Coal Act 1938

25 Reduction by the Commission of rents

(1) If at any time, on an estimate made by the Commission, it appears to them that their annual surplus for future financial years is likely on the average to exceed the amount which is at that time the prescribed appropriation to reserve, they may reduce any such rents within their control as are specified in the next succeeding subsection by amounts not exceeding in the aggregate one-half, or if the value of the reserve fund is then greater than the prescribed minimum reserve the whole, of the estimated excess of their annual surplus over the prescribed appropriation to reserve.

(2) The rents which may be reduced under the preceding subsection shall be any of the following at the discretion of the Commission, that is to say,—

(a) rents payable in respect of underground way-leaves, whether expressly reserved in respect thereof or not;

(b) rents payable by particular lessees working coal in any district or part of a district which are, having regard to all the circumstances, more onerous than the average of the rents payable by lessees working coal under similar conditions in that district or part of a district; and

(c) rents payable by lessees generally working coal in any district or part of a district which are, having regard to all the circumstances, more onerous than the average of the rents payable by lessees generally working coal under similar conditions in other districts or in another part of that district:

Provided that, if at any time the Commission report to the Board of Trade that such reduction of rents as they have power to effect under the foregoing provisions of this subsection has been substantially completed, the Board of Trade may make and lay before Parliament an order making provision to the effect that the preceding subsection shall apply to rents within the control of the Commission generally or to any class of such rents, and, if each House of Parliament resolves that the order be approved, the order shall have effect from such date as the Board, of Trade may appoint.

(3) Subject as aforesaid the Commission shall not reduce any rent during the currency of the lease by which it is reserved, and in granting leases the Commission shall reserve the best rent which in their opinion can reasonably be obtained, regard being had to any power to reduce rents for the time being exercisable by them in accordance with the preceding provisions of this section, to any money laid out or to be laid out by the lessee and generally to the circumstances of the case :

Provided that—

(a) this subsection shall have effect without prejudice to the right of the Commission, in a case in which it appears to them requisite for the proper discharge of their duty under section two of this Act so to do, to grant relief to a lessee from payment of particular instalments of rent reserved by a lease; and

(b) the Commission may reduce the rent reserved by a lease, or may grant a lease reserving a rent less than the best rent, if they are satisfied that other provision made by the lease in consideration of their so doing affords a financial advantage substantially equivalent in value to the amount of the reduction or to the amount by which the rent is less than the best rent, as the case may be.

(4) In this section the expression " district " means the area for the time being treated under the [2 & 3 Geo. 5. c. 2.] Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, 1912, as a district for the purposes of the minimum rate.