Harbours Act 1964

The National Ports Council

1 Establishment of National Ports Council, and principal duties thereof

(1) There shall be a Council to be called the National Ports Council (hereafter in this Act referred to as " the Council") which shall be charged with the duty of formulating, and keeping under review, a national plan for the development of harbours in Great Britain and with the following duties, that is to say.—

(a) formulating comprehensive plans for the improvement of existing, and the provision of new, harbours in Great Britain and of services and facilities provided at such harbours;

(b) promoting the execution of such plans (so far as they are approved by the Minister);

(c) encouraging harbour authorities in Great Britain to exercise and perform functions of theirs relating to harbours as efficiently as possible and assisting them in the exercise and performance of such functions; and

(d) tendering to the Minister advice with respect to the taking of action calculated to secure the improvement, maintenance and management of harbours in Great Britain in an efficient and economical manner and the provision of adequate means of access to such harbours by road and rail;

and shall have such other duties, and such powers, as are imposed and conferred on them by the following provisions of this Act.

(2) In the discharge of the duties imposed on them by the foregoing subsection the Council shall seek consultation with such harbour authorities and other persons as appear to the Council to be directly concerned.

(3) In subsection (1) of this section " harbour" does not include a fishery harbour within the meaning of section 21 of the Sea Fish Industry Act 1951 or a marine work.

2 Constitution of the Council

(1) The Council shall consist of a chairman appointed by the Minister, and such number of other members so appointed, not being less than seven nor more than eleven, as the Minister may from time to time determine.

(2) The members of the Council shall be appointed from amongst persons appearing to the Minister to have wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, the management of harbours, shipping, inland transport, industrial, commercial, financial or economic matters, applied science or the organisation of workers, to have wide experience as persons employed in doing work falling to be done in the course of the management of harbours or the carrying out of harbour operations and to have shown capacity as persons so employed, or to have, in some other respect (including, in particular, knowledge or experience of matters affecting the fishing industry), special knowledge or experience that would be of value to the Council in the exercise and performance of their functions.

(3) The Minister shall appoint one of the members of the Council to act as deputy chairman.

(4) The Council—

(a) shall pay to their members such remuneration (whether by way of salary or fees) and such allowances as the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine; and

(b) in the case of such members as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine, shall pay such pensions or make such payments towards the provision of pensions to or in respect of those members as he may, with the like approval, determine in the case of those members respectively.

(5) The Minister shall, as soon as possible after the passing of this Act, lay before each House of Parliament a statement of the remuneration and allowances that are or will be payable to the members of the Council under this section; and, if a subsequent determination by him under this section involves a departure from the terms of the said statement or if a determination by him under this section relates to the payment of, or to payments towards the provision of, a pension to or in respect of a member of the Council, the Minister shall, as soon as possible after the determination, lay a statement thereof before each House of Parliament.

(6) The incidental provisions contained in Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Council.

3 Promotion by the Council of research, and training and education

(1) The Council may take such steps as appear to them to be practicable and desirable for the promotion of—

(a) research into matters affecting the management, construction and improvement of harbours and the carrying out of harbour operations ; and

(b) the training and education (except to do, or in the doing of, work that usually falls to be done by dock workers) of persons employed or to be employed in doing work falling to be done in the course of the management of harbours or the carrying out of harbour operations;

either by themselves prosecuting research, training and education or by their promoting it by others, or in both of those ways.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Council, if directed in writing by the Minister (after consultation with them) so to do, to promote research into any such matters affecting the management, construction or improvement of harbours or the carrying out of harbour operations as may be specified in the direction or, if so directed by him after such consultation so to do, to promote the training, of persons falling within subsection (1)(b) above of such class as may be so specified, to do, and their education in the doing of, work falling to be done in the course of the management of harbours or the carrying out of harbour operations, not being work that usually falls to be done by dock workers; and a duty imposed on the Council by virtue of this subsection may be discharged in manner corresponding to that in which their powers under the foregoing subsection may be exercised.

(3) In the exercise of their powers under subsection (1) of this section and in the discharge of a duty imposed on them by virtue of subsection (2) of this section, the Council shall act in consultation with—

(a) such harbour authorities and bodies appearing to the Council to be representative of harbour authorities;

(b) such persons engaged in the carrying of goods or passengers in ships by sea and bodies appearing to the Council to be representative of persons so engaged; and

(c) such persons and authorities engaged in education and research;

as the Council think appropriate in the circumstances, and with any other person who appears to them to be concerned.

(4) Where the Council promote research, or training and education, by others, they may give assistance (including financial assistance) therefor.

(5) The Council may make, in or towards satisfaction of expenses incurred by them in promoting research into any matter at the instance or with the consent of any person or body, charges of such amounts as may be agreed between them and that person or body.

(6) The Council may make charges in respect of training and education of persons undertaken by them in exercise of their powers under subsection (1) of this section or in discharge of a duty imposed on them by virtue of subsection (2) of this section; but shall not, in exercise of the power conferred by this subsection, exact a charge from a person in respect of his receiving any such training or education.

(7) In this section " dock worker " has the meaning assigned to it by section 6 of the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act 1946.

4 Provision of funds for the Council

(1) It shall be the duty of the Council to impose on harbour authorities, by means of a scheme or schemes made by the Council and submitted to and confirmed by the Minister in accordance with the following provisions of this section, such charges as will enable them to meet any expenditure incurred, or to be incurred.—

(a) in the exercise of their powers under subsection (1) of the last foregoing section or in the discharge of a duty imposed on them by virtue of subsection (2) of that section;

(b) in the discharge of liabilities in respect of money borrowed by them;

(c) in respect of remuneration or allowances to, or pensions to or in respect of, members of the Council; or

(d) in respect of the administrative expenses of the Council;

in so far as it cannot be met by revenue accruing to them in consequence of the exercise of powers conferred by other provisions of this Act.

(2) A scheme under this section may be made so as to apply to all harbour authorities, to harbour authorities of a particular class or to particular harbour authorities.

(3) A scheme under this section may—

(a) if provision is thereby made for imposing charges on all harbour authorities, provide for the levying of charges of different amounts on harbour authorities of different classes, and if provision is thereby made for imposing charges on harbour authorities of a particular class, provide for the levying of charges of different amounts on harbour authorities of different sub-divisions of that class;

(b) provide for imposing, as respects any period, a limit (of such amount as may be determined by or under the scheme) on the amount to be raised by the Council by means of charges under the scheme to meet expenditure incurred or to be incurred by them during that period in respect of all or any of the matters included in subsection (1) above ;

(c) provide for requiring a harbour authority to whom the scheme relates to furnish to the Council such information as the Council may require for the purposes of the scheme, being information relating to any harbour which that harbour authority are engaged in improving, maintaining or managing, to any activities carried on by them at such a harbour or to any property used by them for the purposes of such a harbour, and for requiring the verification of any information furnished in pursuance of a requirement having effect by virtue of this paragraph;

(d) make provision for any incidental or supplementary matters for which it appears to the Council requisite or expedient to make provision for the purposes of the scheme including, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, provision for imposing penalties in respect of a failure to comply with a requirement having effect by virtue of the last foregoing paragraph to furnish information, so however that no provision imposing such a penalty shall be so framed so as to permit of a person's being punished otherwise than on his summary conviction, or as to permit of the infliction on him of a penalty other than a fine, or of the infliction on him of a fine exceeding £50 or, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, of a fine exceeding £200.

(4) Immediately after they submit to the Minister a scheme made under this section for confirmation by him, the Council shall publish, in such manner as the Minister may approve, a notice stating that they have submitted the scheme to him and specifying a place where copies thereof may be obtained free of charge by harbour authorities affected by the scheme, and further stating that a harbour authority who desire to make to the Minister objection to the scheme should do so in writing before the expiration of such period from the date of the publication of the notice (not being less than forty-two days) as may be specified in the notice, and shall send a copy of the scheme to each harbour authority known to them whom they believe to be affected by the scheme.

(5) The Minister shall consider any objections duly made to him with respect to a scheme submitted to him under the last foregoing subsection and may, if he thinks fit so to do, by order confirm the scheme either without modification or, after consultation with the Council, with such modifications as he thinks fit (but not including any that in any way increase the charges proposed in the scheme as submitted to him); and where he confirms it, it shall, as confirmed, come into force on such date as may be specified in the order.

(6) The amount of a charge payable by a harbour authority under a scheme made under this section shall be a debt due by them to the Council.

(7) A scheme made under this section may be revoked or varied by a subsequent scheme thereunder made, submitted and confirmed in like manner as the original scheme.

(8) No charges shall be levied under a scheme made under this section on a harbour authority in respect of any period during which no harbour being improved, maintained or managed by them is other than a fishery harbour or marine work.

(9) In this section "harbour authority" means a person engaged (whether or not in the exercise and performance of statutory powers and duties) in improving, maintaining or managing a harbour.

5 Temporary borrowings by the Council

The Council may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise, such sums as they may require for exercising and performing their functions under this Act; but the aggregate of the amounts outstanding in respect of the principal of sums borrowed under this section shall not exceed such limit as the Minister may for the time being have imposed on the Council for the purposes of this section by a direction given to them in writing.

6 Exchequer assistance to the Council

(1) The Minister—

(a) may, out of moneys provided by Parliament, make to the Council a grant equal to the whole or a proportion of the amount of any expenses incurred by them in consequence of their complying with a direction given to them under section 3(2) of this Act, being expenses which, in his opinion, ought not to fall to be defrayed or, as the case may be, to be wholly defrayed out of charges imposed under section 4 of this Act;

(b) subject to the following subsection, with the approval of the Treasury may, out of moneys which, by virtue of the following provisions of this Act, are issued to him for the purpose out of the Consolidated Fund, lend to the Council any sums which they have power to borrow under the last foregoing section.

(2) The aggregate of the amounts outstanding in respect of the principal of sums lent by virtue of the foregoing subsection shall not exceed £250,000.

7 Council's investment powers

The Council shall have power' to invest, in such manner as they think fit, any moneys of theirs which are not for the time being required for any other purpose.

8 Reports, accounts and returns by the Council

(1) The Council shall, as soon as possible after the end of each of their accounting periods, make a report to the Minister on the exercise and performance of their functions during that period.

(2) The Council shall keep proper accounts and proper records in relation to the accounts and prepare in respect of each accounting period a statement of accounts in such form as the Minister, with the approval of the Treasury, may direct; and the accounts of the Council for each such period shall be audited by qualified auditors appointed by the Council with the approval of the Minister.

(3) For the purposes of the last foregoing subsection, " qualified auditor" means a person who is a member, or a firm all of the partners wherein are members, of one or more of the following bodies, that is to say.—

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland ;

• The Association of Certified and Corporate Accountants;

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland ;

• Any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 161(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1948 by the Board of Trade.

(4) There shall be attached to the said report for each accounting period a copy of the statement of accounts in respect of that period and a copy of any report made on the statement by the auditors.

(5) It shall be the duty of the Council to furnish to the Minister any information required by him for the purposes of any of his functions under this Act which is in their possession or which it is within their power to obtain.

(6) The Minister shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each report made to him under subsection (1) of this section, of the statement of accounts attached thereto and of any report made on that statement by the auditors.

(7) The Council shall make available to the public at a reasonable price copies of, and make available for inspection at their offices a copy of, each report made under subsection (1) of this section to the Minister, the statement of accounts attached thereto and any report made on that statement by the auditors.