# The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (Establishment, Constitution, and Staff and Other Transfer Provisions) Order 2017, Paragraph 3: Disqualification of persons for appointment (chairperson and non-officer members)

Extent: E+W

(1) Subject to paragraph 4, a person is disqualified for appointment as the chairperson or as a non-officer member if any of the following apply—
(a) the person holds a position as chairperson, member, officer, governor or director with, or is employed by, or contracted in any capacity to provide services to—
(i) any health service body; or
(ii) any person or body which is not a health service body but which provides services under a commissioning contract within the meaning of section 6E of the NHS Act;
(b) the person has—
(i) within the previous five years been convicted in the United Kingdom of any criminal offence not mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) or been convicted elsewhere of any offence which, if committed in any part of the United Kingdom would constitute a criminal offence not mentioned in sub-paragraph (c);
(ii) as a consequence of that conviction, been sentenced to a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not); and
(iii) neither the conviction has been quashed nor the sentence reduced to a sentence other than a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) on appeal;
(c) the person has, on or after attaining the age of 18 years, in respect of acts or omissions occurring on or after the person’s attaining the age of 18 years—
(i) been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence or been convicted elsewhere of any offence which, if committed in any part of the United Kingdom would constitute a criminal offence involving fraud, theft or bribery and the conviction has not been quashed on appeal;
(ii) been party to an agreement which is the subject of a decision under section 31 (decisions following an investigation) of the Competition Act 1998, or subject to directions under section 32 (directions in relation to agreements) or 33 (directions in relation to conduct) arising from such a decision, including interim directions under section 35 (interim measures), of the Competition and Markets Authority in respect of prohibitions in Chapter 1 (agreements preventing, restricting or distorting competition) or Chapter 2 (abuse of dominant position) of Part 1 of the Competition Act 1998 or under Article 101(1) or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, unless the decision has been successfully appealed under section 46 (appealable decisions) or 49 (further appeals) of the Competition Act 1998 and appeal proceedings have concluded; or
(iii) been subject to, or been party to an agreement which was, the subject of a regulatory or judicial finding or decision, other than one which was successfully reviewed or appealed, in respect of matters similar to those mentioned in para (ii) pursuant to the repealed legislation mentioned in sections 1 and 17 of the Competition Act 1998;
(d) the person is the subject of a bankruptcy order within the meaning of section 381 of the Insolvency Act 1986, or of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Schedule 4A to the Insolvency Act 1986, or of a debt relief restrictions order or an interim debt relief restrictions order under Schedule 4ZB to that Act, or is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Schedule 2A to the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 or sequestration of the person’s estate has been awarded and not recalled, or the person is a debtor who has not been discharged within the meaning of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016, or is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim bankruptcy restrictions order under Part 13 of that Act (bankruptcy restrictions orders etc);
(e) the person has been dismissed within the previous five years, otherwise than by reason of redundancy, from any paid employment with a health service body or any person or body which is not a health service body but which provides services under a commissioning contract within the meaning of section 6E of the NHS Act;
(f) the tenure of office of the person as the chairperson, a member, a director or a governor of a health service body has been terminated on the grounds—
(i) that it was not in the interests of the health service body or of the health service that the person should continue to hold the office;
(ii) of non-attendance at meetings;
(iii) of non-disclosure of a pecuniary interest; or
(iv) of misbehaviour, misconduct or failure to carry out the duties of the post or position held by the person;
(g) the tenure of office of the person as the chairperson, a member, a director or a governor of any person or body which is not a health service body but which provides services under a commissioning contract within the meaning of section 6E of the NHS Act has been terminated on the grounds of—
(i) non-disclosure of a pecuniary interest; or
(ii) misbehaviour, misconduct or failure to carry out the duties of the post or position held by the person;
(h) the person is subject to a disqualification order or undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 or to an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (disabilities on revocation of administration order against an individual);
(i) the person has been—
(i) removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commissioners or the High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which the person was responsible or to which the person was privy, or which was contributed to or facilitated by the person’s conduct; or
(ii) disqualified from being a charity trustee in Scotland pursuant to section 69 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005;
(j) the person—
(i) was refused inclusion in a list maintained pursuant to regulations made under sections 91 (persons providing primary medical services), 103 (persons providing primary dental services), 123 (persons performing primary ophthalmic services) or 147A (performers of pharmaceutical services and assistants) of the NHS Act by reason of any matter concerning the person’s honesty or probity;
(ii) was included in such a list but that inclusion is suspended or subject to conditions by reason of any matter concerning the person’s honesty or probity;
(iii) was included in such a list but has been removed or contingently removed from that list by reason of any matter concerning the person’s honesty or probity;
(iv) is similarly prevented from providing primary medical, dental ophthalmic or pharmaceutical services elsewhere in the United Kingdom in circumstances corresponding to those set out in paragraphs (i) to (iii) in relation to England,
and in relation to whether a matter concerns the person’s honesty or probity, the question, in any case that is disputed by the person concerned, is to be determined by the Secretary of State or, where requested by the Secretary of State in cases not concerning the chairperson’s qualification to hold office, the chairperson.
(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), for the purposes of this paragraph, “health service bodies” means—
(a) NHS England;
(b) a clinical commissioning group;
(c) an NHS trust;
(d) an NHS foundation trust;
(e) a special health authority;
(f) Monitor;
(g) a combined authority , combined county authority or local authority in England carrying out functions provided for in the NHS Act, pursuant to regulations under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 or under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 or, as the case may be, an order under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, or to arrangements made under section 13Z, 13ZA, 13ZB, 14Z3A or 75 of the NHS Act;
(h) Care Quality Commission;
(i) Health Education England;
(j) Health Research Authority
(k) Health and Social Care Information Centre;
(l) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority;
(m) Human Tissue Authority;
(n) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence;
(o) an executive agency of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ;
(p) an integrated care board
(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a), in the case of an appointment of a non-officer member other than the chairperson the first reference in that sub-paragraph to “health service body” does not include reference to an NHS trust or foundation trust.
(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) and (c), the date of conviction is deemed to be the date on which the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application with respect to the conviction expires or, if such an appeal or application is made, the date on which the appeal or application is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails by reason of its not being prosecuted.
(5) In relation to a person who would otherwise be disqualified under sub-paragraph (1)(c), the Secretary of State may in his discretion decide that a conviction for an offence of theft or fraud is not to disqualify a person from office if the offence is one it is appropriate to overlook by reason of the youth of the person at the time of the commission of the offence or the impact of the offence or other mitigating factors.
(6) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(e), a person is not to be treated as having been in paid employment by reason only of having been—
(a) in the case of an NHS foundation trust, the chairperson, a governor or a non-executive director of the trust;
(b) in the case of a clinical commissioning group, the chair or a member of the governing body of the group; or
(c) in the case of any other health service body, the chairperson, a member or a director of the health service body in question.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/958/schedule/2/paragraph/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/nhs-counter-fraud-authority-establishment-constitution-and-staff-and-other-transfer-provisions-order-2017/schedule-2/paragraph-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.