Section 1(7).
1As from the day appointed for section 1 of this Act to come into operation the Board shall be a body corporate.
2(1)The Board shall not be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity, or privilege of the Crown and the Board’s property is not to be regarded as the property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.
(2)Except as provided by section 31 and section 32 of this Act, the Board shall not be exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local.
3(1)The Board shall consist of such number of members, not less than 11 and not exceeding 13, as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine.
(2)The members shall be appointed by the Secretary of State, who may appoint one of them to be chairman of the Board and another to be deputy chairman.
(3)Five offices as members of the Board shall be held by members appointed by the Secretary of State after consulting—
(a)the council of each county and of each district any part of whose area is included in the area for which the Board is responsible; and
(b)such organisations as appear to him to be representative of local authorities in Wales.
4It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State—
(a)to satisfy himself, before he appoints a person to be a member of the Board, or gives his approval under paragraph 18 below to the appointment of a person to be a member of a committee of the Board, that he will have no such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially the discharge of his functions as a member; and
(b)to satisfy himself from time to time with respect to each member that he has no such interest;
and a person who is a member of the Board or of such a committee shall, whenever required by the Secretary of State to do so, furnish the Secretary of State with such information as he may specify with a view to carrying out his duty under this paragraph.
5(1)Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the chairman, deputy chairman and other members of the Board shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of their instruments of appointment.
(2)A member may at any time resign his office as member or as chairman or deputy chairman of the Board by giving the Secretary of State written notice of his intention to resign.
(3)If the Secretary of State is satisfied that a member of the Board—
(a)has been absent from meetings of the Board for a period longer than three consecutive months without the permission of the Board, or
(b)has become bankrupt or made an arrangement with his creditors, or
(c)is incapacitated by physical or mental illness, or
(d)is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member,
the Secretary of State may declare his office as a member of the Board vacant.
6If the chairman or deputy chairman ceases to be a member, he shall cease to be the chairman or deputy chairman.
7A person who ceases to be a member shall be eligible for reappointment as member or as chairman or deputy chairman, as the case may be.
8In Part II of Schedule 1 to the M1House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (bodies of which all members are disqualified) there shall be inserted in the appropriate place in alphabetical order the entry: “ The Development Board for Rural Wales ”.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1The text of Sch. 1 para. 8 is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.
Marginal Citations
9(1)The Board shall, with the approval of the Secretary of State, appoint a chief executive of the Board but shall not appoint the first chief executive.
(2)The first chief executive of the Board shall be appointed by the Secretary of State after consultation with the chairman or chairman-designate of the Board.
10Subject to paragraph 9 above, the staff of the Board shall be appointed by the Board, with the consent as to numbers of the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State shall not give his consent without the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service.
11The Board shall pay to each of its members and to each member of its staff or of any of its committees such remuneration and such reasonable allowances in respect of expenses as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service.
12The Board shall make such provision as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service for the payment of pensions, allowances or gratuities (including refunds of contributions to any pension fund with or without interest or other additions) to or in respect of such members or past members of the Board as may be determined with that Minister’s approval.
13Where a person ceases to be a member of the Board otherwise than on the expiry of his term of office and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for that person to receive compensation, the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, may direct the Board to make to that person a payment of such amount as the Secretary of State may determine with that Minister’s approval.
14The Board may, in the case of such of its employees as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service—
(a)pay such pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of them, or
(b)make such payments towards the provision of such pensions, allowances or gratuities (including refunds of contributions to any pension fund with or without interest or other additions), or
(c)provide and maintain such schemes (whether contributory or not) for the payment of such pensions, allowances or gratuities,
as may be determined by the Secretary of State with that Minister’s approval.
15Where an employee of the Board who is a participant in a scheme for the payment of pensions, allowances or gratuities which is applicable to employees of the Board becomes a member of the Board, his service as a member may be treated for the purposes of the scheme as service as an employee of the Board, whether or not provision for or in respect of him is made under paragraph 12 above.
16Except so far as the Board is satisfied that adequate machinery exists for the purpose, it shall be the duty of the Board to seek consultation with any organisation appearing to the Board to be appropriate with a view to the conclusion between the Board and that organisation of such agreements as appear to the parties to be desirable with respect to the establishment and maintenance of machinery for the settlement by negotiation of terms and conditions of employment of employees of the Board, with provision for reference to arbitration in default of such settlement in such cases as may be determined by or under the agreements.
17Every report made to the Secretary of State under section 3(1)(e) of this Act shall set out—
(a)any directions given to the Board under section 2 of this Act;
(b)a summary of any proposals submitted to him under section 3(1)(b) of this Act.
18If the Board establishes committees to discharge or assist it in discharging any of its functions, the Board may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, appoint persons who are not members of the Board to be members of committees so established.
19Subject to any direction given to the Board under section 2 of this Act, the quorum of the Board and of the Board’s committees and the arrangements relating to meetings of the Board and of such committees shall be such as the Board may determine.
20(1)A member of the Board or of any committee established by the Board who is in any way directly or indirectly interested in a contract made or proposed to be made by the Board, or in any other matter whatsoever which falls to be considered by the Board or by the committee, shall disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Board or the committee and the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
(2)The member shall not—
(a)where a contract is under consideration, take part in the deliberations on or decision about the contract; and
(b)where any other matter is under consideration, take part in the deliberations on or decision about the matter if the Board or the committee decide that the interest of the member might prejudicially affect the member’s consideration of the matter.
(3)For the purpose of this paragraph, a notice given by a member at a meeting of the Board or a committee to the effect that he is a member of a specified body corporate or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract which is made with the body corporate or firm after the date of the notice, and in any other matter whatsoever concerning the body corporate or firm which falls to be considered after that date, shall be a sufficient disclosure of his interest.
(4)A member need not attend in person at a meeting of the Board or committee in order to make a disclosure which he is required to make under this paragraph if he takes reasonable steps to secure that that disclosure is made by a notice which is taken into consideration and read at such a meeting.
21The validity of proceedings of the Board or a committee shall not be affected by a vacancy among the members or by a defect in the appointment of a member or by a failure to comply with the requirements of paragraph 20 above.
22A person dealing with the Board, or with a person claiming under the Board, shall not be concerned to inquire—
(a)whether any directions have been given to the Board under this Act or whether any directions so given have been complied with; or
(b)whether the approval or consent of the Secretary of State or the Minister for the Civil Service required for any of the purposes of this Act has been given, or whether any condition subject to which any such approval or consent was given has been complied with;
and, in favour of such a person, the validity of anything done by the Board shall not be affected by anything contained in any such direction, approval or consent or by reason that any such direction, approval or consent has not been given.
23The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the secretary or such other person as is authorised by the Board to authenticate its seal.
24A certificate signed by the chief executive that any instrument purporting to be made or issued by or on behalf of the Board was so made or issued shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.
25Every document purporting—
(a)to be an instrument made or issued by or on behalf of the Board and to be sealed with the seal of the Board authenticated in the manner provided by paragraph 23 above, or to be signed or executed by the secretary or a person authorised by the Board to sign or execute its documents; or
(b)to be such a certificate as is mentioned in paragraph 24 above;
shall be received in evidence and be deemed without further proof to be so made or issued or to be such a certificate, unless the contrary is shown.