Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
Bahamas Numbered Acts |
No. 24 of 2004 |
||
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT |
||
OF A RESIDENTIAL CARE ESTABLISHMENTS |
||
LICENSING AUTHORITY |
||
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGULATION AND |
||
LICENSING OF OPERATORS OF |
||
RESIDENTIAL CARE ESTABLISHMENTS |
||
AND FOR PURPOSES CONNECTED THEREWITH |
||
[Date of Assent - 3rd December, 2004] |
||
Enacted by the Parliament of The Bahamas. |
||
1.(1)
This Act may be cited as the
Residential Care Establishments Act, 2003.
|
Short title and commencement. |
|
(2)
This Act shall come into
operation on a day to be appointed by the Minister by notice
published in the Gazette.
|
||
2.
In this Act -
|
Interpretation. |
|
"Administrator" means the person responsible for the day to day operation and management of a residential care establishment; |
||
"Authority" means the Residential Care Establishments' Licensing Authority established under section 3; |
||
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for care facilities; |
||
"operator" means a person entitled to be issued a licence to operate a residential care establishment under section 9 of the Act; |
||
"register" means the register of residential care establishments kept by the Authority in accordance with section 15; |
||
"residential care services" includes assistance with daily living and the provision of social and emotional support programmes by the operator of the facility; and |
||
"residential care establishment" includes - |
||
(a)
any facility, including a private
home, operated by a person who receives compensation for the
provision of residential care services
for five residents or
more;
|
||
(b)
an establishment which provides
residential care services for compensation to persons in need of
care by reason of old age, disablement,
social dislocation or a
past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs;
|
||
(c)
any charitable or non-charitable
establishment for the provision of residential care services for
children and young persons, persons
of old age, persons suffering
from social dislocation or disability and persons dependent on
drugs.
|
||
3.(1)
There is hereby established a
body to be called the Residential Care Establishments' Licensing
Authority.
|
Establishment of Authority. |
|
(2)
The Authority shall be a body
corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, with power
to acquire, hold and dispose of land
and other property of whatever
kind and to sue and be sued.
|
||
(3)
The First Schedule shall have
effect with respect to the constitution and procedure of the
Authority and otherwise in relation thereto.
|
First Schedule. |
|
4.
The functions of the Authority
are -
|
Functions of Authority. |
|
(a)
to register buildings as
residential care establishments;
|
||
(b)
to register operators and
administrators of residential care establishments;
|
||
(c)
to regulate residential care
establishments;
|
||
(d)
to appoint suitable persons, (not
being persons engaged in the management of residential care
establishments) to be inspectors for
the purposes of this
Act;
|
||
(e)
to govern and regulate the
conduct of operators and employees of residential care
establishments;
|
||
(f)
to issue licences to operators of
residential care establishments under this Act;
|
||
(g)
to establish standards of
qualifications for operators and employees of residential care
establishments; and
|
||
(h)
to do such other things as may be
prescribed by this Act or any other written law.
|
||
5.(1)
No person shall operate a
residential care establishment unless that residential care
establishment is registered under this Act.
|
Registration of residential care establishments. |
|
(2)
The Authority may, upon
application in the prescribed manner and -
|
||
(a)
on being satisfied that the
premises on which the residential care establishment would be
operating is fit for that purpose;
|
||
(b)
on being satisfied that all
emergency, medical and disaster plans are in place in the
residential care establishment;
|
||
(c)
on being satisfied that the
residential care establishment would operate in a manner that is in
the best interest of the public's
safety; and
|
||
(d)
upon payment of the prescribed
fee,
|
||
grant to the applicant a certificate of registration in the prescribed form to use a building as a residential care establishment. |
||
(3)
A certificate of registration
issued in respect of a residential care establishment shall be
displayed in a conspicuous place in that
residential care
establishment.
|
||
(4)
A certificate of registration
issued under this Act shall, unless sooner suspended or revoked, be
valid for two years from the date
of the grant of the
certificate.
|
||
(5)
Application for renewal of a
certificate of registration shall be made in the prescribed form
and not later than thirty days before
the date of the expiration
thereof.
|
||
(6)
The Authority may upon
application in the prescribed manner and on being satisfied of the
conditions in section 5(2) grant a renewal
of the certificate of
registration.
|
||
(7)
Where the Authority refuses an
application for renewal for registration, the Authority shall
within seven days from the date of such
refusal give written notice
to the applicant stating the reasons therefor.
|
||
6.(1)
No person shall operate a
residential care establishment without being duly registered under
this Act.
|
Penalty for operating an establishment without being registered. |
|
(2)
A person who contravenes
subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand
five hundred
dollars and where the offence continues after conviction, the
person commits a further offence and is liable to a further
fine of
one hundred dollars for every day upon which such offence
continues.
|
||
7.(1)
A person who, after the
commencement of this Act, applies to the Authority to be registered
as an operator of a residential care establishment
and who
satisfies the Authority that -
|
Qualifications for registration as an operator. |
|
(a)
the applicant and every person to
be employed by the applicant is eighteen years of age or
over;
|
||
(b)
the applicant or a person
employed by the applicant is not by reason of age or otherwise
incapable of operating or being employed
in a residential care
establishment;
|
||
(c)
the applicant or any of the
employees are fit and proper, that is to say -
|
||
(i)
they have not been convicted of
any offence against this Act;
|
||
(ii)
they have not been convicted of
any offence under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence
Act;
|
Ch. 99. |
|
(iii)
they have not been convicted of
any offence within the last five years of which violence,
dishonesty or drug abuse is an element:
|
||
Provided that in the case of a person who has completed a rehabilitative programme and is employed in the residential care establishment where the rehabilitative programme was conducted; such person should not have been convicted of any offence within the last two years of which violence, dishonesty or drug use is an element; |
||
(iv)
in the case of a body corporate,
none of its directors have been convicted of any offence as
mentioned in this paragraph;
|
||
(v)
the Authority is satisfied as to
the character, antecedents or competence of the applicant;
and
|
||
(d)
the applicant is qualified to be
so registered,
|
||
is entitled, upon compliance with this Act and on payment of the prescribed fee, to be registered under this Act. |
||
(2)
For the purposes of subsection
(1)(d), a person is qualified to be registered as an operator of a
residential care establishment if
that person has not been
disqualified or suspended from operating a residential care
establishment whether within or outside The
Bahamas and -
|
||
(a)
there is evidence that the
operator, or in the case where the operator is a body corporate,
the Administrator has satisfactory training
or experience in
providing care for the residents of the establishment as may be
prescribed:
|
||
(b)
he is a citizen of The Bahamas or
a permanent resident of The Bahamas whose permanent residence
certificate permits him to engage
in gainful occupation.
|
||
(3)
An application for
registration under this section shall be made in the prescribed
form and an applicant shall furnish to the Authority
-
|
||
(a)
evidence of his qualification, or
in the case of a body corporate, evidence of the qualifications of
the Administrator;
|
||
(b)
proof of his identity; and
|
||
(c)
such further or other information
as the Authority requires in respect of the matters specified in
paragraphs (a) - (d) of subsection
(1).
|
||
(4)
A registration under this
section shall be known as the first registration, and the fee
payable in respect thereof shall be known
as the first registration
fee.
|
||
(5)
Where a person qualifies under
this section, the Authority shall enter the person's name on the
register kept under section 15.
|
||
(6)
Where the Authority refuses to
approve the registration of a person under this Act, the Authority
shall within seven days from the
date of such refusal give written
notice to the applicant stating the reasons therefor.
|
||
(7)
Where it appears to the
Authority that an applicant for registration is not qualified under
this section, the Authority may, upon
payment of the prescribed fee
issue to that person a provisional licence subject to such
conditions as the Authority may determine
which shall entitle him
to operate an establishment as he would have been entitled to do if
he had been registered and licensed in
accordance with the
Act.
|
||
(8)
A provisional licence shall,
unless it is sooner canceled, remain in force for a period, not
exceeding one year.
|
||
(9)
The Minister shall cancel a
provisional licence at any time on the direction of the
Authority.
|
||
8.(1)
Every residential care
establishment shall have at all times an Administrator whose name
shall be registered with the Authority.
|
Establishment must have an Administrator. |
|
(2)
Every Administrator shall
possess such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations and
such regulations may contain different
qualifications for
Administrators of different residential care establishments.
|
||
9.(1)
Every person registered as an
operator of a residential care establishment shall upon application
in the prescribed manner and on
payment of the prescribed fee, be
entitled to have issued to him by the Authority a licence, and
every person holding such a licence
shall display the licence in a
prominent place in that person's place of business.
|
Licences. |
|
(2)
A licence shall take effect on
the date specified in the licence and shall be valid for two years
from that date unless otherwise
suspended or revoked.
|
||
(3)
The Authority may, upon
application in the prescribed manner, on being satisfied that the
residential card establishment was previously
operated in
accordance with the Act, on payment of the prescribed fee, renew a
licence.
|
||
(4)
Where a licence has been lost,
destroyed or mutilated, it may be replaced by the Authority by the
issue of a copy thereof upon application
by the holder of the
licence and on payment of the prescribed fee.
|
||
10.(1)
Where a licensee dies or
divests himself of his interest in the business of a residential
care establishment in respect of which a
licence was granted, the
Authority may, upon application made by any person claiming the
right to succeed to that licence as the
operator of a residential
care establishment, and upon payment of the prescribed fee,
transfer the licence to that person subject
to such terms and
conditions as the Authority may think fit to impose.
|
Transfer of a licence. |
|
(2)
Any person to whom a licence
is transferred under subsection (1), must satisfy the Authority
that he is a fit and proper person to
operate a residential care
establishment and of all the other requirements under this
Act.
|
||
(3)
Before transferring a licence
under this section the Authority shall, where practicable, give to
the licensee or, as the case may
be, to his legal personal
representative a reasonable opportunity to make any representations
that he may wish to make in relation
to that application, and shall
take into account any representations so made by him or on his
behalf.
|
||
11.(1)
The Authority may at any time,
upon written application made by a licensee or of its own motion,
vary any of the terms or conditions
of a licence.
|
Variation of a licence. |
|
(2)
The Authority shall in varying
any term or condition of a licence take into account any
representations made to it by the licensee
or on his behalf and
shall not vary such term or condition of its own motion without
first giving to the licensee a reasonable opportunity
to make such
representations.
|
||
12.
A transfer of a licence or
variation of any term or condition of a licence made by the
Authority under sections 10 or 11 shall be
endorsed on the licence,
together with the date when it was made by the Authority and the
date when it is to take effect.
|
Transfer or variation to be endorsed on licence. |
|
13.
Where an operator of a
residential care establishment fails to renew his licence or his
certificate of registration within two months
from the date of
expiration thereof, that residential care establishment shall be
deemed not registered for the purposes of this
Act until such time
as the operator has complied with sections 5 and 9.
|
Failure to renew licence or certificate of registration. |
|
14.(1)
A person who, on the date of
commencement of this Act, is the operator of a residential care
establishment shall apply in the prescribed
manner to the Authority
within nine months after that date -
|
Existing residential care establishments. |
|
(a)
to be registered as an operator
of a residential care establishment;
|
||
(b)
to have the residential care
establishment registered;
|
||
(c)
to be issued with a licence
pursuant to this Act.
|
||
(2)
Where an application is made
pursuant to subsection (1), the operation of a residential care
establishment to which the application
relates may be continued
pending the determination of the application.
|
||
(3)
The Authority shall within
ninety days after the receipt of an application made pursuant to
subsection (1), make a determination in
respect of that application
and if no determination is made within the ninety day period and
the applicant is duly qualified for
registration under section 7,
that residential care establishment shall be deemed to be duly
registered and licensed for one year
from the date of the
application.
|
||
15.
The Authority shall keep a
register which shall consist of the names of all licensed
operators, the Administrators and the names of
the residential care
establishments which they operate and shall cause to be entered
therein from time to time, in respect of every
residential care
establishment any operator registered in accordance with the
provisions of this Act, and the particulars specified
in this Act
for registration.
|
Register to be kept. |
|
16.
The Administrator of a
residential care establishment shall keep or cause to be kept
-
|
Records of residential care establishments to be kept. |
|
(a)
a register of residents in which
shall be recorded the name, age, former place of abode and next of
kin of each resident within the
residential care
establishment;
|
||
(b)
medical records of each
resident;
|
||
(c)
proper records showing the
business conducted by the Administrator in respect of that
residential care establishment;
|
||
(d)
a log book recording the day to
day activities of the establishment; and
|
||
(e)
such other records as may be
prescribed by the Minister.
|
||
17.(1)
The Authority shall cause the
register under section 15 to be published in the Gazette as soon as
practicable after the expiration
of ninety days after the
commencement of this Act.
|
Publication of register. |
|
(2)
In each year after the
register is published under subsection (1), the Authority shall
cause to be published in the Gazette as aforesaid
a corrected
edition of the register or a list with additions made to the
register since it was last published.
|
||
(3)
The Authority shall keep the
register open at all reasonable times for inspection by members of
the public.
|
||
18.(1)
Where the Authority considers
that an operator registered under this Act has failed or is failing
to operate a residential care establishment
in accordance with the
licence or the Act, the Authority may give written notice to the
operator registered specifying in what respect,
in the opinion of
the Authority, the operator failed or is failing to comply with the
requirements of the licence or the Act.
|
Notice of failure to comply with Act. |
|
(2)
The Authority may, upon giving
notice pursuant to subsection (1), impose any conditions it deems
necessary and specify any time period
for which such conditions
must be met.
|
||
19.(1)
The Authority may at any time,
by order suspend or revoke as the case may be, the licence of a
residential care establishment -
|
Suspension and revocation of licence. |
|
(a)
if the respective holder of the
licence has been convicted of an offence under this Act, or
willfully neglects or refuses to comply
with any of the provisions
of this Act;
|
||
(c)
if in the opinion of the
Authority, the building of the residential care establishment is
kept in an unsanitary condition or without
proper fire
protection;
|
||
(d)
if the business of the
residential care establishment is conducted in a manner contrary to
this Act, or in such a manner that the
revocation of the licence is
required in the interest of the public health or public safety;
or
|
||
(d)
where the Authority receives
complaints regarding the care of residents within that residential
care establishment and is satisfied
upon investigation that such
complaints are legitimate.
|
||
(2)
Before making an order under
subsection (1), the Authority shall give to the operator not less
than fourteen days notice of its intention
to make an order, and
that notice shall state the grounds on which the order is to be
made and shall contain a statement that, if
within fourteen days
after receipt of the notice, the person registered informs the
Authority in writing that he desires to do so,
the Authority will
before making the order, give the operator an opportunity to show
cause, in person or by a representative why
the order should not be
made.
|
||
(3)
If the Authority after giving
the person registered an opportunity to be heard by it, decides to
suspend or revoke the licence, the
Authority shall make an order to
that effect and shall send a copy of the order to the
licensee.
|
||
(4)
Upon making an order under
subsection (1), the Authority may when necessary, in conjunction
with the operator of the residential care
establishment, make
arrangements for the placement, temporary or otherwise of the
residents of the residential care establishment.
|
||
20.(1)
A person aggrieved by -
|
Appeal. |
|
(a)
a decision of the Authority to
refuse to grant, renew, transfer, or vary a term or condition of a
licence;
|
||
(b)
any other decision of the
Authority in the exercise or purported exercise of any power or
authority conferred upon it by this Act,
|
||
may appeal to a judge of the Supreme Court by giving notice of appeal in writing to the Registrar of the Supreme Court and to the Authority within fourteen days of the decision of the Authority, and such notice of appeal shall be given, and such appeal shall be heard and determined, in accordance with rules made under the provisions of the Supreme Court Act, and the Authority shall give effect to any order made by the Supreme Court on any such appeal. |
Ch. 53. |
|
(2)
An appeal under subsection (1)
shall not operate as a stay of the decision of the Authority.
|
||
21.(1)
Notwithstanding sections 19
and 20, the Minister acting on the advice of the Authority that a
residential care establishment is operating in a manner that is
detrimental
to the public health or public safety, may by order
published in the Gazette suspend with immediate effect the
operation of that
residential care establishment.
|
Power of Minister to suspend operation. |
|
(2)
The Minister shall within
seventy-two hours after suspending the operation of the residential
care establishment, inform the operator
of that residential care
establishment, of any conditions that must be complied with prior
to the lifting of any order made under
subsection (1).
|
||
(3)
The Minister shall, upon
making an order under subsection (1), cause to be made the
necessary arrangements for the placement, temporary
or otherwise of
the residents of the residential care establishment.
|
||
(4)
A person who fails to comply
with an order made pursuant to subsection (1) commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction
to a fine not exceeding five
thousand dollars or to imprisonment for one year or to both that
fine and imprisonment.
|
||
(5)
A person aggrieved by a
decision of the Minister made under subsection (1), may appeal to a
judge of the Supreme Court, but such appeal
shall not operate as a
stay of the decision of the Minister.
|
||
22.
All fees collected by the
Authority under this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated
Fund.
|
Fees. |
|
23.(1)
No operator shall employ
another person in a residential care establishment unless-
|
Employees of establishments. |
|
(a)
the person has been certified by
a registered medical officer to be in good health and free from
communicable diseases;
|
||
(b)
that person produces a current
police record; and
|
||
(c)
that person has received such
necessary training as may be approved by the Minister.
|
||
(2)
Every operator of a
residential care establishment shall ensure that its employees are
certified annually by a registered medical
officer to be in good
health and free from communicable diseases.
|
||
(3)
Every residential care
establishment shall be staffed with as many employees as the
Authority deems necessary.
|
||
(4)
Every operator of a
residential care establishment shall ensure that -
|
||
(a)
all of its employees that provide
care services are trained in first aid care;
|
||
(b)
at all times there is at least
one member of staff on duty trained in first aid care;
|
||
(c)
first aid care drills are carried
out within the establishment not less than twice a year; and
|
||
(d)
where further medical help is
needed, first aiders are trained to act in accordance with
established procedures.
|
||
(5)
An operator who contravenes
this provision commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of two thousand five hundred
dollars.
|
||
24.
The operator of every
residential care establishment shall ensure that the residential
care establishment is equipped with -
|
First Aid and fire equipment. |
|
(a)
a clearly marked standard First
Aid kit;
|
||
(b)
smoke detectors; and
|
||
(c)
an adequate number of multi-use
fire extinguishers.
|
||
25.
No person shall be admitted to
a residential care establishment unless that person has received a
medical for the purposes of being
admitted.
|
Admission of persons. |
|
26.
No employee of a residential
care establishment shall knowingly permit a a resident of such
establishment to do any act that may cause
harm to that resident or
any other person while in the residential care establishment.
|
Supervision of persons. |
|
27.(1)
No person shall inflict
corporal punishment on a resident in a residential care
establishment.
|
Protection and care of residents. |
|
(2)
No person shall physically
restrain another person for the purposes of inflicting punishment
on that person in a residential care
establishment so, however,
that where restraint is necessary for the physical protection of
the person such restraint shall be administered
by a care giver in
that residential care establishment.
|
||
(3)
No person shall deprive a
resident in a residential care establishment of sleep, food and
good hygienic care.
|
||
(4)
No person shall subject a
resident of a residential care establishment to excessive
labour.
|
||
28.(1)
The Authority shall appoint
persons to be inspectors for the purposes of this Act.
|
Appointment of inspectors. |
|
(2)
An inspector may at a
reasonable time, enter and inspect the premises of a residential
care establishment where that inspector -
|
||
(a)
has reasonable cause to believe
that the residential care establishment is being operated in
contravention of the Act;
|
||
(b)
is investigating a complaint
concerning the operation of the residential care establishment;
or
|
||
(c)
wishes to determine whether the
residential care establishment is being operated in accordance with
the Act,
|
||
(3)
Any inspector or person
appointed to assist such inspector who has a direct or indirect
pecuniary interest in any residential care
establishment shall as
soon as possible, disclose the nature of his interest to the
Authority and that inspector or person shall
not be permitted to
inspect or evaluate the residential care establishment for which he
has a pecuniary interest.
|
||
(4)
An inspector may, for the
purposes of subsection (2) -
|
||
(a)
require the production of records
or other documents required to be kept pursuant to this Act;
and
|
||
(a)
make copies of such documents or
records.
|
||
29.(1)
Every operator and employee of
a residential care establishment shall cooperate with an inspector
executing his functions pursuant
to section 28.
|
Obligation of staff to cooper-ate with inspectors. |
|
(2)
A person who obstructs or
impedes an inspector in the execution of his duties under this Act
commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of
one thousand dollars.
|
||
30.(1)
The Minister may cause a
residential care establishment to be visited at any reasonable time
by the Director of Social Services, the
Director of Environmental
Health, the Chief Medical Officer or any other personnel authorized
by them for the purpose of ensuring
compliance with the Act and
that proper health standards are maintained at that residential
care establishment.
|
Health inspection. |
|
(2)
Where the person who operates
a residential care establishment is notified of the proposed date
of visit and such visit is likely
to cause unreasonable disruption
of a programme already planned or in progress at the residential
care establishment, the operator
or Administrator of the
residential care establishment shall inform the health authorities
accordingly, and shall arrange for the
visit to take place not
later than three days from the date of receipt of such
notification.
|
||
31.
The funds and resources of the
Authority shall consist of -
|
Funds and Resources of the Authority. |
|
(a)
any monies as from time to time
are provided by Parliament; and
|
||
(b)
any monies or other property as
from time to time may in any manner be lawfully paid to or vested
in the Authority whether or not
in respect of any matter incidental
to its functions.
|
||
32.(1)
The Authority shall keep
proper accounts of all transactions and shall prepare in respect of
each financial year a statement of accounts
in a form that the
Minister may with the approval of the Minister of Finance
direct.
|
Accounts and Audits. |
|
(2)
The accounts shall be audited
annually by an auditor appointed by the Authority with the approval
of the Minister.
|
||
33.(1)
The Authority shall, as soon
as possible after the expiration of each financial year and in any
event not later than the 30th June
in any year, submit to the
Minister a report containing -
|
Annual Report. |
|
(a)
an account of its transactions
throughout the preceding financial year in such detail as the
Minister may direct; and
|
||
(b)
a statement of the accounts of
the Authority audited in accordance with section 32.
|
||
(2)
The Minister shall cause a
copy of the report together with a copy of the audited financial
statements and the auditor's report to
be laid on the table of both
Houses of Parliament.
|
||
(3)
The Authority shall, as soon
as possible after the expiration of each financial year submit to
the Minister a report dealing with
the activities of the Authority
during the preceding financial year.
|
||
(4)
The Minister shall cause a
copy of every such report to be laid on the table of both Houses of
Parliament.
|
||
34.(1)
The Minister may, after
consultation with the Authority, make regulations generally for
giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
|
Regulations. |
|
(2)
Without prejudice to the
generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations
-
|
||
(a)
prescribing entries to be made in
the records kept pursuant to section 15;
|
||
(b)
prescribing the physical
conditions of a residential care establishment;
|
||
(c)
prescribing standards with regard
to safety, sanitation and such other matters as the Minister
considers necessary for the efficient
operation of a residential
care establishment;
|
||
(d)
regulating the fees to be charged
by a residential care establishment for its services;
|
||
(e)
prescribing the forms of
application, registration, reports and documents to be used under
this Act;
|
||
(f)
regulating the manner in which
and the conditions subject to which the services of a residential
care establishment shall be performed;
|
||
(g)
prescribing guidelines of the
nutrition programmes to be implemented by a residential care
establishment;
|
||
(h)
regulating the manner in which a
person may be disciplined in a residential care
establishment;
|
||
(i)
regulating the manner in which a
person may be restrained in a residential care establishment;
|
||
(j)
prescribing any other matter or
anything which may be or is required by this Act to be
prescribed.
|
||
35.
A person who contravenes or
fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, for which
no penalty is expressly provided by
this Act commits an offence and
is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand
dollars.
|
Penalty where no express penalty. |
|
36.
This Act binds the
Crown.
|
The Crown. |
|
37.
Nothing in this Act shall
derogate from any provisions of the Health Services Act, the Town
Planning Act and the Building Code published by the Minister
responsible for Buildings Regulations.
|
Non-derogation from certain Acts. Ch. 231. Ch. 255. |
|
SCHEDULE |
||
CONSTITUTION AND PROCEDURE OF THE AUTHORITY |
||
1.
The Authority shall consist of
nine members appointed by the Minister of whom -
|
Constitution and procedure of Authority. |
|
(a)
one shall be the Director of
Social Services ex officio;
|
||
(b)
one shall be a representative of
the Minister responsible for Public Works;
|
||
(c)
one shall be a representative of
the Minister responsible for Health;
|
||
(d)
three persons shall be
representatives of Associations representing residential care
establishments; and
|
||
(e)
three shall be members of the
public.
|
||
2.
Members of the Authority other
than ex officio members appointed by the Minister shall not hold
office for a period exceeding three
years, and shall be eligible
for re-appointment.
|
Tenure of members. |
|
3.(1)
The Minister shall appoint one
of the members to be the Chairman for a term not exceeding three
years.
|
Chairman. |
|
(2)
The Authority shall elect from
among its members a deputy chairman for a term not exceeding three
years and such person shall be eligible
for re-election.
|
||
(3)
The Chairman shall preside at
all meetings of the Authority at which he is present and in his
absence the deputy chairman shall preside.
|
||
4.
Any member of the Authority
other than an ex officio member may at any time resign his office
by instrument in writing addressed to
the Minister, and from the
receipt by the Minister of such instrument such member shall cease
to be a member of the Authority.
|
Resignation. |
|
5.
The Minister by instrument in
writing, may at any time revoke the appointment of the Chairman,
the Deputy Chairman or any other appointed
member of the Authority
if he thinks it expedient so to do.
|
Removal. |
|
6.(1)
If any vacancy occurs in the
membership of the Authority, such vacancy, shall be filled by the
appointment of another member who shall,
subject to the provision
of this Schedule, hold office for the remainder of the period for
which the previous member was appointed,
so however, that such
appointment shall be made in the same manner and from the same
category of persons, if any, as the appointment
of the previous
members.
|
Vacancies and acting appointments. |
|
(2)
If the Minister is satisfied
that the Chairman or any other member of the Authority is unable to
act, the Minister shall appoint any
person to act in place of that
member, so, however, that such appointment shall be made in the
same manner and from the same category
of persons, if any, as the
member replaced.
|
||
7.
The names of all members of
the Authority as first constituted and every change in the
membership thereof shall be published in the
Gazette.
|
Gazetting of appointments. |
|
8.(1)
The seal of the Authority
shall be kept in the custody of the Chairman or any officer of the
Authority as the Authority may approve
and shall be affixed to
instruments pursuant to a resolution of the Authority in the
presence of the Chairman and any other member
of the
Authority.
|
Seals, etc. |
|
(2)
The seal of the Authority
shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chairman and one
other member authorized to act in that behalf
and shall be
officially and judicially noticed.
|
||
(3)
All documents, other than
those required by law to be under seal, and all decisions of, the
Authority maybe signified under the hands
of the Chairman or any
other member authorized to act in that behalf.
|
||
9.(1)
A member who has a direct or
indirect pecuniary interest in a matter being considered or about
to be considered by the Authority shall,
as soon as possible after
the relevant facts have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature
of his interest at a meeting of the
Authority.
|
Interest of member. |
|
(2)
A disclosure under
subparagraph (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of
the Authority and that member shall not, unless
the Authority
otherwise determines -
|
||
(a)
be present during any
deliberation of the Authority with respect to that matter; or
|
||
(b)
take part in any decision of the
Authority with respect to that matter.
|
||
(3)
For the purpose of the making
of a determination by the Authority under subparagraph (2) in
relation to a member who has made a disclosure
under subparagraph
(1), a member who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in
the matter to which the disclosure relates shall
not -
|
||
(a)
be present during any
deliberation of the Authority for the purpose of making the
determination; or
|
||
(b)
take part in the making by the
Authority of the determination.
|
||
10.(1)
The Authority shall meet as
often as maybe necessary or expedient for the transaction of its
business, and such meetings shall be
held at such places and times
and on such days as the Authority may determine.
|
Procedures of meeting. |
|
(2)
The Chairman may at any time
call a special meeting of the Authority and shall call a special
meeting within seven days of the receipt
of a written requisition
for that purpose addressed to him by any four members of the
Authority.
|
||
(3)
The chairman shall preside at
all meetings of the Authority at which he is present and, in the
case of the Chairman's absence from
any meeting the deputy chairman
preside. If both the Chairman and the deputy chairman are absent
the members present constituting
a quorum shall elect a Chairman
from among their number to preside at that meeting.
|
||
(4)
Five members of the Authority
shall form a quorum.
|
||
(5)
The decisions of the Authority
shall be by a majority of votes, and, in addition to an original
vote the Chairman or other person
presiding at the meeting shall
have a casting vote in any case in which the voting is equal.
|
||
(6)
Minutes in proper form of each
meeting shall be kept by the Authority.
|
||
(7)
Subject to the provisions of
this Schedule the Authority may regulate its own proceedings.
|
||
11.
No decision or act of the
Authority or act done under the authority of the Authority shall be
invalid by reason of the fact that -
|
Validity of decisions of Authority. |
|
(a)
the full number of members for
which provision is made in paragraph 1 of this Schedule was not
appointed or there was a vacancy or
vacancies amongst such members;
or
|
||
(b)
a disqualified person acted as a
member of the Authority at the time the decision was taken or the
act was done or authorized, if
the decision was taken or the act
was done or authorized by a majority vote of the persons who at the
time were entitled to act as
members.
|
||
12.
The Authority may appoint such
committees as it may think fit and may delegate to any such
committee the power and authority to carry
out on its behalf such
duties as the Authority may determine.
|
Committees. |
|
13.(1)
No member of the Authority
shall be personally liable for any act or default of the Authority
done or omitted to be done in good faith
in the course of the
operations of the Authority.
|
Protection of members. |
|
(2)
Where any member of the
Authority is exempt from liability by reason only of the provisions
of this paragraph, the Authority shall
be liable to the extent that
it would be if the member was a servant or agent of the
Authority.
|
CommonLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.commonlii.org/bs/legis/num_act/rcea2003301