Commentary on Sections Part 2 - the Welsh Revenue Authority Sections 2-9 – Establishment, status, membership, committees and staff of the Welsh Revenue Authority
7.Section 2 establishes the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) as a corporate body with its own legal personality. The WRA will be a Crown body with the status of a non-ministerial department, as distinct from the status of a Welsh Government Sponsored Body.
8.Sections 3-7 provide for the membership of the WRA, which will comprise non-executive and executive members and consist of between eight and thirteen members. Section 3(3) ensures that the number of non-executive members always exceeds the number of executive members. Section 4 sets out the disqualifying offices that would disqualify a person from being appointed as a non-executive member of the WRA.
9.Sections 5 and 7 provide for the Welsh Ministers to appoint, re-appoint and remove non-executive members including a chairperson and deputy chairperson and to make regulations to amend the number of members. There are also provisions for the removal of the elected executive member.
10.Section 6 provides for the appointment of an elected executive member. The elected executive member will be appointed by the non-executive members, following a ballot of WRA staff conducted by the WRA.
11.Section 8 makes provision for the WRA to establish committees (which may establish sub-committees) for any purpose relating to its functions. The WRA may determine the committees’ composition and also appoint people who are not members of the WRA and remunerate them for their services, with the approval of the Welsh Ministers.
12.Section 9 provides for the appointment of a chief executive of the WRA who is responsible to the WRA for the efficient and effective running of the WRA. The Welsh Ministers will appoint the first chief executive and subsequent appointments will, with the approval of the Welsh Ministers, be made by the non-executive members of the WRA. Provision is also made for the WRA to appoint staff, who will be civil servants.