Teaching Council Act, 2001

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Disclosure of interests.

57.—(1) Where a member or employee (including the Director) of the Council or a member of a committee, or a consultant, adviser or other person engaged by the Council, has a pecuniary interest or other beneficial interest in, or material to, any matter which falls to be considered by the Council or a committee, he or she shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) he or she shall disclose to the Council or committee, as the case may be, the fact of such interest and the nature of the interest in advance of any consideration of the matter;

(b) he or she shall neither influence nor seek to influence a decision in relation to the matter;

(c) he or she shall take no part in any consideration of the matter;

(d) if he or she is a member or employee of the Council or a member of a committee, he or she shall withdraw from the meeting concerned for so long as the matter is being discussed or considered and shall not vote or otherwise act as such member or employee in relation to the matter;

(e) he or she shall not vote on a decision relating to the matter.

(2) For the purposes of this section, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a person shall be regarded as having a beneficial interest if—

(a) the person or any member of his or her household, or any nominee of his or her or of any member of his or her household, is a member of a company or any other body which has a beneficial interest in, or material to, a matter referred to in that subsection,

(b) the person or any member of his or her household is in partnership with or is in the employment of a person who has a beneficial interest in, or material to, such a matter,

(c) the person or any member of his or her household is a party to any arrangement or agreement (whether or not enforceable) concerning land to which such a matter relates, or

(d) any member of his or her household has a beneficial interest in, or material to, such a matter.

(3) For the purposes of this section a person shall not be regarded as having a beneficial interest in, or material to, any matter by reason only of an interest of the person or of any company or of any other body or person mentioned in subsection (2) which is so remote or insignificant that it cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to influence a person in considering, discussing or in voting on, any question with respect to the matter, or in performing any function in relation to that matter.

(4) Where at a meeting of the Council a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a person, would constitute a failure by the person to comply with the requirements of subsection (1), the question shall be determined by the Council, whose decision shall be final, and particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(5) Where a disclosure is made under this section, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being considered or discussed by the meeting, the person by whom the disclosure is made, where he or she is a member of the Council, shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting unless the Council otherwise determines.

(6) Subject to paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 1, where a person referred to in this section fails to make a disclosure in accordance with this section, the Council or committee, as the case may be, shall decide the appropriate action to be taken.