Schedules Schedule 3: Social Work England
This schedule includes provisions relating to the governance of the regulator including powers to appoint members and staff, powers for the regulator to delegate functions and requirements as to annual reports and accounts. Specifically the schedule provides for the following:
that the regulator is not to be regarded as a servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown and that members and staff of the regulator are not to be regarded as Crown servants;
that the regulator is to consist of a Chair appointed by the Secretary of State and such other members as the Secretary of State may appoint;
the details about terms of office, remuneration and pensions of members;
that the regulator must appoint a chief executive who must be approved by the Secretary of State and who is to be an employee of the regulator. The Secretary of State may appoint the first chief executive;
that the regulator may appoint other staff on such terms, including in relation to remuneration and pension arrangements, as the regulator may decide (but the regulator must obtain Secretary of State approval for any terms relating to remuneration or pension arrangements);
that the regulator may determine its own procedure including quorum and that no proceeding is invalidated by a vacancy in the office of chair or a defect in the appointment of any member;
that the regulator may delegate functions to members, members of staff or committees and that it may delegate functions to any other person if it considers that the delegation is likely to lead to an improvement in the exercise of its functions and the person has agreed to the delegation (but the functions that may be so delegated do not include any power or duty to make rules or the powers of delegation so conferred). The responsibility for the exercise of the function will remain with the regulator;
that committees or sub-committees of the regulator may include persons who are not members of the regulator;
that the regulator must send the Secretary of State a report on the exercise of its functions during the year as soon as possible after the end of each financial year. It must prepare a statement of accounts for each financial year which must be in such form as the Secretary of State may direct and the regulator must send a copy of this statement to the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General, within the tme period directed by the Secretary of State. The Comptroller and Auditor General must examine, certify and report on the statement of accounts and send a copy of the certified statement and of the report to the Secretary of State as soon as possible. The Secretary of State must, in respect of each financial year, lay before Parliament a document consisting of the annual report provided to the Secretary of State by the regulator and the certified statement of accounts and report sent by the Comptroller and Auditor General;
that the application of the regulator’s seal must be authenticated by the signature of a member of the regulator or an authorised person. A document purporting to be duly executed under the seal of the regulator is to be received in evidence and is to be treated as so executed unless the contrary is shown;
that all members of the regulator will be disqualified from membership of the House of Commons (through insertion of a reference to Social Work England into Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 at the appropriate place); and
that the regulator will be a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (through insertion of a reference to Social Work England into Part 6 of Schedule 1 to that Act at the appropriate place).