20Corporate plans

20 Corporate plans

(1)  The Board, on or before 31 March in each financial year, is to prepare a corporate plan for the following financial year.

(2)  In preparing a corporate plan, the Board is to have regard to the Authority’s objectives, functions and powers.

(3)  A corporate plan is to –

(a) be consistent with the applicable strategic plan, the applicable Ministerial statement of expectations and any applicable Ministerial directions; and

(b) include a statement of the manner in which the Board is to meet the business and financial goals of the applicable strategic plan or, for the final year of a planning period under section 18 , its next strategic plan.

(4)  After preparing a corporate plan, the Board is to submit a draft of it to the Minister for approval.

(5)  The Minister may –

(a) approve the draft corporate plan as submitted; or

(b) require the Board to amend the draft corporate plan and resubmit it for approval.

(6)  To avoid doubt, the Minister's power under subsection (5)(b) may be exercised more than once.

(7)  Once a draft corporate plan has been approved by the Minister for a financial year –

(a) it takes effect as the corporate plan of the Board for that financial year; and

(b) the Board is to act during that financial year in accordance with the corporate plan.

(8)  The Board, having regard to changes of circumstance or for other reasonable cause, may prepare an amendment to its corporate plan at any time.

(9)  Subsections (4) , (5) and (6) have the same application to an amendment as they have to the corporate plan itself, and the amendment takes effect once it has been approved by the Minister.

(10)  The Board may publish a corporate plan as it sees fit.