2(1)In appointing members of a trust the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of securing the services of persons who live in or have special knowledge of the locality in which the designated area is situated and before appointing any such person as a member he shall consult every local housing authority any part of whose district is included in the designated area.E+W
(2)Before appointing a person to be a member of a trust the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that that person will have no financial or other interest likely to affect prejudicially the exercise of his functions as a member; and the Secretary of State may require a person whom he proposes to appoint to give him such information as he considers necessary for that purpose.
(3)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) above, the fact that a person is or may become a tenant of a trust shall not be regarded as giving to that person an interest likely to affect prejudicially the exercise of his functions as a member.
(4)The Secretary of State shall appoint one of the members to be chairman and, if he thinks fit, another to be deputy chairman of the trust.