Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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(b) must not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Board with respect to that matter.

(2) A member is taken to be interested under sub-paragraph (1), in particular, where the matter being considered is a failure to comply with the code of conduct of a relevant authority and he is, or has been--

(a) a member or officer of that authority, or

(b) a member of a committee, sub-committee, joint committee or joint sub-committee of that authority.

Law of defamation

11 For the purposes of the law of defamation, any statement (whether written or oral) made by an ethical standards officer in connection with the exercise of his functions shall be absolutely privileged.

Finance

12 (1) The Secretary of State must pay to the Standards Board in respect of each financial year such amount as he determines to be the amount required--

(a) for the performance during that year of the functions of the Board, and

(b) for the performance during that year of the functions of its ethical standards officers.

(2) Any determination under sub-paragraph (1) requires the approval of the Treasury.

(3) In this paragraph "financial year" means--

(a) the period beginning with the date on which the Standards Board is established and ending with the next 31st March following that date, and

(b) each successive period of twelve months ending with 31st March.

Accounts

13 (1) The Standards Board must--

(a) keep proper accounts and records in relation to the accounts, and

(b) prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of accounts in such form as the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct.

(2) The accounts of the Standards Board must be audited by persons appointed for the purpose for each financial year by the Secretary of State.

(3) A copy of any accounts of the Standards Board audited under sub-paragraph (2), and of the report made on those accounts by the persons appointed to audit them, must be sent to the Secretary of State as soon as reasonably practicable after the report is received by the Board.

(4) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a copy of any accounts or report sent to him under sub-paragraph (3).

(5) In this paragraph "financial year" has the meaning given by paragraph 12(3).

Annual report

14 (1) As soon as possible after the end of each financial year the Standards Board must publish a report on the discharge of its functions during that year.

(2) The Standards Board must send a copy of each annual report to the Secretary of State who must lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

(3) In this paragraph "financial year" has the meaning given by paragraph 12(3).

Application of seal and evidence

15 The application of the seal of the Standards Board is to be authenticated by the signature--

(a) of the chairman, or

(b) of some other member who has been authorised by the Board (whether generally or specially) for that purpose.

16 A document purporting to be duly executed under the seal of the Standards Board or to be signed on its behalf may be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved, is to be taken to be so executed or signed.

Parliamentary Commissioner

17 In Schedule 2 to the [1967 c. 13.] Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (departments etc subject to investigation) the following entry is inserted at the appropriate place--

" Standards Board for England. "

Parliamentary disqualification

18 (1) In the [1975 c. 24.] House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, in Part II of Schedule 1 (bodies of which all members are disqualified) the following entry is inserted at the appropriate place--

" The Standards Board for England. "

(2) The same entry is inserted at the appropriate place in Part II of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 25.] Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975.

Section 107.

SCHEDULE 5 Minor and Consequential Amendments

Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (c. 12)

1 In section 34A of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (attendance at court of parent or guardian), in subsection (2)(b) for the words "stand referred to their social services committee under" there is substituted "are social services functions within the meaning of".

2 In section 55 of that Act (power to order parent or guardian to pay fine etc), in subsection (5)(b) for the words "stand referred to their social services committee under" there is substituted "are social services functions within the meaning of".

Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42)

3 In section 2 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (local authority to establish social services committees)--

(a) in subsection (1), for paragraphs (a) and (b) there is substituted "their social services functions",

(b) subsection (2) is omitted.

4 In section 3 of that Act (business of social services committee), in subsection (1), the words "(hereafter in this Act referred to as "social services functions")" are omitted.

5 In section 13 of that Act (orders and regulations), in subsection (3), for "2(2)" there is substituted "1A".

6 In section 15 of that Act (citation, interpretation etc), in subsection (2), for "3" there is substituted "1A".

7 In Schedule 1 to that Act (enactments conferring functions assigned to social services committees) after the entry relating to the [1985 c. 68.] Housing Act 1985 there is inserted--

" Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 (c. 33)
Sections 1 to 5, 7 and 8 except in so far as they assign functions to a local authority in their capacity as a local education authority.	Representation and assessment of disabled persons. "

Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70)

8 In section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972 (disqualifications for election and holding office as member of local authority), in subsection (1)(e) the words "or under the Audit Commission Act 1998" are omitted.

9 In section 85 of that Act (vacation of office by failure to attend meetings), after subsection (3) there is inserted--

" (3A) Any period during which a member of a local authority is suspended or partially suspended under section 66, 73, 78 or 79 of the Local Government Act 2000 shall be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the period of six consecutive months under subsection (1) above (and, accordingly, a period during which a member fails to attend meetings of the authority that falls immediately before, and another such period that falls immediately after, a period of suspension or partial suspension shall be treated as consecutive). "

10 In section 86 of that Act (declaration by local authority of vacancy in office in certain cases), in subsection (1)(b) after "1998" there is inserted "or section 79 of the Local Government Act 2000".

11 In section 87(1) of that Act (date of casual vacancies)--

(a) after paragraph (e) there is inserted--

" (ee) in the case of a disqualification under section 79 of the Local Government Act 2000, on the expiration of the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the relevant decision under that section or, if an appeal or application is made, on the date on which that appeal or application is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution thereof; " ,

(b) in paragraph (f), for "(e)" there is substituted "(ee)".

12 Sections 94 to 98 of that Act (restrictions on voting) cease to have effect.

13 Section 105 of that Act (disability for voting on account of interest in contracts etc) ceases to have effect.

Local Government Act 1974 (c. 7)

14 In section 25(1) of the Local Government Act 1974 (authorities to which Part III applies) after paragraph (bf) there is inserted--

" (bg) a fire authority constituted by a combination scheme under the [1947 c. 41.] Fire Services Act 1947; " .

15 In section 30 of that Act (reports on investigation by Local Commissioner)--

(a) in subsection (3), the words "except where subsection (3A) below applies" are omitted,

(b) subsection (3A) is omitted.

Adoption Act 1976 (c. 36)

16 In section 2 of the Adoption Act 1976 (local authorities' social services), for the words "stand referred to the authority's social services committee" there is substituted "are social services functions within the meaning of the [1970 c. 42.] Local Authority Social Services Act 1970".

National Health Service Act 1977 (c. 49)

17 In section 28A of the National Health Service Act 1977 (power to make payments towards expenditure on community services), in subsection (2)(a) for the words from "any function" to "committee" there is substituted "any social services functions (within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970)".

Registered Homes Act 1984 (c. 23)

18 In its application to a registration authority which are operating executive arrangements (within the meaning of Part II of this Act), section 13 of the Registered Homes Act 1984 (right to make representations) shall have effect as if for subsection (5) there were substituted--

" (5) If he informs the registration authority that he desires to make oral representations, they shall make arrangements to enable him to make such representations. "

Children Act 1989 (c. 41)

19 In section 22 of the Children Act 1989 (general duty of local authority in relation to children looked after by them), in subsection (1)(b) for the words "stand referred to their social services committee under" there is substituted "are social services functions within the meaning of".

20 In section 42 of that Act (right of guardian ad litem to have access to local authority records), in subsection (1)(b) for the words "stand referred to their social services committee under" there is substituted "are social services functions within the meaning of".

21 In section 81 of that Act (inquiries), in subsection (1)(a) for the words "the social services committee of a local authority" there is substituted "a local authority which are social services functions within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970".

22 In section 105 of that Act (interpretation), in subsection (5) for the words "which stand referred to the social services committee of that or any other local authority under" there is substituted "of that or any other local authority which are social services functions within the meaning of".

23 In its application to a local authority (within the meaning of Schedule 6 to that Act) which are operating executive arrangements (within the meaning of Part II of this Act), paragraph 6 of that Schedule (right to make representations) shall have effect as if for subsection (5) there were substituted--

" (5) If he informs the local authority that he desires to make oral representations, they shall make arrangements to enable him to make such representations. "

Local Government and Housing 1989 (c. 42)

24 (1) Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (designation and reports of monitoring officer) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1), before "the officer so" there is inserted "subject to subsection (1A) below".

(3) After that subsection there is inserted--

" (1A) The officer designated under subsection (1) above by a relevant authority to which this subsection applies may not be the head of that authority's paid service.

(1B) Subsection (1A) above applies to the following relevant authorities in England and Wales--

(a) a county council,

(b) a county borough council,

(d) a London borough council,

(e) the Greater London Authority, and

(f) the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, police authority or port health authority. "

(4) In subsection (2), the words "or of any code of practice made or approved by or under any enactment" are omitted.

(5) In subsection (2), as substituted in relation to the Greater London Authority by section 73(6) of the [1999 c. 29.] Greater London Authority Act 1999, in paragraph (a) the words "or of any code of practice made or approved by or under any enactment" are omitted.

(6) After that subsection there is inserted--

" (2A) No duty shall arise by virtue of subsection (2)(b) above unless a Local Commissioner (within the meaning of the [1974 c. 7.] Local Government Act 1974) has conducted an investigation under Part III of that Act in relation to the proposal, decision or omission concerned. "

(7) In subsection (8), in paragraph (a) of the definition of "relevant authority", for "(j)" there is substituted "(k)".

(8) After that subsection there is inserted--

" (8A) Any reference in this section to the duties of a monitoring officer imposed by this section, or to the duties of a monitoring officer under this section, shall include a reference to the functions which are conferred on a monitoring officer by virtue of Part III of the Local Government Act 2000. "

25 Section 19 of that Act (members' interests) ceases to have effect.

26 Sections 31 and 32(1) of that Act (National Code of Local Government Conduct) are omitted.

27 Sections 33 to 35 of that Act (economic development and discretionary expenditure by local authorities) cease to have effect.

Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 (c. 53)

28 In Part I of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 (tribunals under the supervision of the Council on Tribunals), at the end of paragraph 27 there is inserted--

" Local authorities, conduct of members

27A. A case tribunal or interim case tribunal appointed under section 76 of the Local Government Act 2000. "

Audit Commission Act 1998 (c. 18)

29 In section 37 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 (social services studies for Secretary of State), for subsection (2) there is substituted--

" (2) In this section "social services functions" means functions which are social services functions within the meaning of the [1970 c. 42.] Local Authority Social Services Act 1970. "

30 In section 49 of that Act (restriction on disclosure of information), after subsection (1)(d) there is inserted--

" (dd) for the purposes of the functions of an ethical standards officer or a Local Commissioner in Wales under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 " .

Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29)

31 In section 6 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (failure to attend meeting of the Assembly), after subsection (4) there is inserted--

" (5) Any period during which an Assembly member is suspended or partially suspended under section 66, 73, 78 or 79 of the Local Government Act 2000 shall be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the period of six consecutive months under subsection (1). "

32 Section 13 of that Act (failure of Mayor to attend meetings) is to become subsection (1) of that section and after that subsection there is inserted--

" (2) Any meeting of the Assembly which the Mayor is unable to attend because he is suspended or partially suspended under section 66, 73, 78 or 79 of the Local Government Act 2000 shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (1) above. "

33 In section 31 of that Act (limits of the general power), in subsection (5), for paragraphs (a) and (b) there is substituted "any social services function within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970".

34 Section 66 of that Act (the Secretary of State's guidance on ethical standards) ceases to have effect.

Section 107.

SCHEDULE 6 Repeals

Chapter	Short title	Extent of repeal
1970 c. 42.	Local Authority Social Services Act 1970.	Section 2(2).
		In section 3(1), the words "(hereafter in this Act referred to as "social services functions")".
		Section 6(5).
1972 c. 70.	Local Government Act 1972.	In section 80(1)(e), the words "or under the Audit Commission Act 1998".
		Sections 94 to 98.
		In section 100D(2), "of the list, or".
		Section 105.
		In section 265A(1)(b), "94 to 98".
1974 c. 7.	Local Government Act 1974.	In section 30, in subsection (3), "except where subsection (3A) below applies" and subsection (3A).
1976 c. 57.	Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.	In section 25(8), the words from "Without prejudice" to "inhabitants of its area)".
1978 c. 50.	Inner Urban Areas Act 1978.	In section 13, the words "section 137(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 or".
1985 c. 51.	Local Government Act 1985.	In Schedule 14, paragraph 13.
1985 c. 67.	Transport Act 1985.	In section 74(12), "section 94 of the 1972 Act or".
1985 c. 68.	Housing Act 1985.	Section 11A(4).
1986 c. 60.	Financial Services Act 1986.	In Schedule 16, paragraph 8(a).
1989 c. 42.	Local Government and Housing Act 1989.	In section 5(2)(a), and in section 5(2)(a) as substituted by section 73(6) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the words "or of any code of practice made or approved by or under any enactment".
		Sections 19, 31, 32(1) and 33 to 35.
		In Schedule 11, paragraphs 22 and 23.
1992 c. 14.	Local Government Finance Act 1992.	In Schedule 13, paragraph 32.
1994 c. 19.	Local Government (Wales) Act 1994.	In Schedule 15, paragraph 25.
1994 c. 29.	Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994.	In Schedule 4, paragraph 7.
1995 c. 25.	Environment Act 1995.	In Schedule 7, paragraphs 9 and 10.
1996 c. 16.	Police Act 1996.	In Schedule 7, in paragraph 1(2)(h), "98(1A)" and paragraph 21.
1996 c. 56.	Education Act 1996.	In Schedule 37, paragraph 63.
1997 c. 50.	Police Act 1997.	In Schedule 6, paragraphs 1 and 2.
1998 c. 18.	Audit Commission Act 1998.	In section 16(1)(a), "or 18".
		In section 17, subsection (1)(b) and "and" preceding it; in subsection (2), "subject to subsection (3)", paragraphs (a)and (b) and "and"following paragraph (b); subsections (3), (5)(b), (7) and (8).
		Section 18.
		Sections 20 to 23.
		In Schedule 3, paragraph 3(1).
1999 c. 29.	Greater London Authority Act 1999.	Section 66.
		In Schedule 8, paragraphs 6 and 7.

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