Tenure of office and remuneration of the Board5

1

Subject to the provisions of this regulation, the chairman and each representative member of the Board shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of their respective appointments.

2

At the end of the period of appointment, the chairman and each representative member shall continue to hold office until the appointment of his successor takes effect.

3

The chairman or a representative member may resign from office by notice in writing to the Secretary of State and, upon his resignation, shall send a copy of the notice to the secretary to the Board and (except where he was appointed pursuant to regulation 4(8)) the organization by whom he was nominated for appointment.

4

The Secretary of State may remove the chairman or any representative member from office if—

a

he has without reasonable excuse failed adequately to carry out his functions as chairman or representative member (as the case may be), provided that –

i

he has been given written notice warning him that, unless within a specified period his performance in a specified respect has improved to a specified extent, or to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State, he may be removed from office at the end of that period; and

ii

at the expiry of the period specified in the notice, his performance in the respect specified has not improved to the extent required;

b

without reasonable excuse, he has been absent from three consecutive meetings of the Board;

c

he has been convicted (whether before or after his appointment or nomination) of a criminal offence and that conviction is not spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 19743;

d

he is an undischarged bankrupt or his estate has been sequestrated and it has not been discharged, or he has made an arrangement with his creditors, or he is subject to a bankruptcy restriction order;

e

he is disqualified from acting as a company director;

f

he has failed to comply with the terms of his appointment or nomination; or

g

he is otherwise unable or unfit to carry out his functions as a representative member or (as the case may be) as chairman.

5

The Secretary of State shall inform the appropriate nominating organization of her intention to remove a representative member pursuant to paragraph (4).

6

The Secretary of State shall consult the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland before removing the chairman pursuant to paragraph (4).

7

The Authority shall pay to the members of the Board, and any persons invited to attend a meeting of the Board, such remuneration and allowances as the Secretary of State may determine.

8

The Board shall appoint an employee of the Authority to be the secretary to the Board.