The Health Protection Agency (Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd) Regulations 2003

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Protection Agency (Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st April 2003.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977;

“the Agency” means the Health Protection Agency (Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd) established by the Order;

“appropriate authority” means—

(a)

in relation to England, the Secretary of State for Health, and

(b)

in relation to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales;

“the chairman” means, unless the context otherwise requires, the chairman of the Agency;

“health service body” means any of the following, namely,—

(a)

a Strategic Health Authority,

(b)

a Health Authority,

(c)

a Special Health Authority,

(d)

a health board constituted under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

(e)

a Primary Care Trust,

(f)

a Local Health Board,

(g)

the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service,

(h)

an NHS trust, including such a trust established under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(1),

(i)

the Commission for Health Improvement,

(j)

the Dental Practice Board or the Scottish Dental Practice Board,

(k)

the Public Health Laboratory Service Board,

(l)

the Secretary of State,

(m)

the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and Social Services established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972,

(n)

a special health and social services agency established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Special Agencies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990,

(o)

a Health and Social Services Board constituted under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972,

(p)

a Health and Social Services trust established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, and

(q)

the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for Northern Ireland;

“member” means a member of the Agency other than the chairman;

“non-officer member” means a member who is not an officer of the Agency;

“the NRPB” means the National Radiological Protection Board established under the Radiological Protection Act 1970(2);

“the Order” means the Health Protection Agency (Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd) (Establishment) Order 2003(3);

“primary care list” means a list either of persons undertaking to provide general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or, as the case may be, pharmaceutical services prepared pursuant to regulations made under section 29, 36, 39, 42 or 43 of the Act(4) or a list of persons approved for the purpose of assisting in the provision of any such services prepared pursuant to regulations made under section 43D of the Act(5).

Appointment and tenure of office of chairman and members

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the chairman and non-officer members shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.

(2) One non-officer member shall be appointed by the National Assembly for Wales.

(3) Subject to regulation 5 (termination of tenure of office), the term of office of the chairman and non-officer members shall be such period, not exceeding five years, as is specified when the appointment is made by the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, the National Assembly for Wales.

(4) Subject to regulation 3 (disqualification for appointment), the chairman and any non-officer member shall, on the termination of that office, be eligible for re-appointment.

(5) The chairman and the non-officer members shall appoint the members who are officers of the Agency.

(6) Regulation 4(3) to (5) and regulation 5 apply to the non-officer member appointed by the National Assembly for Wales as if each reference to the Secretary of State were a reference to the National Assembly for Wales.

Disqualification for Appointment

3.—(1) Subject to regulation 4 (cessation of disqualification), a person shall be disqualified for appointment as the chairman or as a non-officer member if—

(a) he has, within the preceding five years, been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence or convicted elsewhere of an offence which, if committed in any part of the United Kingdom would constitute a criminal offence in that part, and in either case has been sentenced to a period of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three months without the option of a fine, and which has not been quashed on appeal;

(b) he has—

(i) been adjudged bankrupt or had a sequestration of his estate awarded, or

(ii) made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors;

(c) he has been dismissed, otherwise than by reason of redundancy, from any paid employment with—

(i) a health service body, or

(ii) the NRPB;

(d) he is a person whose tenure of office as the chairman or as a member or director of a health service body or the NRPB has been terminated on the grounds that—

(i) it was not in the interests of, or conducive to the good management of, the health service body, the NRPB or the health service that he should continue to hold that office,

(ii) he failed, without reasonable cause, to attend any meeting of that health service body or, as the case may be, the NRPB, for a period of three months or more, or

(iii) he failed to declare a pecuniary interest or withdraw from consideration of any matter in respect of which he had a pecuniary interest;

(e) he—

(i) is subject to a national disqualification under section 49N of the Act(6) imposed by the Family Health Services Appeal Authority constituted under section 49S(7) of the Act,

(ii) is subject to a national disqualification under a decision of the National Health Service Tribunal, which is treated as a national disqualification by virtue of regulation 6(4)(b) of the Abolition of the National Health Service Tribunal (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2001(8),

(iii) has been refused nomination or approval to fill a vacancy for a medical practitioner pursuant to regulations made under section 29B(2A) of the Act(9) or refused admission to a primary care list, on grounds corresponding to the conditions referred to in section 49F(2), (3), or (4) of the Act(10) (efficiency cases, fraud cases and unsuitability cases) and has not subsequently been approved or, as the case may be, included in a primary care list,

(iv) is conditionally included in a primary care list under section 43ZA of the Act(11),

(v) has been removed from a primary care list under section 49F of the Act or by a direction of the National Health Service Tribunal and has not subsequently been included in such a list,

(vi) is contingently removed from a primary care list under section 49G of the Act(12), or

(vii) is suspended from a primary care list under section 49I of the Act(13) or is treated as so suspended by virtue of regulation 6(2) of the Abolition of the National Health Service Tribunal (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2001(14),

and in this sub-paragraph any reference to a provision in the Act includes a reference to the provision corresponding to that provision in Scotland and Northern Ireland;

(f) he is subject to a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986(15), the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(16) or to an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986(17) (failure to pay under county court administration order);

(g) 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(18) (powers of Court of Session to deal with management of charities) from being concerned in the management or control of any body; or

(h) he holds any paid appointment or office (which includes being the chairman, chief executive or a non-officer member) with—

(i) a Strategic Health Authority,

(ii) a Local Health Board,

(iii) an NHS trust, or

(iv) a Primary Care Trust.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), the date of conviction shall be deemed to be the date on which the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the conviction expires or, if such an appeal or application is made, the date on which the appeal or application is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails by reason of its not being prosecuted.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), a person shall not be treated as having been in paid employment by reason only of his having been the chairman or a member or director of a health service body or the NRPB.

Cessation of disqualification

4.—(1) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 3(1)(b)(i) by reason of having been adjudged bankrupt or having had a sequestration of his estate awarded—

(a) if the bankruptcy is annulled on the ground that that person ought not to have been adjudged bankrupt or on the ground that the person’s debts have been paid in full, the disqualification shall cease on the date of the annulment;

(b) if he is discharged, the disqualification shall cease on the date of that discharge.

(2) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 3(1)(b)(ii) by reason of having made a composition or arrangement with, or having granted a trust deed for, that person’s creditors—

(a) if the person’s debts are paid in full, the disqualification shall cease on the date on which such payment is completed; and

(b) in any other case, it shall cease on the expiry of the period of five years beginning on the date on which the terms of the deed of composition or arrangement, or as the case may be, the terms of the trust deed, are fulfilled.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a person who is disqualified under regulation 3(1)(c) may, after the expiry of two years beginning on the date of the dismissal, apply in writing to the Secretary of State to remove the disqualification, and the Secretary of State may direct that the disqualification shall cease.

(4) Where the Secretary of State refuses an application to remove a disqualification no further application may be made by that person until the expiry of the period of two years beginning with the date of the application and this paragraph shall apply to any subsequent application.

(5) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 3(1)(d), the disqualification shall cease on the expiry of the period of two years beginning on the date upon which that person’s tenure of office was terminated or such longer period as the Secretary of State specifies when terminating the period of office but, on application being made to the Secretary of State by that person, the Secretary of State may reduce the period of disqualification.

Termination of tenure of office of chairman and non-officer members

5.—(1) The chairman or a non-officer member may resign from that office at any time during the term of that office by giving notice in writing to the Secretary of State.

(2) Where the Secretary of State is of the opinion that it is not in the interests of, or conducive to the good management of, the Agency or of the health service that the chairman or a non-officer member should continue to hold office, the Secretary of State may immediately terminate that person’s tenure of office by giving that person notice in writing to that effect.

(3) If the chairman or a non-officer member fails to attend any meeting of the Agency for a period of three months the Secretary of State shall immediately terminate that person’s tenure of office unless satisfied that—

(a) the absence was due to a reasonable cause; and

(b) the person in question will be able to attend meetings of the Agency within such a period as the Secretary of State considers reasonable.

(4) Where a person has been appointed to be the chairman or a non-officer member, and—

(a) he becomes disqualified for appointment under regulation 3, he shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of such disqualification; or

(b) it comes to the notice of the Secretary of State that at the time of his appointment or later he was so disqualified, the Secretary of State shall immediately declare that the person in question was not duly appointed and notify him in writing to that effect,

and upon receipt of any such notification, his tenure of office, if any, shall be terminated and he shall cease to act as chairman or non-officer member.

(5) If it appears to the Secretary of State that the chairman or a non-officer member has failed to comply with regulation 10 (disability on account of pecuniary interest) he may immediately terminate that person’s tenure of office by giving him notice in writing to that effect.

Appointment of deputy chairman

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the chairman and members may appoint one of the non-officer members to be deputy chairman for such period, not exceeding the remainder of his term as a member, as they may specify on making that appointment.

(2) Any member so appointed may at any time resign from the office of deputy chairman by giving notice in writing to the chairman.

(3) Where the chairman has died or has ceased to hold office, or where he is unable to perform his duties as chairman owing to illness, absence or any other cause, references to the chairman in Schedule 1 shall, so long as there is no chairman available to perform his duties, be taken to include references to the deputy chairman.

Appointment of committees and sub-committees

7.—(1) Subject to such directions as may be given by the appropriate authority, the Agency may, and, if so directed by the appropriate authority, shall, appoint committees of the Agency consisting wholly or partly of members of the Agency or wholly of persons who are not members of the Agency.

(2) A committee appointed under this regulation may, subject to such directions as may be given by the appropriate authority or the Agency, appoint sub-committees consisting wholly or partly of members of the committee (whether or not they are members of the Agency) or wholly of persons who are not members of the Agency or the committee.

(3) Regulations 3 and 4 apply to the appointment of members of committees and sub-committees appointed under this regulation as they apply to the appointment of members of the Agency.

Arrangements for the exercise of functions

8.  Subject to such directions as may be given by the appropriate authority, the Agency may make arrangements for the exercise, on behalf of the Agency, of any of its functions by a committee or sub-committee appointed by virtue of regulation 7 or by an officer of the Agency, in each case subject to such restrictions and conditions as the Agency thinks fit.

Meetings and proceedings

9.—(1) The meetings and proceedings of the Agency shall be conducted in accordance with the rules set out in Schedule 1 and with Standing Orders made under paragraph (2).

(2) Subject to those rules, to regulation 10 (disability on account of pecuniary interest) and to such directions as may be given by the appropriate authority, the Agency shall make, and may vary or revoke, Standing Orders for the regulation of its proceedings and business, including provision for the suspension of the Standing Orders or any of them.

(3) Subject to such directions as may be given by the appropriate authority, the Agency may make, vary and revoke Standing Orders relating to the quorum, proceedings and place of meeting of any committee or sub-committee of the Agency; but subject to any such Standing Orders, the quorum, proceedings and place of meeting shall be such as the committee or sub-committee may determine.

Disability of chairman and members in proceedings on account of pecuniary interest

10.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, if the chairman or a member has any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, proposed contract or other matter and is present at any meeting of the Agency at which the contract, proposed contract or other matter is the subject of consideration, he shall at the meeting and as soon as practicable after its commencement, disclose his interest and shall not take part in the consideration or discussion of the contract, proposed contract or other matter or vote on any question with respect to it.

(2) The appropriate authority may, subject to such conditions as the appropriate authority may think fit to impose, remove any disability imposed by this regulation in any case in which it appears to the appropriate authority in the interests of the health service that the disability should be removed.

(3) The Agency may, by Standing Orders made under regulation 9(2), provide for the exclusion of the chairman or a member from a meeting of the Agency while any contract, proposed contract or other matter in which he has a pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, is under consideration.

(4) Any remuneration, compensation or allowances payable to the chairman or a member by virtue of paragraph 9 of Schedule 5 to the Act (pay and allowances) shall not be treated as a pecuniary interest for the purpose of this regulation.

(5) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (6), the chairman or a member shall be treated for the purpose of this regulation as having an indirect pecuniary interest in a contract, proposed contract or other matter if he—

(a) or a nominee of his, is a director of a company or other body, not being a public body, with which the contract was made or is proposed to be made or which has a direct pecuniary interest in the other matter under consideration; or

(b) is a partner of, or is in the employment of, a person with whom the contract was made or is proposed to be made or who has a direct pecuniary interest in the other matter under consideration,

and in the case of two persons living together as a couple (whether married or not) the interest of one shall, if known to the other, be deemed for the purpose of this regulation to be also an interest of the other.

(6) Neither the chairman nor a member shall be treated as having a pecuniary interest in any contract, proposed contract or other matter by reason only—

(a) of his membership of a company or other body if he has no beneficial interest in any securities of that company or other body; or

(b) of an interest in any company, body or person with which he is connected as mentioned in paragraph (5) which is so remote or insignificant that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to influence him in the consideration or discussion of, or in voting on, any question with respect to that contract, proposed contract or other matter.

(7) Where the chairman or a member—

(a) has an indirect pecuniary interest in a contract, proposed contract or other matter by reason only of a beneficial interest in securities of a company or other body; and

(b) the total nominal value of those securities does not exceed £5,000 or one-hundredth of the total nominal value of the issued share capital of the company or body, which ever is the lesser; and

(c) if the share capital is of more than one class, the total nominal value of shares of any one class in which he has a beneficial interest does not exceed one-hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class,

this regulation shall not prohibit him from taking part in the consideration or discussion of the contract, proposed contract or other matter, or from voting on any question with respect to it, without prejudice however to his duty to disclose his interest.

(8) This regulation applies to a committee or sub-committee as it applies to the Agency and applies to a member of any such committee or sub-committee (whether or not he is also a member of the Agency) as it applies to a member of the Agency.

(9) In this regulation—

“public body” includes—

(a)

any body established for the purpose of carrying on, under national ownership, any industry or undertaking or part of any industry or undertaking;

(b)

the governing body of any university, university college or college, school or hall of a university; and

(c)

the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty incorporated by the National Trust Act 1907(19);

“securities” means—

(a)

shares or debentures, whether or not constituting a charge on the assets of a company or other body, or rights or interests in any share or such debentures; or

(b)

rights (whether actual or contingent) in respect of money lent to, or deposited with, any industrial or provident society or building society;

“shares” means shares in the share capital of a company or other body or the stock of a company or other body.

Reports by the Agency

11.  The Agency shall make reports to the appropriate authority in such manner and at such time as the appropriate authority may direct, and shall furnish to the appropriate authority such information as the appropriate authority may from time to time require.

Publication etc by the Agency of advice and information

12.  The Agency may make available to other public authorities or more widely as it thinks fit, and in such manner as it thinks fit—

(a) any reports made or information furnished under regulation 11;

(b) any other information in its possession (whatever its source), including information obtained in the performance of its functions under article 3 of the Order.

Consequential amendments

13.  The Regulations specified in Column 1 of Schedule 2 shall be amended in accordance with Column 2 of that Schedule.

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(20)

Daffydd Ellis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly

4th March 2003

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Hazel Blears

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of Health

5th March 2003