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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

2001 No. 1042
SOCIAL CARE, ENGLAND
The National Care Standards Commission (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 2001

	Made	18th March 2001
	Laid before Parliament	19th March 2001
	Coming into force	9th April 2001

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Care Standards Act 2000[1], and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation
1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Care Standards Commission (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 9th April 2001.

(2) In these Regulations -

"the Act" means the Care Standards Act 2000;

"the 1977 Act" means the National Health Service Act 1977[

2

"chairman" means, unless the context otherwise requires, the chairman of the Commission;

3

"the health service" shall be construed in accordance with section 128(1) of the 1977 Act;

"health service body" means -

"lay member" means a person who is not, and has not within 12 months of the date of appointment been, a social care worker or health professional or otherwise involved in the purchase (except as a private individual) or provision of social or health care services, or in the regulation (including inspection) of social or health care services (except where his involvement is or was as a lay member in relation to a body which regulates the provision of social or health care services.);

"member" in relation to the Commission includes the chairman.

    (3) In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations, and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in the regulation.

Number of members
     2. The Commission shall have fifteen members, not less than eight of whom shall be lay members.

Appointment of members
     3. - (1) Subject to regulation 7 (termination of tenure of office), the term of office of a member shall be such period, not exceeding four years, as the Secretary of State shall specify on making the appointment.

    (2) Subject to regulation 5 (disqualification for appointment), a member shall, on termination of his office, be eligible for re-appointment.

Appointment of deputy-chairman
     4. - (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the members may appoint one of the members, other than the chairman, to be deputy-chairman for such period, not exceeding the remainder of his term as a member, as they may specify on making the 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 from England or any other cause -

(a) the notice required by paragraph (2) to be given to the chairman shall be given to the Secretary of State;

(b) references to the chairman in the Schedule to these Regulations shall, so long as there is no chairman available to perform his duties, be taken to include references to the deputy-chairman.

Disqualification for appointment
5. - (1) Subject to regulation 6 (cessation of disqualification), a person shall be disqualified for appointment as a member if -

(a) he has within the preceding five years been convicted in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man of any offence and has had passed on him a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three months without the option of a fine;

(b) he has been adjudged bankrupt or has made a composition or arrangement with his creditors and has not been discharged in respect of it;

(c) he has been dismissed, otherwise than by reason of redundancy, from any paid employment with a health service body, a local authority or any establishment or agency of a description specified in section 4(8)(a) or (9)(a) of the Act;

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

(e) he has had his name removed, by a direction under section 46 of the 1977 Act (or any provision in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland corresponding to that provision), from any list prepared under Part II of that Act, and has not subsequently had his name included in such a list;

(f) he is suspended as respects the provision of general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services under the 1977 Act by a direction of the Tribunal constituted under section 46 of that Act made pursuant to section 49A(2) or section 49B(1) of that Act[10] (or any provision in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland corresponding to those provisions);

(g) he has been removed, or is suspended, from a register of members admitted to practice maintained under any of the following Acts -

(h) he is included in any list maintained by the Secretary of State under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 (list of persons considered unsuitable to work with children) or section 81 of the Act (list of persons considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults); or

(i) he is an employee of the Commission.

    (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 member or director of a health service body.

Cessation of disqualification
     6. - (1) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 5(1)(b) by reason of having been adjudged bankrupt -

(a) if the bankruptcy is annulled on the ground that he ought not to have been adjudged bankrupt or on the ground that his 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 his discharge.

(2) Where a person is disqualified under regulation 5(1)(b) by reason of his having made a composition or arrangement with his creditors -

(a) if he pays his debts 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 are fulfilled.

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

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

(5) Where a person has been appointed to be a member, and -

(a) he becomes disqualified for appointment under regulation 5, the Secretary of State shall forthwith notify him in writing of such disqualification; or

(b) it comes to the notice of the Secretary of State that at the time of his appointment he was so disqualified, he shall forthwith 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 such a member.

    (6) If it appears to the Secretary of State that a member has failed to comply with regulation 10 (disability on account of pecuniary interest) he may forthwith terminate that person's tenure of office by giving him notice in writing to that effect.

Appointment of committees and sub-committees
     8. - (1) Subject to such directions as may be given by the Secretary of State, the Commission may, and if so directed by him must, appoint other committees of the Commission.

    (2) A committee appointed under paragraph (1) may consist wholly or partly of members of the Commission or wholly of persons who are not members of the Commission.

    (3) A committee appointed under paragraph (1), subject to such directions as may be given by the Secretary of State or the Commission, may appoint sub-committees consisting wholly or partly of members of the committee (whether or not they are members of the Commission) or wholly of persons who are not members of the Commission or the committee.

    (4) Regulation 5, other than paragraph (1)(j), and regulation 6 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 Commission.

Meetings and proceedings
     9. - (1) The meetings and proceedings of the Commission shall be conducted in accordance with the rules set out in the Schedule to these Regulations 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 Secretary of State, the Commission 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 Secretary of State, the Commission may make, vary and revoke Standing Orders relating to the quorum, proceedings and place of meeting of any committee or sub-committee of the Commission 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.

    (4) The proceedings of the Commission shall not be invalidated by any vacancy in its membership or by any defect in a member's appointment.

Disability of members in proceedings on account of pecuniary interest
     10. - (1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, if a member has any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any matter and is present at any meeting of the Commission at which the 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 matter or vote on any question with respect to it.

    (2) The Secretary of State may, subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose, remove any disability imposed by this regulation in any case in which it appears to him in the interests of the work of the Commission that the disability should be removed.

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

    (4) Any remuneration, compensation or allowances payable to a member by virtue of paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Act (remuneration and allowances) shall not be treated as a pecuniary interest for the purpose of this regulation.

    (5) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (6), the circumstances in which a member shall be treated for the purpose of this regulation as having an indirect pecuniary interest in a matter include -

(a) if he, or a nominee of his, is a director of a company or other body, not being a public body, which has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter under consideration; or

(b) if he is a partner of, or is in the employment of, a person who has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter under consideration,

and in the case of married persons living together the interest of one spouse shall, if known to the other, be deemed for the purpose of this regulation to be also an interest of the other.

(6) A member shall not be treated as having a pecuniary interest in any 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 matter.

(7) Where a member -

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

(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, whichever 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 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 Commission and applies to a member of any such committee or sub-committee (whether or not he is also a member of the Commission) as it applies to a member of the Commission.

(9) In this regulation -

"public body" includes any body established for the purpose of carrying on, under national ownership, any industry or part of any industry or undertaking, the governing body of any university, university college or college, school or hall of a university and the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty incorporated by the National Trust Act 1907[

19

"securities" means -

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

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

John Hutton
Minister of State, Department of Health

18th March 2001

SCHEDULERegulation 9(1)

RULES AS TO MEETINGS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSION

     1. The first meeting of the Commission shall be held on such day and at such place as may be fixed by the chairman, and he shall be responsible for convening the meeting.

     2. - (1) The chairman may call a meeting of the Commission at any time.

    (2) If a requisition for a meeting, signed by at least five members, is presented to the chairman, and the chairman either -

those members may forthwith call a meeting.

(3) Before each meeting of the Commission, a notice of the meeting which -

shall be delivered to each member, or sent by post to his last known address, at least seven clear days before the day of the meeting.

    (4) The proceedings of any meeting shall not be invalidated by a failure to deliver such notice to any member.

    (5) In the case of a meeting called under sub-paragraph (2) above by members, the notice shall be signed by those members and no business other than that specified in the notice shall be transacted at the meeting.

     3. - (1) At any meetings of the Commission the chairman or, in his absence, the deputy-chairman (if there is one and he is present) shall preside.

    (2) If the chairman and any deputy-chairman are absent, such other member present as the other members present shall choose for the purpose shall preside.

     4. Every question at a meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and competent to vote on the question and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairman or, in his absence, the person presiding at the meeting shall have a second and casting vote.

     5. - (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, no business shall be transacted at any meeting unless at least five members are present.

    (2) The chairman shall be present at any meeting of the Commission which is convened for the purpose of appointing a person to act as -

6. - (1) The minutes of the proceedings of a meeting shall be drawn up and shall be signed at the next ensuing meeting by the person presiding at that next meeting.

(2) The names of the members present at a meeting shall be recorded in the minutes.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision concerning the membership and procedure of the National Care Standards Commission established by section 6 of the Care Standards Act 2000. In particular, they make provision for the numbers, appointment and tenure of office of members (regulations 2 and 3), the appointment of a deputy-chairman (regulation 4), disqualification for appointment (regulations 5 and 6), removal from office (regulation 7), the appointment of committees and sub-committees (regulation 8), meetings and proceedings, including provision for disability for participation in proceedings on account of pecuniary interest (regulations 9 and 10, and the Schedule).

Notes:

[1] 2000 c.14.back

[2] 1977 c.49.back

[3] 1999 c.8.back

[4] See section 8 of the National Health Service Act 1977 as substituted by section 1(1) of the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c.17) and as amended by paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to the Health Act 1999.back

[5] See Section 11, as amended by paragraph 31 of Schedule 1 to the Health Services Act 1980 (c.53) ("the 1980 Act"), by Schedule 10 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c.19) ("the 1990 Act") by paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c.17) and by paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 to the Health Act 1999 (c.8).back

[6] See section 5 of the 1990 Act as amended by paragraph 69 of Schedule 1 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 and section 13(1) of the Health Act 1999.back

[7] See section 16A of the National Health Service Act 1977 inserted by section 2(1) of the Health Act 1999.back

[8] 1978 c.29. Section 2 was amended by the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudication Act 1983 (c.41), Schedule 7, paragraph 1 and by the 1990 Act, section 25; section 4 was amended by the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c.49), section 12(3) and Schedule 3; section 10 was amended by the Health Services Act 1980 (c.53), Schedule 6, paragraph 2 and the 1990 Act, Schedule 10; section 12A was inserted by the 1990 Act, section 31 and amended by section 46(1) of the 1999 Act.back

[9] 1970 c.46.back

[10] Section 49A and 49B were inserted by the National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1995 (c.31), section 2(1).back

[11] 1954 c.61.back