Eligibility criteria

Eligibility to become a Chair

A person may be appointed as Chair only if they are a member of the Public Constituency

 

  • North of Tyne – Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland and North Tyneside.
  • South of Tyne – Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
  • Durham – County Durham and Darlington.
  • Teesside – Hartlepool, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland.
  • Rest of England and Scotland
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Criteria for Disqualification

Not everybody is eligible to be appointed as Chair of an NHS Foundation Trust.  The following may not serve or continue to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors,  if you are:

  • a person who has been adjudged bankrupt or whose estate has been sequestrated and (in either case) has not been discharged.
  • a person who has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a Trust deed for creditors and he has not yet been discharged in respect of it.
  • a person who has, within the preceding five years, been convicted in the British Islands of any offence, and a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of three months or more (without the option of a fine) was imposed on him.
  • a person who does not meet the requirements of Section 16 of Schedule 7 to the 2006 Act.
  • a person whose tenure of office as Chair or as a Director of a Health Service Body has been terminated on the grounds that his appointment is
    not in the interests of public service for non-attendance at meetings, or for non-disclosure of a pecuniary interest.
  • a person who has failed to declare an interest in accordance with the Standing Orders or, contrary to Standing Orders, has voted at a meeting on a matter on which he has an interest, or, has failed to declare any interests to the Secretary as required by this Constitution or the Standing Orders and in this subparagraph, interest includes a pecuniary and a non-pecuniary interest, in either case whether direct or indirect.
  • a person who has become a member of the Council of Governors.
  • a person who has resigned from office by giving notice.
  • in the case of a Non-Executive Director, a person who is no longer a member of the Public Constituency.
  • a person is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order or an order to like effect made in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
  • a person to whom a moratorium period under a debt relief order applies under Part VIIA (debt relief orders) of the Insolvency Act
    18 1986(1).
  • a person is included in the children’s barred list or the adults’ barred list maintained under section 2 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
    2006, or in any corresponding list maintained under an equivalent enactment in force in Scotlandor Northern Ireland.
  • a person who is prohibited from holding the relevant office or position, or in the case of an individual from carrying on the regulated activity, by or under
    any enactment or
  • A person who is unable or unwilling to sign an annual declaration that they continue to meet the Care Quality Commission’s Fit and Proper Persons regulations.

The Requirement for Fit and Proper Persons

As a Trust, we are not permitted to appoint a person to a Chair post unless:

  • they are of good character;
  • have the necessary qualifications, skills and experience;
  • where applicable, have not been erased, removed or struck-off a register of professionals maintained by a regulator of healthcare or social work professionals;
  • they are capable by reason of health of properly performing tasks which are intrinsic to the position;
  • they are not prohibited from holding office (eg directors disqualification order);
  • they have not been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment of three months or more;
  • they have been un-discharged bankrupt nor have been subject to bankruptcy restrictions, or have made arrangement/compositions with creditors and has not discharged;
  • they do not appear on any ‘barred’ list;
  • they have not been responsible for, contributed to or facilitated any serious misconduct or mismanagement (whether unlawful or not) in the course of carrying on a regulated activity or providing a service elsewhere which, if provided in England, would be a regulated activity.

The legislation states: if you are required to hold a registration with a relevant professional body to carry out your role, you must hold such registration and must have the entitlement to use any professional titles associated with this registration. Where you no longer meet the requirement to hold the registration, any if you are a healthcare professional, social worker or other professional registered with a healthcare or social care regulator, you must inform the regulator in question.