Railways Act 1993

136 Grants and subsidies. E+W+S

(1) The Secretary of State shall continue to be the competent authority of Great Britain in relation to the railways financial status regulations.

(2) The Secretary of State shall be the competent authority of Great Britain, in relation to persons who operate services for the carriage of goods by railway, for the purposes of the public service obligations regulations.

(3) The following persons, that is to say—

(a) the Secretary of State,

(b) the Franchising Director,

(c) to the extent specified in subsection (4) below, every Passenger Transport Executive, and

(d) to the extent specified in subsection (5) below—

(i) every non-metropolitan county or district council in England or in Wales and every [F1 council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994] in Scotland, and

(ii) every London borough council and the Common Council of the City of London,

shall each be the competent authority of Great Britain in relation to passenger service operators for the purposes of the public service obligations regulations.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) above, a Passenger Transport Executive shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services—

(a) which the Executive provides, or secures are provided, by virtue of section 10(1) or 20(2)(b) of the M1 Transport Act 1968; or

(b) which, in consequence of their being specified in a statement submitted to the Franchising Director under subsection (5) of section 34 above, are provided under a franchise agreement to which the Executive is a party.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3) above—

(a) a council falling within paragraph (d)(i) of that subsection shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services whose provision the council secures under section 63 of the M2 Transport Act 1985 (passenger transport in areas other than passenger transport areas); and

(b) a council falling within paragraph (d)(ii) of that subsection shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services in respect of which the council enters into and carries out agreements under section 59 of the M3 London Regional Transport Act 1984 (provision of extra transport services in London).

(6) The Secretary of State and the Franchising Director may each, in his capacity as competent authority by virtue of subsection (3) above, give directions to any passenger service operator imposing on him obligations with respect to the provision or operation of railway passenger services.

(7) It shall fall to the Secretary of State or the Franchising Director to make any payments of compensation which are required to be made to a passenger service operator by any provision of the public service obligations regulations in respect of any obligations imposed on that operator by directions under subsection (6) above, and the Secretary of State or the Franchising Director may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of those regulations, determine the manner of calculating, and the conditions applicable to, those payments.

(8) The power of giving directions under subsection (6) above shall be so exercised that the aggregate amount of any compensation payable under the public service obligations regulations, for periods ending after 1st April 1992, in respect of all obligations imposed by directions under that subsection shall not exceed £3,000 million or such greater sum not exceeding £5,000 million as the Secretary of State may by order specify.

(9) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (8) above shall not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

(10) Without prejudice to any right which the Secretary of State or the Franchising Director may have under this Act to bring civil proceedings in respect of any contravention or apprehended contravention of any directions under subsection (6) above, the obligations imposed by any such directions shall not give rise to any form of duty or liability enforceable against a passenger service operator by proceedings before any court to which the passenger service operator would not otherwise be subject.

(11) In this section—

• “the public service obligations regulations” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1191/69 on public service obligations in transport, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1893/91;

• “the railways financial status regulations” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1192/69 on common rules with respect to the financial status of railway undertakings.

(12) Expressions used in this section and in Part I above have the same meaning in this section as they have in that Part.

(13) Section 3 of the M4 Railways Act 1974 (which is superseded by this section) shall cease to have effect.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 136(3)(d)(i) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 39, s. 180(1), Sch. 13 para. 184(2); S.I. 1996/323, art. 4(1)(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 1968 c. 73.

M2 1985 c. 67.

M3 1984 c. 32.

M4 1974 c. 48.