The Act National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board – section 43
298.Section 43(2) inserts a new section 27C into the 2001 Act which establishes the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board.
299.The Board’s functions are to advise the Scottish Ministers in relation to their functions insofar as they relate to smart ticketing arrangements and the national technological standard for smart ticketing. The Board is also given the function of providing the Scottish Ministers with advice and recommendations in relation to the strategic development of smart ticketing in Scotland. In relation to the national technological standard, section 27B(4) (inserted by section 42(2)) provides that Scottish Ministers must consult the Board before specifying a standard (or varying or revoking an existing specification).
300.The Board is an advisory committee of individuals – it does not have separate legal personality. The process for appointing and remunerating members is to be set out in regulations made by the Scottish Ministers (section 27C(3) and (4)). Those regulations may also specify the decision-making process that the Board must follow, e.g. by making provision about voting. Before making the regulations, the Scottish Ministers must consult the organisations set out in section 27C(4).