Assignment of function or power to public body
3A.—(1)  This section applies where the Minister, after consultation with the responsible Minister of a public body, by notification in the Gazette assigns a function or power under a provision of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made under this Act (called in this section an incentive provision) to the public body.
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(2)  Starting on the date the Minister assigns a function or power under an incentive provision to a public body in accordance with subsection (1), a reference in that incentive provision to an authorised body is to the public body.
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(3)  The public body, when carrying out a function or exercising a power under an incentive provision, is treated as carrying out a function or exercising a power conferred on the public body under the Act that establishes it.
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(4)  The public body must carry out a function or exercise a power under an incentive provision in accordance with any directions given by the Minister.
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(5)  A member of the public body who is not from the public sector must not be involved in the carrying out of a function or exercise of a power under an incentive provision by the public body.
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(6)  The public body must not delegate a function or power under an incentive provision to any of its members, or any other person, who is not from the public sector.
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(7)  Without affecting any obligation as to secrecy or other restriction against the disclosure of information imposed by any law or contract —
(a)a member of the public body who is from the public sector; or
(b)a person to whom a function or power under an incentive provision has been delegated,
that receives or obtains information relating to a person for the purposes of an incentive provision, must not disclose or provide access to such information to a member of the public body, or any other person, who is not from the public sector.
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(8)  Subsection (7) does not apply to the following information:
(a)information the disclosure of which has been approved by the Minister;
(b)information relating to a person —
(i)for which consent for disclosure has been obtained from the person; or
(ii)that is already in the possession of the public body;
(c)information that is publicly available.
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(9)  The public body may carry out a function or exercise a power under an incentive provision despite the absence of a quorum at any meeting of the public body because of subsection (5) or (7), and the absence of a quorum does not affect the validity of anything done by the public body at the meeting.
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(10)  An assignment of a function or power under an incentive provision in accordance with subsection (1) does not affect or prevent the carrying out of any function or exercise of any power by the Minister.
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(11)  In this section —
(a)a person is from the public sector if the person is a public officer or an employee of a public body; and
(b)“public body” and “responsible Minister”, in relation to a public body, have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018.
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