The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the establishment of one or more bodies of persons (negotiating bodies) for the purpose of negotiating the conditions of service of employees of fire and rescue authorities.
Regulations under this section must provide for a negotiating body established by the regulations to be composed of—
A chairman is independent for the purposes of subsection (2) if he is not—
Subsection (5) applies if—
An agreement as to the conditions of service of employees of that description which is made—
is a legally enforceable contract only if its terms were negotiated by means of the negotiating body or in accordance with local negotiation arrangements made by the negotiating body in respect of employees of that description.
"Local negotiation arrangements" means arrangements made by a negotiating body established under this section for the purpose of enabling conditions of service of employees of fire and rescue authorities to be negotiated at local level.
Local negotiation arrangements may (in particular) include provision with regard to—
Local negotiation arrangements may be made by a negotiating body in respect of employees of a particular description only if the negotiating body includes persons representing the interests of employees of that description.
Before making regulations under this section the Secretary of State must consult any persons he considers appropriate.