Consequential Changes to the General Dental (Constitution) Order 2009

Transcription

1 Item 9 Encl. G Council 23 March 2010 Consequential Changes to the General Dental (Constitution) Order 2009 Purpose of paper Mission statement/business plan For information To be open and transparent Issues Recommendations Authorship and origins of paper To update the General Dental Council on the proposed changes to the General Dental Council (Constitution) Order The Council is asked to note the proposed amendments to the General Dental Council (Constitution) Order Council is also asked to consider whether a corresponding amendment to the General Dental Council (Constitution of Committees) Rules Order of Council 2009 should be sought. Cindy Morgan Head of Corporate Legal Services Presentation to Council Alison White Interim Chief Executive and Registrar Further information cmorgan@gdc-uk.org

2 Introduction 1. The General Dental Council (Constitution) Order 2009 (GDC Constitution Order) makes provision with regard to the constitution of the General Dental Council. The GDC Constitution Order sets out certain categories of people who are disqualified from being Members of the General Dental Council. These categories include some relating to bankruptcy. Discussion 2. A new category of insolvency arrangement, a debt relief order, has been created by changes to the Insolvency Act Existing secondary legislation containing bankruptcy disqualifications is being amended to include this new category of insolvency arrangement within the bankruptcy disqualifications provisions. The GDC Constitution Order, in common with the Constitution Orders of the other health regulators, is being amended to include this new category of insolvency arrangement. 3. The effect of this amendment will be that a person will be disqualified from appointment to the General Dental Council if that person is subject to a debt relief restrictions order or an interim debt relief restrictions order under Schedule 4ZB of the Insolvency Act A person will also be disqualified from appointment whilst that person is subject to a moratorium under a debt relief order. 4. In addition, the GDC Constitution Order provides that a member shall be removed from office if that member becomes a person who falls within the bankruptcy disqualification provisions. In future this will include a person who becomes subject to a debt relief restrictions order, an interim debt relief restrictions order or a moratorium under a debt relief order. 5. Article 6(2) to the GDC Constitution Order sets out the steps a member must take if that member falls within certain of the disqualification criteria, including the bankruptcy disqualification criteria. 6. The proposed amendment to Article 5 of the GDC Constitution Order 2009 is set out at Annex A Article 5 (ee). 7. The disqualification criteria for the statutory committees are set out in the General Dental Council (Constitution of Committees) Rules Order of Council The disqualification criteria for committee members mirror those for Council members. Council is asked to consider whether we should seek to amend these rules in order to include the new category of insolvency arrangement within the disqualification and removal provisions. Equality and Diversity Implications 8. None Communications Implications 9. The amendments to the legislation are expected to be in place by April 2010 and will be published on the GDC website.

3 Standards Implications 10. None Resource Implications 11. None Recommendations 12. The Council is asked to note the proposed amendments to the General Dental Council (Constitution) Order Council is also asked to consider whether a corresponding amendment to the General Dental Council (Constitution of Committees) Rules Order of Council 2009 should be sought. 3

4 Annex A General Dental Council (Constitution) Order 2009 (SI 2009/1808) 5 Disqualification from appointment as a member A person is disqualified from appointment as a member of the Council if that person (a) has at any time been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or deception in the United Kingdom and the conviction is not a spent conviction; (b) has at any time been convicted of an offence in the United Kingdom, and (i) and (ii) the final outcome of the proceedings was a sentence of imprisonment or detention, the conviction is not a spent conviction; (c) has at any time been removed (i) from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commissioners, the Charity Commission, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland or the High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity (aa) (bb) for which the person was responsible or to which the person was privy, or which the person by their conduct contributed to or facilitated, or (ii) under (aa) section 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (powers of Court of Session to deal with management of charities), or (bb) section 34(5)(e) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (powers of the Court of Session), from being concerned with the management or control of any body; (d) has at any time been removed from office as the chair, or as a member, convenor or director, of any public body on the grounds, in terms, that it was not in the interests of, or conducive to the good management of, that body that the person should continue to hold that office; (e) at any time has been adjudged bankrupt or sequestration of the person's estate has been awarded, and (i) the person has not been discharged, or (ii) the person is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Schedule 4A to the Insolvency Act 1986 or Schedule 2A of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (which relate to bankruptcy restrictions orders and undertakings); or 4

5 (ee) is a person to whom a moratorium period under a debt relief order under Part VIIA of the Insolvency Act 1986 (debt relief orders) applies, or is the subject of a debt relief restrictions order or an interim debt relief restrictions order under Schedule 4ZB to that Act1 (debt relief restrictions order and undertaking); 1 (f) has at any time made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, the person's creditors and the person has not been discharged in respect of it; (g) is subject to (i) a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, (ii) a disqualification order under Part 2 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (company directors disqualification), (iii) a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002, or (iv) an order made under section 429(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (disabilities on revocation of a county court administration order); c.45. Part VIIA was inserted by section 108(1) of, and Schedule 17 to, the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c.15) ( the 2007 Act ); Schedule 4ZB was inserted by section 108(2) of, and Schedule 19 to, the 2007 Act. 5