Commentary on Sections Schedule 1- The Disused Tips Authority for Wales
14.Schedule 1 makes provision about the Authority’s constitution and operational arrangements. Under section 92, section 1 comes into force on 1 April 2027, therefore the Authority is established as a body corporate on that date. Schedule 1 comes into force on 1 April 2027 too (section 92(2)).
15.Paragraph 2 provides that the Authority will have between 4 and 6 non-executive members, appointed by the Welsh Ministers, including a chairing member. One of these members may be appointed as a deputy chairing member.
16.The Authority’s membership will also include the person appointed under paragraph 6 as its chief executive. The first chief executive is to be appointed by the Welsh Ministers, with subsequent chief executives appointed by the non-executive members. In accordance with paragraph 15, the chief executive is the accounting officer for the Authority. The accounting officer’s responsibilities about the accounts and finances of the Authority are as specified by the Welsh Ministers.
17.Paragraph 2(1)(d) provides that the chief executive and non-executives must appoint at least one but no more than two members to the Authority from amongst the Authority’s staff. These members together with the chief executive are known as executive members (paragraph 2(3)(b)). Paragraph 2(4) gives the Welsh Ministers a regulation making power to amend the number of members appointed to the Authority, but the number of non-executive members must always exceed the number of executive members in the interests of promoting independent oversight of the exercise of the Authority's functions.
18.Among other things, the Authority will have the power under Schedule 1 to appoint staff and to establish committees and sub-committees. The Authority will be required to make rules regulating its procedure and the procedure of any of its committees or sub-committees.
19.Schedule 1 also sets out the reporting requirements for the Authority. Paragraph 19 places a duty on the Authority to prepare and publish a corporate plan for each planning period. Paragraph 19(2) requires the corporate plan to set out how the Authority intends to discharge its functions under the Act during the planning period.
20.The first planning period will be a period of 3 years beginning with 1 October 2027. Subsequent planning periods will also run in 3-year cycles. The corporate plan for a planning period must be submitted to the Welsh Ministers for approval before the planning period begins. Before submitting the corporate plan for approval, the Authority must consult such persons as it considers appropriate.
21.Paragraph 20 sets out the Authority's duties in relation to the preparation and publication of an annual report on the exercise of its functions during the preceding financial year. A copy of the report must be sent to the Welsh Ministers, and the Welsh Ministers must lay a copy before the Senedd Cymru.
22.Part 8 of the Schedule makes minor and consequential amendments to existing primary legislation in connection with the establishment of the Authority.