Transport Act 1968

PART IV Further Provisions as to Boards, New Authorities and Transport Services

Railways Board

38 Composition of Railways Board and removal of requirement for regional boards

(1) In section 1(3) of the Act of 1962 (which relates to the composition of the Railways Board) for the words " shall consist of a chairman, a vice chairman, or two vice chairmen, and not more than sixteen nor less than ten other members " there shall be substituted the words " shall consist of a chairman and not more than fifteen nor less than nine other members ".

(2) The Minister may from time to time, if after consultation with the chairman of the said Board he thinks fit so to do, appoint one or more members of the Board to be deputy chairman or deputy chairmen, or vice chairman or vice chairmen, of the Board.

(3) A person appointed as deputy chairman or vice chairman of the said Board shall not by reason only of ceasing to be deputy chairman or vice chairman cease to be a member of the Board.

(4) Without prejudice to section 45(6) of this Act, section 2 of the Act of 1962 (which requires the Railways Board to set up Regional Railway Boards to share between them responsibility for the national railway system) shall cease to have effect.

39 Grants for unremunerative passenger services

(1) If, in the case of any place or places to and from which railway passenger services are for the time being provided by the Railways Board, the Minister is satisfied—

(a) that those services are unremunerative ; and

(b) that it is desirable for social or economic reasons that railway passenger services to and from the place or places in question should for the time being continue to be provided either in the same or in some different form or manner ; and

(c) that because of the unremunerative nature of the services which the Minister is satisfied are desirable for those reasons (hereafter in this section referred to as " the required services ") the Board cannot reasonably be expected to provide them without assistance under this section,

then, subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may from time to time with the consent of the Treasury undertake to make grants to the Board in respect of the provision of the required services for such period not exceeding three years at a time as the Minister may think fit.

(2) The Minister may on giving an undertaking under subsection (1) of this section as respects any period attach to that undertaking such conditions in connection with the provision of the required services during that period, and such other conditions in connection with the grants to be made in pursuance of the undertaking, as he thinks fit.

(3) The aggregate amount payable by way of grants in pursuance of an undertaking under subsection (1) of this section in respect of the period to which the undertaking relates shall, subject to any conditions attached to the undertaking, be the amount by which it is estimated, on such basis and in such manner as the Minister, with the approval of the Treasury and after consultation with the Railways Board, may determine, that the expenditure properly attributable to the provision during that period of the required services will exceed the revenue properly so attributable; and payments in pursuance of the undertaking shall be made in such manner and at such times as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

(4) If, in the case of any railway passenger service for the time being provided by the Railways Board, the second publication required by section 56(7) of the Act of 1962 of notice of a proposal by the Board to discontinue that service (whether or not the notice also relates to other services) has been effected before 1st January 1969, the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, make grants to the Board in respect of the provision of that service for the period beginning with 1st January 1969 and ending with whichever of the following dates falls first, namely—

(a) 31st December 1969 ;

(b) the date when the service is discontinued ;

(c) if the discontinuance requires the consent of the Minister under the said section 56 or under section 54(4) of this Act and the Minister refuses his consent, the date when the Minister notifies the Board of his refusal;

and subsection (3) of this section shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as if—

(i) the grant under this subsection were a grant in pursuance of an undertaking under subsection (1) of this section ;

(ii) any reference to the period to which the undertaking relates were a reference to the period for which the grant under this subsection is payable ;

(iii) any conditions subject to which the grant under this subsection is made were conditions attached to the undertaking; and

(iv) the reference to the required services were a reference to the service in relation to which the grant under this subsection is made.

(5) The report of the Railways Board under section 27(8) of the Act of 1962 for any year in respect of which payments fall to be made to the Board by way of grants under this section shall include a statement—

(a) of what is estimated as aforesaid to be the collective financial result for that year, apart from those payments, of all railway passenger services in respect of which those payments fall to be made ; and

(b) the aggregate amount of such payments falling to be made in respect of that year; and

(c) in the case of each undertaking for the time being in force under subsection (1) and each service in respect of which grant is for the time being payable under subsection (4) of this section, the amount falling to be paid in respect of that year in pursuance of that undertaking or by way of such grant,

40 Grants pending elimination of surplus track and signalling equipment

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may, for each of the five years beginning with 1969, make to the Railways Board a grant towards the expenditure of the Board in respect of track and signalling equipment which is in that year in the possession of the Board but which is in that year, or is likely within those five years to become, surplus to their requirements.

(2) The amount of any grant under this section shall be determined by the Minister after consultation with the Railways Board, and the amount of the grant for each of the said years shall be so determined before 1st January 1969 in such manner that—

(a) the amount for each year after the first is less than that for the preceding year ; and

(b) the aggregate amount of the grants does not exceed £50 million.

(3) Any grant under this section shall be made on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.

(4) The approval of the Treasury shall be required for the making of any grant under this section and for any determination of the Minister under subsection (2) or (3) thereof.

(5) The report of the Railways Board under section 27(8) of the Act of 1962 for any year in respect of which a grant is made to the Board under this section shall include a statement of the amount of that grant.

Additional financial provisions with respect to Boards and new authorities

41 Financial provisions as to Boards and new authorities

(1) This section applies to the following authorities, namely, the Boards and the new authorities.

(2) It shall be the duty of each of the authorities to whom this section applies so to perform their functions under the Act of 1962 or this Act as to secure that the combined revenues of the authority and of their subsidiaries taken together are not less than sufficient to meet their combined charges properly chargeable to revenue account, taking one year with another.

(3) Each of the authorities to whom this section applies shall secure that their subsidiaries charge to revenue account in every year all charges which are proper to be made to revenue account, including, in particular, proper provision for the depreciation or renewal of assets.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (a) of the proviso to section 18(4) of the Act of 1962, the purposes for which the moneys comprised in the general reserve of any of the authorities to whom this section applies may be applied shall include the purposes of any subsidiary of theirs.

(5) Subsection (1) of section 18 of the Act of 1962 shall cease to have effect, and references to that subsection in the Act of 1962 shall be construed as references to subsection (2) of this section.

(6) For section 19(3)(ii) of the Act of 1962 (which provides that the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of any money borrowed by the London Board under that section' and that Board's commencing capital debt shall not exceed £200 million or such greater sum not exceeding £270 million as the Minister may from time to time by order specify) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(ii) for the London Board three hundred million pounds.”

(7) In section 19(3)(iii) of the Act of 1962 (which provides that the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of any money borrowed by the Docks Board under that section and that Board's commencing capital debt shall not exceed £120 million) for the word " twenty " there shall be substituted the word " sixty ".

(8) In section 22 of the Act of 1962 as amended by the [1966 c. 17.] Transport Finances Act 1966, subsections (2) and (3) (which relate to deficits on revenue account of the Railways Board or the London Board) and subsection (6) (which temporarily relieves those Boards of the obligation to establish a general reserve) shall cease to have effect.

(9) In section 24(2) of the Act of 1962 (under which a person is not qualified to be appointed as auditor of the accounts of a Board or new authority unless he is a member of one or more specified bodies) after the word " member" there shall be inserted the words " or is a firm in Scotland each of the partners wherein is a member ".

(10) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the provisions of section 51(5) of this Act shall be disregarded.

42 Additional financial provisions as to Railways Board

(1) This section applies to the Railways Board.

(2) On 1st January 1969 there shall be extinguished—

(a) the part of the commencing capital debt of the Board under section 39 of the Act of 1962 which under section 40 of that Act constitutes the suspended debt of the Board on that date ; and

(b) subject to subsection (3) of this section, such further part of the commencing capital debt of the Board as is required to be extinguished in order to reduce the commencing capital debt of the Board outstanding on that date to £300 million.

(3) Without prejudice to section 53(5) of this Act, the Minister may from time to time by order vary the amount specified in subsection (2)(b) of this section where that appears to him expedient to take account of—

(a) any adjustment in pursuance of the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act in the property, rights and liabilities transferred under section 5(3) or 29(2) thereof;

(b) any transfer of property, rights or liabilities under section 7(5) or (6) or 8(4) of this Act;

but no order shall be made by virtue of paragraph (a) of this subsection more than five years after the appointed day for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the said section 5(3) or, as the case may be, the relevant appointed day for the purposes of the said section 29(2).

(4) Any order under subsection (3) of this section may contain such transitional provisions as appear to the Minister expedient to take account of any interest underpaid or overpaid on the commencing capital debt of the Board.

(5) The Minister's power to make an order under subsection (3) of this section shall be subject to the approval of the Treasury and any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

(6) As from 1st January 1969, the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of—

(a) the principal of any money borrowed by the Board under section 19 of the Act of 1962 ; and

(b) the Board's commencing capital debt,

shall not exceed £550 million or such greater sum not exceeding £700 million as the Minister may from time to time by order specify ; but no order shall be made under this subsection unless a draft thereof has been approved by a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

(7) The Board shall as soon as practicable after 1st January 1969 adjust their accounts so that the total net book value of their capital assets does not exceed the aggregate of the amount specified in subsection (2)(b) of this section and their other liabilities.

(8) If in any accounting year of the Board there is an excess of the revenue of the Board over the total sums properly chargeable by them to revenue, the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, require that excess, so far as it appears to him, after consultation with the Board, to be surplus to the requirements of the Board, to be paid over to the Minister, who shall pay it into the Consolidated Fund.

43 Additional financial provisions as to Waterways Board

(1) This section applies to the Waterways Board.

(2) The Minister or any other Minister of the Crown may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time make grants to the Board.

(3) On 1st January 1969—

(a) without prejudice to any further adjustment under section 53(5) of this Act, there shall be extinguished such part of the commencing capital debt of the Board under section 39 of the Act of 1962 as is required to be extinguished in order to reduce the commencing capital debt of the Board outstanding on that date to £3,750,000; and

(b) in section 19(3)(iv) of the Act of 1962 (which provides that the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of any money borrowed by the Board and of the Board's commencing capital debt shall not exceed £30 million) for the word " thirty" there shall be substituted the word " twelve ".

(4) In section 23 of the Act of 1962 as amended by the [1966 c. 17.] Transport Finances Act 1966, subsections (2) and (3) (which relate to deficits on revenue account of the Waterways Board) and subsection (5) (which temporarily relieves that Board of the obligation to establish a general reserve) shall cease to have effect.

(5) If in any accounting year of the Board there is an excess of the revenue of the Board over the total sums properly chargeable by them to revenue, the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, require that excess, so far as it appears to him, after consultation with the Board, to be surplus to the requirements of the Board, to be paid over to the Minister, who shall pay it into the Consolidated Fund.

44 Account by Minister of receipt and disposal of certain sums

(1) The Minister shall, as respects each financial year, prepare in such form and manner as the Treasury may direct an account of, and of the disposal by him of, the following sums, namely—

(a) any sums issued to the Minister by the Treasury out of the National Loans Fund under section 20(3) of the Act of 1962 for the purpose of making loans—

(i) under section 20(1) of that Act to any of the Boards; or

(ii) under section 29(12) of that Act to the Holding Company; or

(iii) under the said section 20(1) as applied by section 3(1) or 27(1) of this Act to the Freight Corporation or the Bus Company;

(b) any sums which, being received by the Minister—

(i) by way of interest on, or the repayment of, any such loan as aforesaid ; or

(ii) by way of interest on, or the repayment of, the commencing capital debt under section 39 of that Act of any of the Boards or of the Holding Company ; or

(iii) by way of interest on, or the repayment of, the commencing capital debt of the Freight Corporation or the Bus Company under Schedule 2 to this Act; or

(iv) in respect of any surplus of the Holding Company, the Railways Board or the Waterways Board,

are required by section 20(5), 29(10) or 39(8) of the Act of 1962, by section 42(8) or 43(5) of this Act, by the said section 20(5) as applied by the said section 29(12), 3(1) or 27(1), or by the said section 39(8) as applied by paragraph 1 of the said Schedule 2 to be paid by the Minister into the National Loans Fund or the Consolidated Fund, as the case may be.

(2) The Secretary of State shall, as respects each financial year, prepare in such form and manner as the Treasury may direct an account of, and of the disposal by him of, the following sums, namely—

(a) any sums issued to the Secretary of State by the Treasury out of the National Loans Fund under section 20(3) of the Act of 1962 for the purpose of making loans to the Scottish Group under section 20(1) of that Act as applied by section 27(1) of this Act;

(b) any sums which, being received by the Secretary of State—

(i) by way of interest on, or the repayment of, any such loan as aforesaid; or

(ii) by way of interest on, or the repayment of, the commencing capital debt of the Scottish Group under Schedule 2 to this Act,

are required by section 20(5) of the Act of 1962 as applied by the said section 27(1), or by section 39(8) of the Act of 1962 as applied by paragraph 1 of the said Schedule 2, to be paid by the Secretary of State into the National Loans Fund.

(3) The Minister and the Secretary of State shall each send every account prepared by him under subsection (1) or (2) of this section to the Comptroller and Auditor-General not later than the end of November following the year to which the account relates; and the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall examine, certify and report on the account and lay copies of it, together with his report, before each House of Parliament.

(4) In consequence of the foregoing provisions of this section—

(a) in section 20 of the Act of 1962, subsection (6) (which makes provision corresponding to this section in respect of certain of the sums aforesaid) shall cease to have effect; and

(b) in section 29(12) of that Act (which applies subsections (2) to (6) of the said section 20 to sums lent under the said section 29) for the words "subsections (2) to (6)" there shall be substituted the words " subsections (2) to (5). "

Additional duties of Boards and new authorities

45 Duty of Freight Corporation and Railways Board to review organisation

(1) It shall be the duty—

(a) of the Railways Board forthwith after the appointed day for the purposes of this section, and

(b) of the Freight Corporation forthwith after the appointed day for the purposes of section 1(1) of this Act,

to undertake a review of the affairs of the Board or, as the case may be, the Corporation for the purpose of determining whether the carrying on of their activities is organised, so far as regards the direction thereof, in the most efficient manner and to report their conclusions to the Minister, and so often thereafter as occasion seems to them to require it, or as the Minister may require, to undertake a further such review and to report similarly.

(2) Before reaching conclusions in consequence of a review undertaken in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section, the Board or, as the case may be, the Corporation shall seek consultation with organisations appearing to them to represent substantial proportions of, or of any class of, the persons in the employment of, or of any subsidiary of, the Board or, as the case may be, the Corporation.

(3) The first report under subsection (1) of this section by the Railways Board or the Freight Corporation must be made before the expiration of the period of twelve months beginning with the appointed day referred to in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of that subsection or such longer period as the Minister may allow.

(4) The Minister shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each report under subsection (1) of this section.

(5) After considering any report made to him under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may give to the Railways Board or the Freight Corporation or each of them such directions as, after consultation with the authority to whom the directions are given, appear to him to be requisite to secure that the carrying on of their respective activities is organised, so far as regards the direction thereof, in the most efficient manner.

(6) The Railways Board or the Freight Corporation shall not make, or permit to be made, any substantial change in the manner in which the carrying on of their activities is organised, so far as regards the direction thereof, except—

(a) in pursuance of a direction given by the Minister under subsection (5) of this section or under section 6(1) of this Act; or

(b) in accordance with a scheme duly approved under section 7 of this Act; or

(c) in accordance with an order under section 8 of this Act; or

(d) with the consent of the Minister.

46 Duty of Boards and new authorities to promote research and development

(1) This section applies to the following authorities namely, the Boards and the new authorities.

(2) It shall be incumbent on each of the authorities to whom this section applies to take such steps as appear to them to be practicable and desirable for promoting—

(a) research on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Minister into matters affecting, or arising out of, the exercise of the functions of that authority or of any subsidiary of that authority; and

(b) the doing of such work as is requisite to enable—

(i) the results of any research into any such matter as aforesaid (whether or not promoted by that authority); and

(ii) anything resulting from any idea affecting, or arising out of, the exercise of any of those functions, to be turned to account;

but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as imposing upon that authority, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court to which that authority would not otherwise be subject.

(3) An authority to whom this section applies may take such steps as aforesaid with respect to any matter either by themselves carrying out the necessary research or doing the necessary work or by arranging for that research to be carried out or that work to be done by some other person with or without assistance (including financial assistance) from that authority ; but nothing in this section shall authorise any such authority to do themselves, either directly or through a subsidiary, any work such as is mentioned in subsection (2)(b) of this section which the authority would not have power to do apart from this section.

(4) In the application of this section to the Scottish Group, the reference to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

(5) In section 27(3) of the Act of 1962 for the words " education and research " there shall be substituted the words " and education ".

Additional powers of Boards and new authorities

47 Extension to new authorities of certain functions of Boards

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of sections 48 to 52 of this Act, but subject to the provisions of this section—

(a) the following provisions of the Act of 1962 (which confer certain powers on the Boards), that is to say—

(i) section 11 (development of land);

(ii) section 12 (pipe-lines);

(iii) section 13 (powers of manufacture and production) other than subsection (2) thereof;

(iv) section 14 (supplementary powers);

(v) section 15 (compulsory purchase of land);

(vi) section 16 (working agreements involving the delegation of special statutory powers);

(vii) section 17 (power to promote and oppose Bills);

(viii) section 43(1) to (3) (power to make charges for services and facilities); and

(b) section 25 of the Act of 1962 (which relates to subsidiaries of the Boards),

shall have effect as if each of the new authorities were one of the Boards.

(2) In relation to the Bus Company and the Scottish Group, subsection (1)(a) of this section shall have effect as if sub-paragraphs (ii) and (v) thereof were omitted.

(3) In the application of sections 11, 13, 14, 17 and 25 of the Act of 1962 to the Scottish Group any reference to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

(4) The reference in subsection (1) of section 16 of the Act of 1962 to a working agreement to which that section applies shall include a reference to any arrangements such as are mentioned in section 50(9) of this Act.

48 Manufacture, repair and supply

(1) This section applies to the following authorities, namely, the Boards and the new authorities, but in its application to the Scottish Group any reference to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

(2) Each of the authorities to whom this section applies shall have power—

(a) to manufacture for sale to outside persons (that is to say, to persons other than an authority to whom this section applies or a subsidiary of such an authority), and to repair for outside persons, anything which the authority consider can advantageously be so manufactured or, as the case may be, repaired by the authority by reason of the fact that the authority or a subsidiary of theirs have materials or facilities for, or skill in, the manufacture or repair of that thing in connection with some existing activity of that authority or subsidiary;

(b) to sell to outside persons, and for that purpose to purchase, anything which is of a kind which the authority or a subsidiary of theirs purchase in the course of some existing activity of that authority or subsidiary;

(c) at any place where the authority, in the exercise of their powers under section 14(1)(d) of the Act of 1962, provide a car park, to repair motor vehicles for outside persons, and to sell to outside persons petrol, oil and spare parts and accessories for motor vehicles, and for that purpose to purchase any of those things, whether or not those persons are using the car park;

and the Waterways Board shall have power to sell goods of any description to outside persons, whether or not persons using their waterways, at any place where persons using those waterways may require facilities for the purchase of those goods, and for that purpose to purchase any such goods; and in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection the expression " existing activity " means, in relation to any activity at any time undertaken by virtue of that paragraph, any other activity already carried on at that time, including any such activity carried on by virtue of any provision of this section other than paragraph (c) of this subsection and other than the provisions of this subsection relating only to the Waterways Board.

(3) An authority to whom this section applies shall not engage in any activity authorised by subsection (2) of this section, and shall exercise their control over any subsidiary of theirs so as to ensure that the subsidiary does not engage in any such activity, unless the authority are satisfied that they or the subsidiary can do so without detriment to the duties imposed on the authority by the Act of 1962 or this Act.

(4) Each of the authorities to whom this section applies shall from time to time submit to the Minister for his approval proposals as to the manner in which any activities authorised by subsection (2) of this section or any activities of manufacture authorised by section 13 of the Act of 1962 are to be carried on by them or any subsidiary of theirs, and shall carry on, or, as the case may be, exercise their control over that subsidiary so as to ensure that the subsidiary carries on, those activities in accordance with the Minister's approval, and the Minister may—

(a) in approving any proposals, approve them subject to such modifications or subject to compliance with such conditions as he thinks fit; and

(b) at any time, after consultation with the authority, direct the authority to discontinue or, as the case may be, to exercise their control over any of their subsidiaries so as to require the subsidiary to discontinue, any of the activities which the authority or subsidiary are carrying on in accordance with the Minister's approval.

(5) The Minister shall publish, in such manner as he thinks fit, any proposals approved by him under subsection (4) of this section, and shall send copies of those proposals to the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress.

(6) Each authority to whom this section applies shall include in the report in respect of any year required to be submitted by them under section 27(8) of the Act of 1962 such particulars as the Minister may, after consultation with the authority and with the approval of the Treasury, direct with respect to all or any of the activities authorised by subsection (2) of this section or the activities of manufacture authorised by section 13 of the Act of 1962 which have been carried on in that year by the authority or any of their subsidiaries.

(7) The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding subsection (1) of section 13 of the Act of 1962 (so far as it confines any authority's powers of manufacture, purchase and repair to those conferred by that section), and in that section—

• subsection (2) (which relates to the powers of the Waterways Board to manufacture for sale and to repair plant and equipment of a kind ordinarily made for use in connection with the operation of an inland waterway);

• subsection (4) (which is superseded by the provisions of subsection (4) of this section) except as respects proposals approved thereunder before the appointed day for the purposes of this section;

• subsection (5) (which restricts the power of the Boards to manufacture road vehicles, bodies or chassis for road vehicles or major components of road vehicles);

• subsection (6) (which restricts the power of the Boards to purchase or trade in road vehicles or in spare parts, accessories, petrol or oil for such vehicles and from engaging in the maintenance or repair of such vehicles, spare parts or accessories); and

• subsection (7) (which restricts the power of the Boards to engage in shipbuilding),

shall cease to have effect.

(8) Section 29(7) of the Act of 1962 (which relates to manufacture or production by subsidiaries of the Holding Company) shall have effect as if each of the new authorities were one of the Boards.

(9) In this section references to manufacture include references to construction and production, references to repair include references to maintenance, and references to selling or purchasing include references to supplying, or, as the case may be, obtaining, by exchange, hire or hire-purchase.

49 Powers with respect to land

(1) Where a Board or a new authority propose under section 11 of the Act of 1962 to develop any of their land for use otherwise than for the purposes of their business, the Minister may give his consent under subsection (4) of that section to the acquisition by that Board or authority by agreement of adjoining land for the purpose of developing it with the other land whether or not it appears to him that the other land cannot be satisfactorily developed unless the adjoining land is so acquired; and accordingly, in the said subsection (4), the words from " but the Minister" to " by the Board" (which preclude the Minister from giving his consent unless it so appears to him) shall cease to have effect.

(2) A Board or new authority may exercise the power conferred by the said subsection (4) without the consent of the Minister in any case where the Minister has under subsection (3) of the said section 11 consented to the incurring by that Board or new authority of a substantial item of expenditure in developing land as aforesaid which includes expenditure proposed to be incurred in that exercise of that power.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the said subsection (4), where a Board or new authority propose to dispose of any of their land they shall have power to acquire by agreement adjoining land for the purpose of disposing of it together with the other land ; but the Board or new authority shall riot incur any substantial item of expenditure under this subsection without the consent of the Minister, and the Minister may from time to time give directions to the Boards and the new authorities indicating what is to be treated for the purposes of this subsection as a substantial item of expenditure.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in the said subsection (4), the Railways Board and the Waterways Board shall each have power with the consent of the Minister to acquire land by agreement with a view to its development, whether by that Board or by some other person, for use otherwise than for the purposes of their business if that land—

(a) in the case of the Railways Board adjoins other land of that Board; or

(b) in the case of the Waterways Board adjoins any of the commercial or cruising waterways of the Board within the meaning of section 104 of this Act,

and the Minister is satisfied that the land acquired will be so connected by rail or so situated in relation to a railway line or, as the case may be, will be so connected by waterway to, or is so situated in relation to, that commercial or cruising waterway that the rail services of the Railways Board or, as the case may be, the waterway services of the Waterways Board can be directly used by the person for the time being occupying the land proposed to be acquired.

(5) In the application of subsections (1) to (3) of this section to the Scottish Group, any reference therein to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

(6) Section 87 of the Act of 1962 (which makes temporary provision as to development of land in London) shall cease to have effect.

50 Miscellaneous provisions as to powers

(1) In addition to their power under the provisions of sections 3(3)(e). 9(2)(c) or 10(3)(f) of the Act of 1962 to store certain goods and to use certain premises to provide facilities for the storage of other goods, the Railways Board, Docks Board and Waterways Board shall each have power, with the consent of the Minister, to provide such facilities at any other premises; and the said section 3(3)(e) shall apply to goods which have been or are to be carried by a subsidiary of the Railways Board as it applies to goods which have been or are to be carried by that Board.

(2) The Railways Board shall have power to provide and manage hotels in any part of Great Britain and, with the consent of the Minister, elsewhere; and the following provisions of the Act of 1962, that is to say—

• section 6 (which permits the Board to provide hotels only in places where those using the railway services provided by the Board may require them and to exercise their power of managing hotels only with the consent of the Minister); and

• section 25(3) (which prevents the Board from having any subsidiary, other than the Hotel Company, which owns or manages a hotel),

shall cease to have effect.

(3) The Waterways Board, the Bus Company and the Scottish Group shall each have power to provide and manage hotels in places where those using the inland waterways owned or managed by the Waterways Board or, as the case may be, the transport services provided by the Bus Company or Scottish Group may require them, for use both by those and other persons.

(4) In subsections (2) and (3) of this section the references to hotels include references to any other form of residential accommodation or facilities, including caravan and camping sites, for travellers or persons on holiday; and the said subsection (3) shall be without prejudice to the powers of the Waterways Board, the Bus Company or the Scottish Group under section 14(1)(d) of the Act of 1962 to provide amenities and facilities for persons for whom they do not provide residential accommodation or facilities.

(5) In addition to the powers of the Waterways Board to provide the transport services by road authorised by section 10(3)(c) of the Act of 1962 (carriage of goods which have been or are to be carried by the Board by inland waterway and carriage of goods where the use of an inland waterway owned or managed by the Board has been temporarily interrupted), that Board shall have power, with the consent of the Minister, to provide other transport services by road for the carriage of goods and to carry goods by those services.

(6) Without prejudice to the powers of the Waterways Board apart from this subsection, that Board shall have power to provide services and facilities for the use for amenity or recreational purposes (including fishing) of the inland waterways and reservoirs owned or managed by them.

(7) Each of the Boards and new authorities shall have power to provide for any person technical advice or assistance, including research services, as respects any matter in which the Board or new authority have skill or experience.

(8) Without prejudice to their powers apart from this subsection, each of the Boards and the new authorities shall have power to form, promote and assist, or join with any other person in forming, promoting and assisting, a company for carrying on any activities which that Board or new authority have power to carry on.

(9) Where a company for carrying on any activities which any of the Boards or new authorities have power to carry on has been formed in the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (8) of this section by that Board or new authority, whether alone or jointly with some other person, or where in the exercise of their powers under paragraph (a) of section 14(1) of the Act of 1962 any of the Boards or new authorities have entered into an agreement with any person for the carrying on by that person, whether as agent for that Board or new authority or otherwise, of any of the activities which that Board or new authority may themselves carry on, then, without prejudice to their powers under paragraph (b) of the said section 14(1), that Board or new authority may, with the consent of the Minister, or, in the case of the Scottish Group, with the consent of the Secretary of State, enter into arrangements with that company or person for the transfer from that Board or new authority to that company or person, in such manner and on such terms (including payments by any of the parties to the arrangements to any other of them) as may be provided for by the arrangements, of any property, rights or liabilities of that Board or new authority relevant to the carrying on of those activities.

(10) In section 43(3) of the Act of 1962, after the word " recover " there shall be inserted the words " or waive ".

51 Subsidiaries and joint subsidiaries

(1) This section applies to the following authorities, namely, the Boards and the new authorities.

(2) For the purposes of paragraphs (d), (f), (g) and (h) of section 14(1) of the Act of 1962, services and facilities provided by, persons employed by, or equipment of, a subsidiary of an authority to whom this section applies, and, for the purposes of section 15(1) of that Act, land required for the purposes of the business of a wholly-owned subsidiary of such an authority, shall be deemed to be services and facilities provided by, persons employed by, equipment of, or land required for the purposes of the business of, that authority; and section 43(1) to (3) of the Act of 1962 shall apply to any subsidiary of an authority to whom this section applies as they apply to that authority.

(3) In section 27(1) of the Act of 1962 (which empowers the Minister or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State to give directions of a general character as to the exercise and performance by any authority to whom this section applies of their functions in relation to matters which appear to him to affect the national interest) after the word " functions" there shall be inserted the words " (including the exercise of rights conferred by the holding of interests in companies) ".

(4) A wholly-owned subsidiary of an authority to whom this section applies shall not be regarded as a common carrier when carrying on any activity which that authority have power to carry on and in carrying on which that authority are not to be so regarded.

(5) Where a company of which two or more authorities to whom this section applies are members would, if those authorities were a single body corporate, be a wholly-owned subsidiary of that body corporate, then, whether or not that company is apart from this subsection a subsidiary of one of those authorities, that company shall be deemed for the purposes of the Act of 1962 and of the provisions other than Parts V and VI of this Act to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of each of those authorities ; and any such company is hereafter in this section referred to in relation to each of those authorities as a " joint subsidiary " of that authority.

(6) In the case of a joint subsidiary, section 25(1) of the Act of 1962 shall not apply but it shall be the joint duty of both or all the authorities of which it is a joint subsidiary to exercise their control over the subsidiary so as to ensure that the subsidiary—

(a) does not engage in activities in which none of those authorities have power to engage (including activities in which none of those authorities have power to engage because the consent of the Minister has not been obtained), and

(b) does not do anything which the Minister has directed any of those authorities not to do, and

(c) does not, except with the consent of the Minister, borrow money from any person other than those authorities, and

(d) does not, except with the consent of the Minister, raise money by the issue of shares or stock to any person other than those authorities ;

and the Minister may give to those authorities such directions as appear to him appropriate for ensuring that they carry out the duty imposed on them by this subsection.

(7) In the application of subsection (6) of this section to a joint subsidiary of the Scottish Group, any reference in that subsection to the Minister shall be construed as including a reference to the Secretary of State.

52 Supplementary and miscellaneous provisions

(1) Section 14(6) of the Act of 1962 (which provides that the powers conferred by the foregoing provisions of that Act are cumulative and that those provisions relate only to the capacity as a statutory corporation of any authority on whom those powers are conferred and that nothing in those provisions shall be construed as authorising the disregard by any such authority of any enactment or rule of law) shall apply to any powers conferred on any Board or new authority by any provision of this Act and to the provision of this Act conferring that power as it applies to the powers and provisions mentioned in the said section 14(6).

(2) For the purposes of section 15 of the Act of 1962 (which confers on the Boards and the Freight Corporation powers of compulsory purchase for the purpose of their business) activities carried on by any of the Boards or the Corporation by virtue of section 48 or subsections (1) to (7) of section 50 of this Act shall be deemed not to form part of the business of the Board or Corporation.

(3) Sections 27, 28 and 89 of the Act of 1962 (which relate respectively to the powers of the Minister to give directions to the Boards, to powers exercisable subject to the Minister's consent, and to the duty to give effect to the Minister's directions) shall apply to each of the new authorities as if they were one of the Boards and, in their application to the Scottish Group, as if any reference therein to the Minister were a reference to the Secretary of State; and any reference in the said section 27 or 89 to that Act or in the said section 28 to the foregoing provisions of that Act shall include a reference to this Act.

(4) In Schedule 1 to the Act of 1962, for paragraph 4 (which relates to the authentication of the application of the seal of a Board) there shall be substituted the following:—

“4 The application of the seal of any Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the secretary of the Board or some other person authorised by the Board, either generally or specially, to act for that purpose.”

(5) It is hereby declared that none of the new authorities are to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown, or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown, or (subject to the provisions of sections 160, 161 and 162 of this Act) as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local, and that their property is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.

Power to dissolve Holding Company, etc.

53 Provisions with respect to Holding Company

(1) The Minister may by order, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament—

(a) transfer any such property, rights and liabilities of the Holding Company as may be specified in the order, being property, rights or liabilities not already transferred under section 4 or 28 of this Act or this paragraph, from the Holding Company to such other person, being either a publicly-owned body (that is to say, a body established for the carrying on of any industry or part of an industry, or of any undertaking, under national ownership or Control, or a wholly-owned subsidiary of a body so established) or a Minister of the Crown, as may be specified in the order;

(b) transfer all property, rights and liabilities of the Holding Company not already transferred under the said section 4 or 28 or paragraph (a) of this subsection to such one, or to such extent respectively to such two or more, of the Boards and the new authorities as may be specified in the order, and provide for the dissolution of the Holding Company;

(c) where by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection any property, rights and liabilities are transferred to, or to a subsidiary of, any of the Boards or the new authorities, confer on the Board or new authority in question any powers necessary to ensure the continued carrying on of any activities carried on before the transfer which would otherwise fall by virtue of section 25 of the Act of 1962 or section 51(6) of this Act to be discontinued after the transfer.

(2) In the case of any order made by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section, the property, rights and liabilities in question shall on such date as may be appointed for the purpose by the order be transferred, and by virtue of this Act vest, in accordance with the order; and Schedule 4 to this Act shall apply to any transfer under this subsection.

(3) Any order under subsection (1) of this section may contain such supplementary, incidental and consequential provision as may appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient, and in particular, in the case of an order by virtue of paragraph (b) of that subsection, may make provision—

(a) for the preparation by such person or persons as may . be specified in the order of a statement or statements of the Holding Company's accounts for the period from the end of that dealt with in the last annual statement of accounts published by that Company down to the date of the dissolution of that Company;

(b) for the auditing of any such statement of accounts;

(c) for the making to the Minister by such person or persons as may be specified in the order of a report or reports on the exercise and performance by the Holding Company of their functions during any period not dealt with in the reports made by that company under section 29(16) of the Act of 1962 ;

(d) repealing any provision of the Act of 1962 or of this or any other Act which the Minister is satisfied has become unnecessary in consequence of the dissolution of the Holding Company.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Treasury, pay to any person upon whom duties are imposed by virtue of subsection (3)(a) to (c) of this section such remuneration, and such allowances in respect of expenses, as the Minister may with the agreement of the Treasury determine.

(5) The Minister may from time to time by order—

(a) vary the commencing capital debt under section 39 of the Act of 1962 of the Holding Company or of any of the Boards or under Schedule 2 to this Act of any of the new authorities; or

(b) extinguish the liability of the Holding Company in respect of all or any sums lent to that Company by the Minister under section 29(12) of the Act of 1962 on or after 1st January 1963,

where that appears to the Minister expedient to take account of any transfer of property, rights and liabilities—

(i) in the case of the Holding Company, under section 4 or 28 of this Act or under subsection (1) of this section;

(ii) in the case of any of the Boards or new authorities, under the said subsection (1);

and any such order may contain such transitional provisions as appear to the Minister expedient to take account of any interest underpaid or overpaid on the commencing capital debt of the authority in question or on the sums referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(6) On requiring any of the new authorities to make provisional payments under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to this Act in respect of the commencing capital debt of that new authority, the Minister may by notice in writing to the Holding Company specify what part of those payments is to be treated as attributable to transfers to that new authority from the Holding Company under section 4 or 28 of this Act; and where such notice is given, then, in respect of any period in respect of which those provisional payments are made, the liability of the Holding Company to make payments of interest under section 39(6) or 20(2). of the Act of 1962 on the commencing capital debt of, or loans to, that Company shall be correspondingly reduced.

(7) For the purposes of any order made by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of this section with respect to the Scottish Group, any reference in that subsection to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly.

(8) The power of the Minister or of the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly to make an order under subsection (5) of this section shall be subject to the approval of the Treasury and any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

Miscellaneous further provisions with respect to transport services

54 Railway closures

(1) In discharging any of his functions under subsection (8) or (10) of section 56 of the Act of 1962 or under subsection (5) of this section in relation to, or to a proposal by the Railways Board or the London Board for, the discontinuance of all railway passenger services from any station or on any line (hereafter in this section, as in that section, referred to as a closure), the Minister shall have regard to any matters which for the time being appear to him to be relevant, including any social or economic considerations, and shall not give his consent to a proposed closure—

(a) unless he is satisfied that a reasonable opportunity has been afforded for the making to the Minister of representations with respect to the closure by or on behalf of persons who are employed by the Board concerned for the purposes of, or in connection with, the services in question and who appear to the Minister to be likely to be directly affected by the closure ; or

(b) before he has considered any representations made while that opportunity remains available which he is satisfied are either made by such persons as aforesaid or made on behalf of such persons by an organisation appearing to him to represent such persons.

(2) In the case of a proposed closure of a station from which, or of a line on the whole or part of which, railway passenger services fall to be provided by the Railways Board in pursuance of an agreement under section 20(2)(b) of this Act with the Executive for an area designated under section 9(1) thereof, the Board shall not publish a notice of that closure in pursuance of subsection (7) of the said section 56 without the consent of that Executive to its publication ; and if the Board publish the notice before obtaining that consent, the notice shall be of no effect unless before the expiration of the period fixed by the notice for objecting to the closure either—

(a) the Executive have informed the Board in writing that they consent to the publication ; or

(b) the Minister, on an application made for the purpose by the Board, whether before or after the publication of the notice, and after affording the Executive what the Minister considers a reasonable opportunity to make any representations, has directed that the notice shall have effect notwithstanding that the Executive have not consented to its publication ;

but the giving by the Executive of their consent to publication of a notice in pursuance of the said subsection (7) shall not affect the right of the Executive under subsection (4) of this section to oppose the closure.

(3) Where, in the case of any proposed closure, subsection (2) of this section does not apply but the proposal is for the closure of a station, or of the whole or part of a line, which is situated within an area designated as aforesaid, the Railways Board shall send to the Executive for that area a copy of the notice of the closure published by the Board in pursuance of the said subsection (7).

(4) Where, in the case of any closure to which subsection (2) or (3) of this section applies, notice of the closure has been published by the Railways Board in pursuance of the said subsection (7) (not being a notice which under the said subsection (2) is of no effect), the Executive concerned may, within the period specified in the notice for objecting to the closure, lodge with the Minister a statement in writing that they oppose the closure and of their reasons therefor; and where the Executive lodge such a statement with the Minister they shall send a copy of that statement to the Board and, notwithstanding that no objection is lodged in accordance with subsection (8) of the said section 56, the closure shall not be proceeded with until the Minister has given his consent.

(5) In the case of any closure requiring the consent of the Minister under the said section 56 or under subsection (4) of this section—

(a) the Minister may give his consent subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, including conditions to be complied with after the closure ;

(b) the Minister may from time to time vary or revoke the conditions for the time being required to be complied with in connection with the closure, whether the closure took place before or after the coming into force of this subsection;

(c) those conditions may include conditions as to the provision of alternative services by, or by a subsidiary of, the Bus Company or the Scottish Group, or by some other person whether in pursuance of arrangements made by the Bus Company or the Scottish Group or otherwise; and

(d) whether before or after the closure, and whether the closure took place before or after the coming into force of this subsection, the Minister may from time to time give such directions to the Railways Board or, as the case may be, the London Board and to the Bus Company, and the Secretary of State may from time to time give such directions to the Scottish Group, as he thinks fit in connection with the closure;

and where any such condition or direction relates to the provision or assistance in the provision of alternative services, the Minister or, where those alternative services are to be provided by, or by a subsidiary of, or in pursuance of arrangements made by, the Scottish Group, the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly may refer to an Area Committee within the meaning of the said section 56 any matter relating to those services, and the committee shall consider and report on that matter to the Minister or, as the case may be, to the Minister and the Secretary of State.

(6) Where any condition or direction such as is referred to in subsection (5) of this section requires the provision of alternative services by, or by a subsidiary of, the Bus Company or the Scottish Group or in pursuance of arrangements made by that Company or that Group, the cost of providing those alternative services shall be borne by that Company or, as the case may be, that Group.

(7) For the purposes of subsections (5) and (6) of this section any conditions imposed under subsection (11) of the said section 56, so far as still required to be complied with immediately before the coming into force of the said subsection (5), shall have effect as if imposed under the said subsection (5).

(8) Paragraphs 9 and 10 of Schedule 7 to the Act of 1962 (which contain spent transitional provisions with respect to matters pending at the date of the coming into force of the said section 56) shall cease to have effect.

55 Amendments as to Transport Consultative Committees

(1) The services and facilities in relation to which, under section 56 of the Act of 1962, the duty imposed, subject to the subsequent provisions of that section, by subsection (4) thereof on the Consultative Committees established under that section falls to be exercised—

(a) shall not include any services or facilities provided by the Waterways Board or provided by virtue of section 48 or section 50(2) or (7) of this Act; but

(b) subject to paragraph (a) of this subsection shall, in addition to the services and facilities provided by any of the Boards other than the Waterways Board, include the services and facilities provided by any of the following bodies, namely, the Freight Corporation and any subsidiary of that Corporation or of any of the Boards other than the Waterways Board ;

and accordingly—

(i) the reference in the said subsection (4) to any of the Boards shall be construed as a reference to any of the bodies aforesaid;

(ii) the reference in paragraph (b) of that subsection to a Board shall be construed as excluding a reference to the Waterways Board but including a reference to the Freight Corporation;

(iii) the references in that subsection and in subsection (6) of the said section 56 to the Board concerned shall be construed as a reference to whichever of the Boards or the Freight Corporation are concerned either directly or through a subsidiary of theirs;

(iv) the reference in subsection (5) of the said section 56 to railway services shall be construed as including a reference to any transport services provided by, or by a subsidiary of, the Freight Corporation;

and for the purposes of this subsection the provisions of section 51(5) of this Act shall be disregarded.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 54 of this Act and of the foregoing subsection, the services and facilities in relation to which, under section 56 of the Act of 1962, the duty imposed, subject to the subsequent provisions of that section, by subsection (4) thereof on the Area Committee for Scotland established under that section falls to be exercised shall include the services and facilities provided by the Scottish Group and any subsidiary of that Group, but shall not include road passenger transport services, or services or facilities provided by virtue of section 50(3) of this Act; and for the purposes of this subsection the said section 56 shall have effect subject to the following modifications, that is to say—

(a) in relation to the Scottish Group and their subsidiaries, the Central Committee shall have no functions, and the Area Committee for Scotland shall have no functions in relation to the Central Committee ;

(b) for references to the Minister in subsections (4) and (6) there shall be substituted references to the Secretary of State;

(c) the reference in subsection (4)(b) to a Board shall be construed as a reference to the Scottish Group, and the references in that subsection and in subsection (6) to the Board concerned shall be construed as a reference to the Scottish Group;

(d) in subsection (15) for the words from the beginning to " Minister", where second occurring, there shall be substituted the words " The Area Committee for Scotland shall make an annual report to the Secretary of State on the services and facilities provided by the Scottish Group and their subsidiaries in relation to which the Committee have functions under subsection (4) of this section, and the Secretary of State ".

(3) In the case of each of the Consultative Committees aforesaid, the Minister shall provide, or make arrangements under subsection (4) of this section for providing, that committee with such officers and servants, and such office accommodation, as appear to the Minister, after consultation with the committee, to be requisite for the proper discharge of the committee's functions and shall defray any expenditure incurred by the committee with the Minister's approval in the discharge of those functions; and the Minister may pay to the members of any such committee allowances in respect of loss of remunerative time in accordance with such scale as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury allow and such travelling allowances and allowances in respect of out-of-pocket expenses as the Minister may determine.

(4) The Minister may, in the case of any such committee, instead of himself providing the officers and servants or office accommodation aforesaid, arrange with any of the Boards other than the Waterways Board or with the Freight Corporation for those officers and servants or that accommodation to be provided by that Board or Corporation in return for such payments by the Minister to the Board or Corporation as may be agreed between them.

(5) Subsection (16) of the said section 56 (which provides for any such officers, servants and accommodation as aforesaid to be provided, and any such allowance as aforesaid to be paid, by the Boards) shall cease to have effect.

56 Assistance by Minister or local authority towards capital expenditure on public transport facilities

(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury make grants upon such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit to any person towards expenditure appearing to the Minister to be of a capital nature incurred or to be incurred by that person for the purpose of the provision, improvement or development of facilities for public passenger transport in Great Britain.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, any local authority, or any two or more local authorities acting jointly, may make payments, upon such terms and conditions as they think fit, to any other person towards expenditure appearing to the authority or authorities in question to be of a capital nature incurred or to be incurred by that other person for the purpose of the provision, improvement or development of any facilities for public passenger transport if it appears to the authority or each of the authorities in question that those facilities are or will be of benefit to the area of that authority.

(3) No grant under subsection (1) of this section and no payment under subsection (2) thereof shall be made for the purposes of the provision, improvement or development of an airfield, a harbour, or (except when used or to be used for the purposes of a ferry service) a dock, pier or jetty.

(4) No grant under subsection (1) of this section shall be made for any purpose unless the Minister is satisfied that the purpose in question is in accordance with general transport planning for the locality in which the facilities in question are, or are to be, provided; and no payment under subsection (2) of this section shall be made for any purpose unless the local authority or local authorities in question are so satisfied.

(5) Where a person has used or proposes to use an asset of his for the purpose of the provision, improvement or development of facilities for public passenger transport, the Minister or, as the case may be, the local authority or local authorities in question may for the purposes of this section treat as expenditure of a capital nature incurred or to be incurred by that person for that purpose such amount not exceeding the capital value of that asset as the Minister or, as the case may be, the local authority or authorities in question may determine to be appropriate.

(6) In this section the expression " local authority " means—

(a) the council of any county, county borough or county district in England or Wales;

(b) the Greater London Council, the council of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London;

(c) the Council of the Isles of Stilly; or

(d) any county, town or district council in Scotland ;

and in the application of this section to Scotland or Wales any reference to the Minister shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

57 Grants for research or development in connection with transport services, etc.

The Minister shall have power with the approval of the Treasury to make grants upon such terms and conditions as he thinks fit to any person towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred by that person—

(a) in carrying out research in connection with the provision or improvement of transport services by land or inland waterway or of harbour facilities ; or

(b) in developing for the purposes of the provision or improvement of such services or facilities the results of any research carried out by, or any invention or idea of, that or any other person.

58 Assistance by local authorities in Scotland for railway passenger services

A county council, town council or district council in Scotland, or any two or more of those councils acting jointly, may with the approval of the Secretary of State afford financial assistance towards the provision of railway passenger services within, or to or from, their area or areas.