Chiropractors Act 1994

Sections 1 and 44.

SCHEDULE 1U.K. The General Council and Committees

Part IU.K. The General Council

Membership: generalU.K.

[F11A.(1)The General Council shall consist of—

(a)registrant members, that is members who are registered chiropractors; and

(b)lay members, that is members who—

(i)are not and never have been registered chiropractors, and

(ii)do not hold qualifications which would entitle them to apply for registration under this Act.

(2)The members of the General Council shall be appointed by the Privy Council.

(3)The Privy Council shall ensure that, at any time, at least one member of the General Council lives or works wholly or mainly in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

(4)Before the Privy Council gives a direction to the Appointments Commission under section 60(1) of the Health Act 2006 to exercise any function of the Privy Council relating to the appointment of members of the General Council, the Privy Council shall consult the General Council.

Matters for the order of the Privy Council under section 1(4)U.K.

1B.(1)An order under section 1(4) shall include provision with regard to—

(a)the numbers of registrant members and lay members of the General Council;

(b)the terms of office for which members of the General Council are appointed, and the order may provide that these are to be determined by the Privy Council, on appointment;

(c)the grounds on which persons are to be disqualified from appointment as registrant or lay members of the General Council;

(d)the appointment of a chair of the General Council and the chair’s term of office, and the order may provide that the term is to be determined by whoever makes the appointment as chair, on appointment;

(e)deputising arrangements in respect of the chair;

(f)the quorum of the General Council; and

(g)the circumstances in which members cease to hold office or may be removed or suspended from office.

(2)But an order under section 1(4) must not include any provision which would have the effect that a majority of the members of the General Council would be lay members.

(3)An order under section 1(4) may include provision with regard to—

(a)the maximum period for which a member of the General Council may hold office as a member during a specified period;

(b)the maximum period for which a member of the General Council may serve as chair of the General Council during a specified period;

(c)the education and training of members of the General Council, and the order may provide for the General Council to include the requirements with regard to education and training of its members in standing orders, and for those standing orders to provide for—

(i)that education and training to be the responsibility of another body, and

(ii)those requirements to be set and varied by that body from time to time;

(d)the attendance of members of the General Council at meetings of the General Council;

(e)the effect (if any) of any vacancy in the membership of the General Council or any defect in the appointment of a member; and

(f)enabling the Privy Council to appoint as the chair of the General Council, for a specified period, the person who held office as Chairman of the General Council on the day before the first order under section 1(4) comes into force.

(4)An order under section 1(4) may make different provision for different cases or different classes of case and may contain such incidental, consequential, transitional, transitory, saving or supplementary provisions as appear to the Privy Council to be necessary or expedient.

Registration of members’ private interestsU.K.

1C.(1)The General Council must establish and maintain a system for the declaration and registration of private interests of its members.

(2)The General Council must publish in such manner as it sees fit entries recorded in the register of members’ private interests.

Duties of co-operation etc.U.K.

1D.(1)In exercising its functions, the General Council shall—

(a)have proper regard for—

(i)the interests of persons using or needing the services of registered chiropractors in the United Kingdom, and

(ii)any differing interests of different categories of registered chiropractors;

(b)co-operate, in so far as is appropriate and reasonably practicable, with public bodies or other persons concerned with—

(i)the employment (whether or not under a contract of service) of registered chiropractors,

(ii)the education or training of chiropractors or other health care professionals,

(iii)the regulation of, or the co-ordination of the regulation of, other health or social care professionals,

(iv)the regulation of health services, and

(v)the provision, supervision or management of health services.

(2)In carrying out its duty to co-operate under sub-paragraph (1)(b), the General Council shall have regard to any differing considerations relating to practising as a chiropractor which apply in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

(3)In sub-paragraph (1), “other health care professionals” means persons regulated by a body mentioned in section 25(3) of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002, other than the General Council.]

[F1Membership]U.K.

1U.K.[F1The General Council shall consist of—

(a)10 members elected by fully registered chiropractors;

(b)6 members appointed by the Privy Council;

(c)3 members appointed by the Education Committee; and

(d)1 member appointed by the Secretary of State.]

2U.K.[F1The quorum of the General Council shall be 10.]

3U.K.[F1Subject to paragraphs 4 to 7, each member’s term of office shall be for a period of 5 years.]

4[F1(1)This paragraph applies where a member fails to complete his full term of office.U.K.

(2)In such circumstances as may be prescribed, if the unexpired term is less than the prescribed period the vacancy need not be filled before the end of that term.

(3)If the member’s successor is elected or (as the case may be) appointed during the unexpired term, the successor’s term of office shall, subject to paragraphs 5 to 7, be for the residue of the unexpired term.

(4)Rules made by the General Council under sub-paragraph (2) shall not prescribe a period of more than twelve months.

(5)In this paragraph “the unexpired term” means the period beginning with the date on which the member ceased to be a member and ending with the date on which his full term of office would have expired.]

5U.K.[F1Any member may at any time resign by notice in writing addressed to the Registrar.]

6U.K.[F1Every member shall retire on reaching the age of 70.]

7U.K.[F1The General Council shall by rules make provision as to the grounds (such as repeated absence from meetings or unacceptable professional conduct) on which any member may be removed from office and the procedure involved.]

Members elected by fully registered chiropractorsU.K.

9[F1(1)This paragraph and paragraph 10 apply in relation to the 10 members elected by fully registered chiropractors.U.K.

(2)Each member—

(a)shall be a fully registered chiropractor at the time of his election, and

(b)may be a registered medical practitioner.

(3)Of the 10 members—

(a)7 shall be elected by fully registered chiropractors whose registered addresses are in England;

(b)1 shall be elected by fully registered chiropractors whose registered addresses are in Wales;

(c)1 shall be elected by fully registered chiropractors whose registered addresses are in Scotland; and

(d)1 shall be elected by fully registered chiropractors whose registered addresses are in Northern Ireland.]

10U.K.[F1The General Council shall make further provision by rules in relation to the election of the 10 members and as to by-elections.]

Members appointed by the Privy CouncilU.K.

11[F1(1)Of the 6 members appointed by the Privy Council—U.K.

(a)1 shall be a registered medical practitioner at the time of his appointment and shall be appointed after consultation with the Conference of Medical Royal Colleges and their Faculties in the United Kingdom; and

(b)the other 5 shall be persons who are not registered chiropractors at the time of their appointment.

(2)If the body mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) ceases to exist, the Privy Council shall appoint the member in question after consultation with such other representative body or bodies as it thinks fit.

(3)The member appointed in accordance with sub-paragraph (1)(a) shall not be a registered chiropractor.

(4)Any of the other members may be a registered medical practitioner.]

F211AU.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Members appointed by the Education CommitteeU.K.

12[F1(1)The 3 members appointed by the Education Committee shall be persons appearing to the Committee to be qualified to advise the General Council on matters relating to education and training in chiropractic.U.K.

(2)Before making any such appointment, the Committee shall consult—

(a)those institutions in the United Kingdom by which or under whose direction any relevant course of study is given; and

(b)such other bodies (if any) as the Education Committee considers appropriate.

(3)In this paragraph “relevant course of study” has the same meaning as in section 12(2).]

The member appointed by the Secretary of StateU.K.

13U.K.[F1The member appointed by the Secretary of State shall be a person appearing to him to be qualified to advise the General Council on matters relating to professional education.]

The ChairmanU.K.

14[F1(1)The members of the General Council shall elect a Chairman from among themselves.U.K.

(2)The Chairman may resign the office of Chairman at any time by notice in writing addressed to the Registrar.

(3)The Chairman shall hold office until—

(a)he resigns as Chairman;

(b)he ceases to be a member of the General Council;

(c)he is removed by a majority vote of the other members of the Council; or

(d)a period of 7 years, beginning with his assuming office as Chairman, has elapsed and no other person has been elected (and served) as Chairman during that time.

(4)A person shall not be prevented from being elected as Chairman merely because he has previously been Chairman, but if he has ceased to hold office by virtue of sub-paragraph (3)(d) he may not be elected as Chairman until some other person has served as the elected Chairman.

(5)The General Council shall by rules—

(a)make further provision in relation to the election of a Chairman; and

(b)make provision for the appointment of an acting Chairman in the event of a vacancy in the office of Chairman or in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.]

Powers of the General CouncilU.K.

15(1)Subject to any provision made by or under this Act, the General Council shall have power to do anything which is calculated to facilitate the discharge of its functions or which is incidental or conducive to the discharge of its functions.U.K.

(2)The General Council shall, in particular, have power—

(a)to borrow;

(b)to appoint such staff as it may determine;

(c)to pay its staff such salaries as it may determine;

(d)to pay its staff, and the members of its committees and any of their sub-committees, such allowances and expenses as it may determine;

(e)to make such provision for the payment of such pensions, allowances or gratuities, or such contributions or payments towards provision for such pensions, allowances or gratuities, to or in respect of its staff as it may determine;

(f)to pay its members such allowances and expenses as it may determine;

(g)to establish such sub-committees of any of its committees as it may determine;

(h)subject to any provision made by or under this Act, to regulate the procedure of any of its committees or their sub-committees;

(i)to abolish any of its committees, other than a statutory committee, or any sub-committee of any of its committees;

(j)to delegate to any of its committees any functions of the General Council other than any power to make rules.

[F3(2A)Standing orders of the General Council may make provision with regard to the provisional suspension of a member of the General Council from office, pending the taking of a decision about the suspension or removal from office of the member in accordance with the provisions of an order under section 1(4).]

(3)[F4The powers of the General Council may be exercised even though there is a vacancy among its members.]

(4)[F4No proceedings of the General Council shall be invalidated by any defect in the election or appointment of a member.]

(5)Subject to any provision made by or under this Act, the General Council may regulate its own procedure.

Part IIU.K. The Statutory Committees

GeneralU.K.

16(1)The members of the statutory committees, other than co-opted members, shall be appointed by the General Council [F5and may be, but are not required to be, appointed] from among the members of the Council.U.K.

(2)The General Council shall make provision by rules as to the procedure for such appointments [F6, and as to the suspension and removal from office of the persons appointed] .

[F7(3)The rules may make provision for a body (including a committee of the General Council which is not one of the statutory committees) to assist the General Council in connection with the exercise of any function relating to the appointment of members or particular members of any statutory committee, including any function relating to tenure of office or suspension or removal from office.]

17(1)The co-option of any person to any of the statutory committees shall be subject to the approval of the General Council.U.K.

(2)A co-opted member of any of the statutory committees may also be a member of the General Council.

(3)The term of office of a co-opted member shall not exceed the period of 3 years beginning with the date of his co-option.

(4)The General Council shall make further provision by rules in relation to co-option, including provision as to the procedure involved.

18U.K.A person shall not be prevented from being a member of a statutory committee merely because he has previously been a member of that committee.

19U.K.[F8Any member of a statutory committee (other than a co-opted member) shall hold office until he ceases to be a member of the General Council or, where he is a member of the committee by virtue of being Chairman of the General Council, until he ceases to be Chairman of the General Council.]

20U.K.The General Council may by rules make provision with respect to any sub-committee of a statutory committee including, in particular, provision as to the functions and powers to be conferred on the sub-committee, its composition and its relationship with the statutory committee.

21(1)The General Council [F9shall] [F9may] make rules regulating the procedure of the statutory committees and their sub-committees (if any) including, in particular, provision as to rules of evidence to be observed in proceedings before any such committee or sub-committee.U.K.

(2)Subject to any provision made by or under this Act, [F10including provision made by standing orders of the General Council by virtue of paragraph 15(2)(h),] each statutory committee and any sub-committee of such a committee may regulate its own procedure.

22(1)If it appears to the General Council that any statutory committee is failing to perform its functions adequately, the General Council may give a direction as to the proper performance of those functions.U.K.

(2)Where the General Council, having given a direction under sub-paragraph (1), is satisfied that the committee has failed to comply with the direction, it may exercise any power of that committee or do any act or other thing authorised to be done by that committee.

23(1)The powers of any statutory committee may be exercised even though there is a vacancy among its members.U.K.

(2)No proceedings of a statutory committee shall be invalidated by any defect in the appointment of a member.

24(1)A person may be a member of more than one statutory committee.U.K.

(2)No member of the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee shall take part in dealing with an allegation referred to either committee by another committee if he is also a member of the committee which referred the allegation.

The Education CommitteeU.K.

25[F11(1)The Education Committee shall consist of—U.K.

(a)4 of the members of the General Council elected by fully registered chiropractors;

(b)2 of the members of the General Council appointed by the Privy Council;

(c)the 3 members of the General Council appointed by the Education Committee;

(d)the member of the General Council appointed by the Secretary of State.

(2)In appointing the members of the Committee, the General Council shall secure, so far as is compatible with the provisions of sub-paragraph (1), that its Chairman is a member of the Committee.]

[F11The General Council shall by rules make provision with regard to the constitution of the Education Committee, and those rules shall include provision with regard to—

(a)its size and membership;

(b)its chair, including the deputising arrangements for its chair; and

(c)the quorum at its meetings.]

26U.K.[F12The Committee may co-opt up to 6 further members.]

27[F13(1)Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the members of the Committee shall elect a Chairman from among themselves.U.K.

(2)The Chairman shall not be the Chairman of the General Council or a co-opted member of the Committee.

(3)In the event of a tie in any voting, the Chairman of the Committee shall have an additional casting vote.]

28U.K.[F14The quorum of the Committee shall be 5, of whom at least 3 shall be members of the General Council.]

29[F15(1)The 3 members appointed to the General Council by the Committee shall not be entitled to take part in the appointment of any of their successors.U.K.

(2)The member appointed to the General Council by the Secretary of State shall also not be entitled to take part in the appointment of any of the successors to the 3 members mentioned in sub-paragraph (1).

(3)Where the Chairman of the Committee is prevented by sub-paragraph (1) or (2) from taking part in an appointment the appointment shall be made in accordance with rules made by the General Council.]

The Investigating CommitteeU.K.

30U.K.[F16The Investigating Committee shall consist of at least 6 members of the General Council, of whom at least 2 shall be members of the General Council appointed by the Privy Council.]

[F16The General Council shall by rules make provision with regard to the constitution of the Investigating Committee, and those rules shall include provision with regard to—

(a)its size and membership;

(b)its chair, including the deputising arrangements for its chair; and

(c)the quorum at its meetings.]

31U.K.[F17The Committee may co-opt up to 6 further members.]

32[F18(1)Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the members of the Committee shall elect a Chairman from among themselves.U.K.

(2)The Chairman shall not be the Chairman of the General Council or a co-opted member of the Committee.

(3)In the event of a tie in any voting, the Chairman of the Committee shall have an additional casting vote.

(4)In the event of a tie in voting in respect of a decision under section 20(9)(c) or section 21(2), the Chairman shall cast his additional vote in favour of the chiropractor concerned.]

33U.K.[F19The quorum of the Committee shall be 5, of whom at least 3 shall be members of the General Council.]

The Professional Conduct CommitteeU.K.

34U.K.[F20The Professional Conduct Committee shall consist of at least 5 members of the General Council, of whom at least 2 shall be members of the General Council appointed by the Privy Council.]

[F20The General Council shall by rules make provision with regard to the constitution of the Professional Conduct Committee, and those rules shall include provision with regard to—

(a)its size and membership;

(b)its chair, including the deputising arrangements for its chair; and

(c)the quorum at its meetings.]

35U.K.[F21The Committee may co-opt up to 4 further members.]

36[F22(1)If the Chairman of the General Council is a member of the Committee he shall be Chairman of the Committee.U.K.

(2)If he is not a member of the Committee, the members shall elect a Chairman from among those members who are not co-opted members.

(3)In the event of a tie in any voting, the Chairman of the Committee shall have an additional casting vote.

(4)In the event of a tie in voting in respect of a decision under section 22 or section 24, the Chairman shall cast his additional vote in favour of the chiropractor concerned.]

37U.K.[F23The quorum of the Committee shall be 4, of whom at least 3 shall be members of the General Council.]

The Health CommitteeU.K.

38U.K.[F24The Health Committee shall consist of at least 6 members of the General Council, of whom—

(a)at least 2 shall be members of the General Council appointed by the Privy Council; and

(b)at least one shall be a registered medical practitioner at the time of his appointment.]

[F24The General Council shall by rules make provision with regard to the constitution of the Health Committee, and those rules shall include provision with regard to—

(a)its size and membership;

(b)its chair, including the deputising arrangements for its chair; and

(c)the quorum at its meetings.]

39U.K.[F25The Committee may co-opt up to 4 further members.]

40[F26(1)If the Chairman of the General Council is a member of the Committee he shall be Chairman of the Committee.U.K.

(2)If he is not a member of the Committee, the members shall elect a Chairman from among those members who are not co-opted members.

(3)In the event of a tie in any voting, the Chairman of the Committee shall have an additional casting vote.

(4)In the event of a tie in voting in respect of a decision under section 23 or section 24, the Chairman shall cast his additional vote in favour of the chiropractor concerned.]

41U.K.[F27The quorum of the Committee shall be 5, none of whom need be registered medical practitioners but at least 3 of whom shall be members of the General Council.]

Part IIIU.K. Transitional Provisions

The initial membership of the General CouncilU.K.

42U.K.When first constituted, the membership of the General Council shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule as modified by this Part.

The transitional periodsU.K.

43U.K.In this Part—

• “the three year transitional period” means the period beginning with the passing of this Act and ending with the third anniversary of the opening of the register;

• “the four year transitional period” means the period beginning with the passing of this Act and ending with the fourth anniversary of the opening of the register; and

• “the five year transitional period” means the period beginning with the passing of this Act and ending with the fifth anniversary of the opening of the register.

The chiropractic membersU.K.

44(1)During the three year transitional period, paragraph 1(a) shall have effect as if it provided for the appointment of 10 members by the Privy Council.U.K.

(2)Each of those members shall be appointed by the Privy Council after consultation with bodies in the United Kingdom appearing to the Privy Council to represent practising chiropractors.

(3)When appointing any such member the Privy Council shall designate him as a person appointed as one of the 10 members provided for by paragraph 1(a) (as modified by this paragraph).

(4)In this paragraph “chiropractic member” means a member designated under this paragraph.

(5)Each of the chiropractic members shall, at the time of his appointment, be a person appearing to the Privy Council to be a practising chiropractor.

(6)Paragraph 6 shall not apply to any of the chiropractic members.

(7)Subject to paragraphs 4, 5 and 7, the term of office of each of the chiropractic members shall end at the end of the three year transitional period.

The lay membersU.K.

45(1)The members appointed by the Privy Council under paragraph 1(b) during the five year transitional period shall each be designated by the Privy Council as a person appointed under paragraph 1(b).U.K.

(2)In this Part “lay member” means a member designated under this paragraph.

(3)Paragraph 11 shall have effect during the five year transitional period as if “registered chiropractors” and “registered chiropractor” read, respectively, “persons appearing to the Privy Council to be practising chiropractors” and “a person appearing to the Privy Council to be a practising chiropractor”.

(4)Subject to paragraphs 4 to 7, the term of office of each of the lay members shall end at the end of the five year transitional period.

The education membersU.K.

46(1)During the four year transitional period, paragraph 1(c) shall have effect as if it provided for the appointment of 3 members by the Privy Council.U.K.

(2)Each of those members shall be appointed by the Privy Council after consultation with the Secretary of State.

(3)When appointing any such member the Privy Council shall designate him as a person appointed as one of the 3 members provided for by paragraph 1(c) (as modified by this paragraph).

(4)The 3 education members shall be persons appearing to the Privy Council to be qualified to advise the General Council on matters relating to education and training in chiropractic.

(5)In this paragraph “education member” means a member designated under this paragraph.

(6)Paragraph 6 shall not apply to any of the education members.

(7)Subject to paragraphs 4 to 7, the term of office of each of the education members shall end at the end of the four year transitional period.

The Secretary of State’s nomineeU.K.

47U.K.Subject to paragraphs 4, 5 and 7, the term of office of any person appointed by the Secretary of State under paragraph 1(d) during the four year transitional period shall come to an end at the end of that period.

Appointment of first ChairmanU.K.

48(1)The first Chairman of the General Council shall be appointed by the Privy Council from among the lay members to serve as such until the end of the first meeting of the Council to be held after the first election of members under paragraph 1(a).U.K.

(2)If a person appointed as Chairman of the Council during the three year transitional period fails to serve his full term of office as Chairman, his successor as Chairman shall be appointed by the Privy Council from among the lay members for the residue of the unexpired term.

(3)Paragraph 14(3) shall have effect in relation to any Chairman appointed by the Privy Council under this paragraph as if for paragraph (c) there were substituted—

“(c)his removal by the Privy Council, where the Privy Council agrees to a request for his removal made by a majority of the other members of the General Council;”.

(4)Paragraph 14(3)(d) shall not apply in relation to any person serving as the Chairman appointed by the Privy Council under this paragraph.