Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Amendment Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 10th September 1998.

(2) In these Regulations, “the Regulations” means The National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990(3).

Maximum number of directors

2.  For regulation 2 of the Regulations (maximum number of directors), there shall be substituted the following regulation—

“Maximum number of directors

2.—(1) The maximum number of directors of an NHS trust shall be twelve, excluding the Chairman.

(2) An NHS trust shall have no more than seven non-executive directors (excluding the Chairman), and no more than five executive directors.”.

Disqualification for appointment of chairman and non-executive directors

3.  At the end of regulation 11 of the Regulations, there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(6) A person shall not be disqualified by paragraph (1)(e) from being the chairman or a non-executive director of an NHS trust during the period between the date on which it is established and its operational date(4) by virtue of being the chairman or a non-executive director of another NHS trust.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 (“the 1990 Regulations”) which make provision in connection with the membership and procedure of NHS trusts established under Part I of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990.

The amendment made to regulation 2 of the 1990 Regulations changes the maximum number of directors of an NHS trust from eleven to twelve (excluding the Chairman), and provides that no more than seven of these may be non-executive directors (excluding the Chairman) and no more than five shall be executive directors.

The amendment made to regulation 11 of the 1990 Regulations provides that a person is not to be disqualified from being the chairman or non-executive director of an NHS trust during the period between its establishment and its operational date, by virtue of being the chairman or non-executive director of another NHS trust.