41.—(1) Where at a meeting of the Authority any of the following matters arise, namely—

(a) an arrangement to which the Authority is a party or a proposed such arrangement, or

(b) a contract or other agreement with the Authority or a proposed such contract or other agreement,

then, any member of the Authority present at the meeting who has a material interest in the matter, otherwise than in his or her capacity as such a member, shall—

(i) at the meeting, in advance of any consideration of the matter, disclose to the Authority the fact of the interest and the nature of the interest,

(ii) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision relating to the matter,

(iii) absent himself or herself from any meeting or that part of the meeting during which the matter is discussed,

(iv) take no part in any deliberation of the Authority relating to the matter, and

(v) not vote on a decision relating to the matter.

(2) Where a member discloses a material interest in a matter under this section—

(a) the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, and

(b) for so long as the matter is being dealt with by the meeting, the member shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting unless the Authority otherwise determines.

(3) Where, at a meeting of the Authority, a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a member of the Authority, would be a failure by the member to comply with the requirements of subsection (1)—

(a) the question may, subject to subsection (4), be determined by the chairperson of the meeting, whose decision shall be final, and

(b) where the question is so determined, particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(4) Where at a meeting of the Authority, the chairperson of the meeting is the member in respect of which a question to which subsection (3) applies is to be determined, then the other members of the Authority attending the meeting shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting for the purpose of determining the question concerned.

(5) If satisfied that a member of the Authority has contravened subsection (1), the Minister may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that member from office or take any other action that the Minister considers appropriate.

(6) A person who is removed from office under subsection (5) is disqualified from membership of the Authority.