration order);

(h) has been included by—

(i) the Independent Barring Board in a barred list (within the meaning of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 or the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007(9)), or

(ii) the Scottish Ministers in the children’s list or the adults’ list (within the meaning of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007(10));

(i) has at any time been subject to any investigation or proceedings concerning the person’s fitness to practise by any licensing body, the final outcome of which was—

(i) the person’s suspension from a register held by the licensing body, and that suspension has not been terminated,

(ii) the removal of the person’s name from a register held by the licensing body or a decision that had the effect of preventing the person from practising the profession licensed or regulated by the licensing body,

(iii) a decision that had the effect of only allowing the person to practise that profession subject to conditions, and those conditions have not been lifted, or

(iv) the making of a financial penalty order against the person, and less than two years have elapsed since the period within which the sum specified in that order needed to be paid expired;

(j) has at any time been subject to any investigation or proceedings concerning the person’s fitness to practise by the Council, in the course of which or where the final outcome was that—

(i) the person’s registration in the register was suspended (including by an interim suspension order or an order under section 13I(11) of the Act (power to order immediate suspension etc. after a finding of impairment of fitness to practise)) and that suspension has not been terminated,

(ii) the person’s name was erased from the register (for a reason connected to the person’s fitness to practise),

(iii) the person’s registration in the register was made conditional upon their compliance with any requirement (including by an order for interim conditional registration or an order under section 13I of the Act) and that requirement has not been lifted, or

(iv) a financial penalty order was made against the person, and less than two years have elapsed since the period within which the sum specified in that order needed to be paid expired;

(k) has at any time been subject to any investigation or proceedings relating to an allegation that the person’s entry in the register was fraudulently procured or incorrectly made—

(i) in the course of which the person’s registration was suspended and that suspension has not been terminated, or

(ii) the final outcome of which was that the person’s name was removed from the register;

(l) is or has been subject to any investigation or proceedings concerning the person’s fitness to practise by—

(i) any licensing body, or

(ii) the Council,

and the Privy Council is satisfied that the person’s membership of the Council would be liable to undermine public confidence in the regulation of registrants;

(m) is a responsible officer(12) of a business registrant, and that business registrant—

(i) is subject to any investigation or proceedings by the Council and the Privy Council is satisfied that the person’s membership of the Council would be liable to undermine public confidence in the regulation of registrants, or

(ii) has been subject to any investigation or proceedings by the Council, and—

(aa) the final outcome of which was a finding that the business registrant’s fitness to carry on business as an optometrist or dispensing optician or both was impaired, and

(bb) the Privy Council is satisfied that the person’s membership of the Council would be liable to undermine public confidence in the regulation of registrants; or

(n) has at any time been convicted of an offence elsewhere than in the United Kingdom and the Privy Council is satisfied that the person’s membership of the Council would be liable to undermine public confidence in the regulation of registrants.

(1)

1990 c.40; section 7 was repealed by the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 10), Schedule 4, paragraph 7(b).

(2)

2005 asp 10.

(3)

1986 c.45; Schedule 4A was inserted by section 257(2) of, and Schedule 20 to, the Enterprise Act 2002 (c.40).

(4)

S.I. 1989/2405 (N.I. 19); Schedule 2A was inserted by S.I. 2005/1455 (N.I. 10).

(5)

1986 c.46.

(6)

S.I. 1989/2404 (N.I. 18).

(7)

S.I. 2002/3150 (N.I. 4); relevant amendments were made by S.I. 2005/1454 (N.I. 9).

(8)

Section 429(2) was amended by the Enterprise Act 2002, Schedule 23, paragraph 15.

(9)

S.I. 2007/1351 (N.I. 11).

(10)

2007 asp 14.

(11)

Section 13I was inserted by S.I. 2005/848.

(12)

A definition of “responsible officer” is included in section 30(2) of the Opticians Act 1989, which was inserted by S.I. 2005/848.