HC Deb 19 February 1979 vol 963 cc47-9W
Mr. Patrick Jenkin

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out in the Official Report the rules governing the personal interests, whether pecuniary, trade union or otherwise, of members of regional and area health authorities.

Mr. Ennals

Regulation 14 of part III of the National Health Service (Regional and Area Health Authorities: Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1973 prescribes that:

" Disability of members in proceedings on account of pecuniary interests

14.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, if a member has any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, proposed contract or other matter and is present at a meeting of the Authority at which the contract or other matter is the subject of consideration, he shall at the meeting and as soon as practicable after its commencement disclose the fact and shall not take part in the consideration or discussion of the contract or other 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 national health service that the disability should be removed.

(3) An Authority may by Standing Orders, made by virtue of regulation 13 of these regulations provide for the exclusion of a member from a meeting of the Authority 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 a chairman or other member by virtue of paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to the Act of 1973 shall not be treated as a pecuniary interest for the purpose of this regulation.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation a member shall be treated, subject to paragraph (2) hereof and the next following paragraph, as having indirectly a pecuniary interest in a contract, proposed contract or other matter, if—

  1. (a) he or a nominee of his is a member 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
  2. (b) he is a partner, 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 percuniary interest in the other 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 purposes 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 contract, proposed contract or other matter by reason only—

  1. (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;
  2. (b) of an interest of his or of any company, body or person with which he is connected as mentioned in paragraph (5) of this regulation which is so remote or insignificant that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to influence a member in the consideration or discussion of or in voting on, any question with respect to that contract or matter.

(7) Where a member 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 the total nominal value of those securities does not exceed £1,000 or one-hundredth of the total nominal value of the issued share capital of the company or body, whichever is the less, and 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 or other matter or from voting on any question with respect to it, without prejudice however to his duty to disclose his interest."

Affiliation to a political party or trade union, and full-time employment with the latter, does not constitute a personal interest for the purposes of membership of health authorities. Nor does membership of this House, except where part II of schedule I to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 applies to chairmen in receipt of regional or area health authority remuneration.