Clause 22

by inserting, immediately after section 11, the following section:“Secretary of Council11A.—

The Council may appoint an employee of the Council to be the secretary of the Council.(2) The secretary of the Council —

is responsible for the following matters:

arranging the business, and keeping the minutes, of each meeting of the Council;

conveying any decision of the Council to the appropriate person;

is to perform such other functions as the Chairman may direct; and

must act in accordance with such instructions as the Chairman may give.”; and

by inserting, immediately after paragraph 12 of the First Schedule, the following paragraph:“Transaction of business by Council outside meetings12A.—

The Council may, if it thinks fit, transact any of its business by the circulation of papers among members.(2) Where a member is in any way, directly or indirectly, interested in any business being transacted by circulation of papers —

the member must disclose the nature of the member’s interest in writing to the Chairman at the first opportunity after the relevant facts have come to the member’s knowledge;

the disclosure is to be recorded and treated as having been made in accordance with paragraph 10; and

the member must not take part in the deliberation or decision with respect to that transaction.(3) A decision in writing made by a simple majority of the members for the time being entitled to take part in the decision is to be taken as a decision of the Council, and is as valid and effectual as if the decision had been made at a meeting of the Council duly convened and held.(4) Separate copies of a decision in writing may be distributed for signing by the members if the wording of the decision and approval is identical in each copy.(5) For the purpose of a decision under this paragraph, the Chairman and each member have the same voting rights as they have at any meeting of the Council.(6) The decision of the Council is made when —

the last member required for the majority signs; and

the decision of that member is duly delivered to the secretary of the Council.(7) The Chairman may stipulate a period of time within which a decision may be made under this paragraph.(8) The Council may, if it thinks fit, deliberate on matters by the circulation of papers among all of the members of the Council.(9) For the purposes of this paragraph, papers (including disclosures and decisions) may be circulated among members, or delivered to the secretary of the Council, by hand or by facsimile or electronic transmission of the information in the papers concerned.”.