Deep Sea Mining (Temporary Provisions) Act 1981

10 The Deep Sea Mining Fund. U.K.

(1) There shall be established under the control and management of the Treasury a fund to be called the Deep Sea Mining Fund (“the Fund”) into which there shall be paid any sums paid to the Secretary of State under section 9 above.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, the Treasury shall prepare accounts of the Fund and shall send them to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of the month of November following the financial year to which the accounts relate; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every such account and shall lay copies thereof, together with his report thereon, before Parliament.

(3) Subsection (2) above shall not have effect until the first payment into the Fund is made in pursuance of subsection (1) above.

(4) In subsection (2) above, “financial year” means a period of twelve months ending on 31st March except that the Secretary of State may direct that—

(a) the first financial year for the Fund shall be of such period not exceeding two years and ending on 31st March as he may specify in the direction; and

(b) where an order under subsection (7) below is made, the last financial year shall be of such period not exceeding twelve months as he may specify in the direction;

and, where a direction is given under paragraph (b) above, subsection (2) shall apply in relation to the accounts for that last financial year with the substitution for the reference to the end of the month of November of a reference to the end of the eighth month following the end of that year.

(5) If an international organisation for the deep sea bed is established in pursuance of an international agreement on the law of the sea which has been adopted by a United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and has entered into force for the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State may by order designate that organisation as the relevant international organisation for the purposes of this section.

(6) An order designating an international organisation as the relevant international organisation for the purposes of this section may also make provision for the payment to that organisation of any sums for the time being standing to the credit of the Fund.

(7) If within ten years of the coming into force of this section no organisation has been designated as the relevant international organisation the Secretary of State may by order made with the approval of the Treasury provide for the winding up of the Fund and the payment into the Consolidated Fund of any sums standing to its credit and for the repeal of section 9 above.

(8) An order under subsection (7) above shall not be made unless a draft thereof has been approved by resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

(9) Until such time as an international organisation is so designated, any money in the Fund may from time to time be paid over to the National Debt Commissioners and invested by them, in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Treasury, in any such manner as may be specified by an order of the Treasury for the time being in force under section 22(1) of the M1 National Savings Bank Act 1971.

Marginal Citations

M1 1971 c. 29.