Building Societies Act 1986

105 Limited power to anticipate future statutory instrument powers

(1) This section has effect as regards any power conferred under any provision of this Act on building societies or building societies of any description by—

(a) an instrument a draft of which has to be approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament before it can be made, or

(b) an instrument which is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament and which defers its operation until a future date;

and in this section " the anticipation date " is, in the case of an instrument falling within paragraph (a), the date on which either House approves the draft and, in the case of an instrument falling within paragraph (b), the date on which it was laid before Parliament.

(2) Every building society or, as the case may be, every building society of the description to which the instrument applies, has, as from the anticipation date, power, for the purposes of the power conferred by the instrument, to do such things, subject to subsection (3) below, as are reasonably necessary to enable it—

(a) to decide whether or not, and to what extent, to exercise (and in the case of an adoptable power to adopt) the power, and

(b) if it decides to exercise the power, to exercise it as from the date when it becomes exercisable by the society.

(3) Subsection (2)(b) above does not authorise a society—

(a) to make contracts, other than conditional contracts, for the acquisition of land, the acquisition of a business or the acquisition of shares in any company if that company offers the public any service or facility within the power,

(b) to issue invitations to members of the society or the public to apply for any power to be exercised for their benefit, or

(c) to retain shares in a company which offers the public any service or facility within the power;

and, in this subsection, " conditional", in relation to contracts with respect to the exercise of a power, means conditional on the power's becoming exercisable by the society.

(4) The power conferred by this paragraph, and activities carried on under it, for the purposes of an adoptable power are not to be treated as included in, or in activities comprised in, that adoptable power for the purposes of paragraph 16 of Schedule 2 to this Act.