The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (Establishment, Constitution, and Staff and Other Transfer Provisions) Order 2017

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

14.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, if the chairperson 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 Authority to which the contract, proposed contract or other matter is the subject of consideration, the chairperson or that member must at the meeting and as soon as practicable after its commencement, disclose that interest and must 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 Secretary of State may, subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate to impose, remove any disability imposed by this paragraph in any case in which it appears to the Secretary of State to be in the interests of the health service that the disability should be removed.

(3) The Authority may, by standing orders made under paragraph 12(2), provide for the exclusion of the chairperson or a member from a meeting of the Authority while any contract, proposed contract or other matter in which the chairperson or that member has a pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, is under consideration.

(4) Any remuneration, compensation or allowances payable to the chairperson or a member by virtue of paragraph 2 to Schedule 6 of the NHS Act (pay and allowances) is not to be treated as a pecuniary interest for the purpose of this paragraph.

(5) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (6), the chairperson or member (in this paragraph, the “appointee”) is to be treated for the purpose of this paragraph as having an indirect pecuniary interest in a contract, proposed contract or other matter if—

(a) the appointee, or a nominee of the appointee, is a director of a company or other 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) the appointee is a business 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 or not they are spouses or civil partners) the interest of one is, if known to the other, to be deemed for the purpose of this paragraph to be an interest of the other.

(6) An appointee is not to be treated as having a pecuniary interest in any contract, proposed contract or other matter by reason only—

(a) of the appointee’s membership of a company or other body if the appointee 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 the appointee is connected as mentioned in sub-paragraph (5) which is so remote or insignificant that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to influence the appointee in the consideration or discussion of, or voting on, any question with respect to that contract, proposed contract or other matter.

(7) Where an appointee 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

(a) 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, whichever is the lesser; and

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

this paragraph does not prohibit the appointee 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 but in such circumstances the appointee must nonetheless disclose the appointee’s interest.

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

(9) In this paragraph—

“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 debenture; or

(b)

rights (whether actual or contingent) in respect of money lent to, or deposited with, any building society or society, other than a society registered as a credit union, which is—

(i)

a registered society within the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014(1); or

(ii)

a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969(2);

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

(1)

2014 c. 14.

(2)

1969 c. 24. The Act is subject to amendments yet to be brought into force in relation to section 1 (societies which may be registered) and as to the title of the Act, pursuant to section 8 of the Credit Unions and Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (c. 16). The prospective amended title of the 1969 Act is the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969.