Transport Act 1968

PART X Miscellaneous and General

134 Duty to act in certain cases as body engaged in commercial enterprise

(1) This section applies to the following authorities, namely, the Boards, the new authorities, and the Executive for any designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act.

(2) Every authority to whom this section applies who engage, either directly or through a subsidiary, in any activities authorised by any of the provisions specified in subsection (3) of this section shall in carrying on those activities act as if they were a company engaged in a commercial enterprise or, as the case may be, shall exercise their control over that subsidiary so as to ensure that the subsidiary in carrying on those activities acts as a company so engaged.

(3) The provisions referred to in subsection (2) of this section axe—

(a) the following provisions of the Act of 1962, namely, subsections (2) to (4) of section 11 (which relate to certain development or acquisition of land);

(b) the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 2(1)(g)(ii) and (m), 10(1)(viii), (xi), (xx)(b) and (xxii), 25(e) and (f), 26(1)(e)(ii), (f) and (k), 48(2), 49(1) to (4), 50(1) (so far as it relates to the provision of facilities at additional premises), and 50(2) to (5).

135 Compensation for loss of employment, etc.

(1) The Minister shall by regulations require the payment by such person as may be determined by or under the regulations, in such cases and to such extent as may be so determined, of compensation to or in respect of any person who is on the date of the happening of any of the following events, namely—

(a) a transfer of any property, rights or liabilities under section 4, 5, 7, 8, 28, 29, 53 or 144 of this Act; or

(b) any change in the manner in which the carrying on of the activities of the Railways Board or the Freight Corporation is organised made—

(i) in pursuance of a direction under section 6(1) or 45(5) of this Act; or

(ii) with the consent of the Minister in order to give effect to conclusions reported under the said section 45; or

(c) the making of any adaptations such as are mentioned in paragraph 5(4) of Schedule 16 to this Act; or

(d) the revocation under paragraph 10(1) of Schedule 6 to this Act of a consent granted under that Schedule,

or who has before that date been, in any employment so determined and who suffers any loss of employment, or loss or diminution of emoluments or pension rights, or worsening of his position, which is properly attributable to the happening of that event.

(2) Any such regulations may apply in relation to any such person whether or not he continues in the employment determined as aforesaid until the date of the happening of the relevant event aforesaid, and whether or not he is a party to an agreement for the rendering of personal services which is affected by the happening of that event.

(3) Different regulations may be made under this section in relation to different classes of persons, and any such regulations may be so framed as to have effect from a date prior to the making thereof, so, however, that so much of any such regulations as provides that any provision thereof is to have effect as from a date earlier than the making thereof shall not place any person other than the person required to pay the compensation in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only as from the making thereof.

(4) Regulations under this section—

(a) may prescribe the procedure to be followed in making claims for compensation, and the manner in which and the person by whom the question whether any or what compensation is payable is to be determined; and

(b) may in particular contain provisions enabling appeals from any determination as to whether any or what compensation is payable to be brought, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the regulations, before a tribunal established under section 12 of the [1964 c. 16.] Industrial Training Act 1964.

(5) No regulations shall be made under this section unless a draft thereof has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(6) Where any of the following authorities, namely the Boards, the new authorities and the Holding Company, are required by any such regulations to pay compensation thereunder, any other of those authorities may arrange to make to the compensating authority payments by way of contributions towards their liability under the regulations; and if the compensating authority satisfy the Minister that any of the other authorities have not made a proper contribution towards that liability, whether by payment of money or by finding employment for persons to or in respect of whom the compensation has become payable, the Minister may require that other authority to make such payment to the compensating authority as appears to the Minister to be just.

(7) In relation to regulations under this section in connection with a transfer such as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) thereof to or from the Scottish Group or a subsidiary of theirs, references in the said subsection (1) to the Minister shall be construed as references to the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly ; and for the purposes of any payment by the Scottish Group under subsection (6) of this section, references to the Minister in the said subsection (6) shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State.

136 Pensions

(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, sections 73 and 74 of the Act of 1962 (which relate respectively to the powers of the Boards and the Holding Company as regards pensions and pension schemes and to the Minister's power to make orders about pensions) shall have effect—

(a) as if the expression " Board " in each of those sections included each of the new authorities ; and

(b) as if the reference in subsection (2)(a) of the said section 74 to a pension scheme in which employees of the Commission or a subsidiary of the Commission participated before the vesting date included a reference to a pension scheme in which employees of, or of a subsidiary of, the Railways Board or the Holding Company participated before any relevant transfer date such as is mentioned in subsection (4) of this section.

(2) If in the case of any transfer such as is mentioned in subsection (4) of this section an order under the said section 74 as applied by this section is made before the transfer date which provides for the transfer on that date from the transferor to some other person of property, rights and liabilities of the transferor relating to any pensions or pension schemes—

(a) that order may apply to the transfer under the order such of the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act subject to such modifications as the Minister may consider appropriate; and

(b) save as may be provided by that order, the provisions of this Act with respect to the transfer mentioned in the said subsection (4) shall not apply in relation to the property, rights and liabilities to which the order relates.

(3) In relation to the Scottish Group, references to the Minister—

(a) in the said section 73 and, for the purposes of orders relating only to that Group, in the said section 74 and in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State;

(b) in the said section 74 and subsection (2), for the purposes of orders relating both to that Group and to other authorities, shall be construed as references to the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly.

(4) Any person who—

(a) on the transfer date for the purposes of a transfer under any of the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 4(1), 4(4), 5(3) (a) or (b), 7(5) or (6), 8(4), 28(1), (2) or (5) and 29(2), ceases to be employed by one, and becomes employed by another, of the following bodies, namely, the Railways Board, the Holding Company, the new authorities and any body which is a subsidiary of that Board or Company or of any of the new authorities;

(b) on the transfer date for the purposes of any transfer under subsection (2) of section 53 of this Act ceases to be employed by the Holding Company and becomes employed by any publicly-owned body within the meaning of subsection (1)(a) of that section or under the Crown; or

(c) on any such transfer date as aforesaid is employed by a body which immediately before that date was a subsidiary of one, but on that date becomes a subsidiary of another, of the following bodies, namely, the Railways Board, the Holding Company and tile new authorities,

shall not in consequence cease to be eligible to participate in any pension scheme in which he was a participant immediately before that transfer date.

(5) In the application of subsection (4) of this section to a pension scheme the benefits under which are or will be receivable as of right, persons who have obtained pension rights under the scheme without having contributed under the scheme shall be regarded as participants in the scheme ; and the reference in that subsection to being eligible to participate in a pension scheme shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall have effect subject to any order under section 74 of the Act of 1962 made by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, being an order taking effect on or at any time after the relevant transfer date referred to in the said subsection (4).

137 Machinery for negotiation and consultation with staff

(1) This section applies to the following authorities, namely—

(a) the Railways Board, the Waterways Board and the Holding Company;

(b) the new authorities ;

(c) the Executive for any designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act.

(2) In the case of each authority to whom this section applies, except so far as the authority are satisfied that adequate machinery exists for achieving the purposes of this section, being machinery for operation at national level or local level or a level falling between those levels and appearing to the authority to be appropriate, it shall be the duty of the authority, either directly, or indirectly by exercising control over subsidiaries, to seek consultation with any organisation appearing to them to be appropriate with a view to the conclusion between the authority and that organisation or, if the authority so decide, between subsidiaries of theirs and that organisation, of such agreements as appear to the parties to be desirable with respect to the establishment and maintenance, for operation at any such level as aforesaid, of machinery for—

(a) the settlement by negotiation of terms and conditions of employment of persons employed by the authority and by their subsidiaries with provision for reference to arbitration in default of such settlement in such cases as may be determined by or under the agreements ;

(b) the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting efficiency, in any respect, in the carrying on by the authority and by their subsidiaries of their activities, including in particular the promotion and encouragement of the training of persons employed as aforesaid ; and

(c) the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting the safety, health and welfare of persons employed as aforesaid.

(3) Every authority to whom this section applies shall send—

(a) except in the case of such an Executive as aforesaid, to the Minister and to the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity;

(b) in the case of such an Executive, to the Authority established under the said section 9(1) for the designated area in question,

copies of any such agreement as aforesaid and of any instrument varying the terms of any such agreement.

(4) Every authority to whom this section applies shall from time to time, at such times and within such period as—

(a) except in the case of such an Executive as aforesaid, the Minister; or

(b) in the case of such an Executive, the Authority established as aforesaid,

may direct, report to the Minister and to the Secretary of State aforesaid or, as the case may be, to the Authority so established as to the progress or lack of progress made in arriving at such agreements as aforesaid.

(5) Where it falls to any authority to whom this section applies or any subsidiary of theirs to participate in the operation of machinery established under this section, and the operation involves discussion of a subject by other persons participating therein, the authority or subsidiary shall make available to those persons, at a reasonable time before the discussion is to take place, such information in their possession relating to the subject as, after consultation with those persons, appears to the authority, or as the case may be, to the subsidiary to be necessary to enable those persons to participate effectively in the discussion.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any of the authorities to whom this section applies or any subsidiary of theirs from taking part together with other employers or organisations of employers in the establishment and maintenance of machinery for the settlement of terms and conditions of employment and the promotion and encouragement of measures affecting the health, safety and welfare of persons employed by them and the discussion of other matters of mutual interest to the authority or subsidiary and persons employed by them.

(7) In the application of this section to the Scottish Group, references therein to the Minister shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State.

(8) Section 72 of the Act of 1962 shall cease to apply to the Railways Board, the Waterways Board and the Holding Company.

138 Travel concessions

(1) Any local authority, or any two or more local authorities acting jointly, may enter into arrangements with the Executive for a designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act whereby—

(a) subject, in the case of any travel concessions on a service for which a road service licence is required, to any conditions imposed under section 135(4) to (6) of the Act of 1960 by the traffic commissioners by whom the licence was granted or backed, the Executive grant, or arrange with some other person for that other person to grant, such travel concessions as may be provided for by the arrangements to any persons such as are mentioned in subsection (5) of this section, being concessions on journeys—

(i) between places in that designated area; or

(ii) between such places and places outside but in the vicinity of that area ; and

(b) that local authority (or, as the case may be, those local authorities in such proportions respectively as they may agree among themselves) reimburse the cost incurred in granting those concessions;

and the approval under section 15(2) of this Act of the Authority for that designated area shall not be required for any travel concessions granted under this subsection.

(2) Any local authority may contribute to any cost incurred by a local authority within the meaning of the [1955 c. 26.] Public Service Vehicles (Travel Concessions) Act 1955 in granting travel concessions under that Act; and accordingly subsections (4) and (6) of section 1 of that Act shall cease to have effect.

(3) Any local authority may make with any person who, not being such an Executive as aforesaid or a local authority within the meaning of the said Act of 1955 or the London Board, operates a public service vehicle undertaking arrangements whereby—

(a) subject as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section, that person grants such travel concessions as may be provided for by the arrangements to any persons such as are mentioned in subsection (5) of this section, being concessions on journeys—

(i) between places in the area of the local authority ; or

(ii) between such places and places outside but in the vicinity of that area; or

(iii) between places outside but in the vicinity of that area; and

(b) the local authority reimburse the cost incurred in granting those concessions.

(4) Any arrangements entered into by a local authority under subsection (1) or (3) of this section may include provision for the performance of functions in connection with the travel concessions in question by the local authority or local authorities concerned; and any local authority making contributions under subsection (2) of this section may enter into arrangements with the authority to whom those contributions are paid for the performance by the local authority of functions in connection with the travel concessions in respect of which the contributions are paid.

(5) The persons referred to in subsections (1)(a) and (3)(a) of this section are persons mentioned in any of the following paragraphs or any description of such persons, namely—

(a) men over the age of sixty-five years and women over the age of sixty years ;

(b) blind persons, that is to say, persons so blind as to be unable to perform any work for which sight is essential;

(c) persons suffering from any disability or injury which, in the opinion of the local authority or any of the local authorities by whom the cost incurred in granting the concession falls to be reimbursed, seriously impairs their ability to walk.

(6) Expenditure by any local authority by virtue of subsections (1) to (4) of this section shall not be relevant expenditure of that authority for the purposes of section 1 of the [1966 c. 42.] Local Government Act 1966 or, as the case may be, reckonable expenditure of that authority for the purposes of section 2 of the [1966 c. 51.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966.

(7) The Minister may by order, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, prescribe the method of calculating for the purposes of any provision of the said Act of 1955 or this Act the cost incurred in providing any travel concessions, and different methods may be prescribed for different concessions and different circumstances; and any dispute arising under any such provision with respect to the cost incurred as aforesaid in any particular case shall be referred for determination—

(a) in the case of a concession granted on a road passenger transport service, to the chairman of the appropriate traffic commissioners; and

(b) in any other case, to the Minister,

and the decision of the chairman or Minister shall be final.

(8) The Minister may by regulations, which shall be subject to annulment as aforesaid, make provision—

(a) with respect to the procedure to be followed in connection with any reference to a chairman of traffic commissioners under subsection (7) of this section;

(b) authorising the charging of fees in connection with any such reference and as to the person by whom any such fee is to be paid ;

and any amount received by a chairman of traffic commissioners by way of fees under the regulations shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund in such manner as the Treasury may direct.

(9) In this section—

(a) the expression " appropriate traffic commissioners" means traffic commissioners for the area which includes the whole, or the major part, of the route or routes of the road passenger transport services on which the travel concession in question is granted, and references to the chairman of any traffic commissioners include references to any person for the time being appointed to act as his deputy ;

(b) the expression "local authority" means the council of a county, county borough or county district in England or Wales or a county, town or district council in Scotland;

(c) the expression " public service vehicle undertaking" includes a tramcar or trolley vehicle undertaking, and " tramcar" and " trolley vehicle" have the same meanings respectively as in the Act of 1960 ;

(d) the expression " travel concession " means the reduction or waiver of a fare or charge either absolutely or subject to terms, limitations, or conditions.

139 Land required as service area for special road: compensation in certain cases of compulsory acquisition

(1) Where land is compulsorily acquired—

(a) by virtue of section 215(2)(c) of the [1959 c. 25.] Highways Act 1959 or section 10(1)(c) of the [1949 c. 32.] Special Roads Act 1949 (which relate to land required for the provision of service stations or other buildings or facilities for use in connection with a special road) in a case where the acquisition is authorised by a compulsory purchase order which does not also authorise the acquisition of land required for the provision of the adjacent length of special road ; or

(b) in pursuance of a notice under section 129, 135 or 136 of the [1962 c. 38.] Town and Country Planning Act 1962 or section 17 of the [1947 c. 53.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947 (which relate to the protection of owners of land affected by certain planning decisions) in a case where the person by whom the compensation in respect of the acquisition falls to be assessed is satisfied that there are proposals for using the whole or part of the relevant land for such purposes in connection with a special road as are mentioned in the said section 215(2)(c) or 10(1)(c) and that the amount of the compensation would apart from this section be affected by the provision or proposed provision of the special road; or

(c) in pursuance of a notice under section 139 of the said Act of 1962 or section 38 of the [1959 c. 70.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1959 (which relate to the protection of owner-occupiers of land affected by planning proposals) in a case where the appropriate enactment for the purposes of section 142 of the said Act of 1962 or, as the case may be, section 41 of the said Act of 1959 is or includes the said section 215(2)(c) or 10(1)(c),

then, for the purpose of assessing compensation in respect of the compulsory acquisition, the value of the relevant interest shall be ascertained—

(i) so far as it is attributable to any relevant planning per mission, on the assumption that traffic carried by the special road will not have direct or indirect access to the relevant land; and

(ii) so far as it is not attributable to any such planning permission, on the assumption that traffic carried by the special road will not have direct access to the relevant land.

(2) In this section—

• " direct access " means access otherwise than by means of a highway which is not a special road and " indirect access " means access by means of such a highway as aforesaid;

• " relevant planning permission " means any planning permission for service area development which is in force on the date of service of the notice to treat, or as to the grant of which any assumption is required to be made by virtue of section 15 or 16 of the [1961 c. 33.] Land Compensation Act 1961 or section 23 or 24 of the [1963 c. 51.] Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963, or the possibility of the grant of which is taken into account in assessing the compensation;

• " service area development " means development of the relevant land, or of any part thereof, for the purpose of providing such service stations or other buildings or facilities as are mentioned in the said section 215(2)(c) or the said section 10(1)(c) or of providing any other buildings or facilities designed to cater to a significant extent for traffic carried or to be carried by the special road ;

and any expression which is also used in the said Act of 1961 or 1963 has the same meaning, as respects England and Wales, as in the said Act of 1961 and, as respects Scotland, as in the said Act of 1963.

(3) This section shall not affect any compulsory acquisition in pursuance of a notice to treat served or deemed to have been served before the day on which this section comes into force.

140 Acquisition of land to be exchanged for common land, etc.

(1) In section 214 of the [1959 c. 25.] Highways Act 1959 (which relates to the acquisition of land for the construction or improvement of highways in England and Wales), so much of subsection (3) of that section as prohibits the compulsory acquisition of land lying more than two hundred and twenty yards from the middle of the relevant highway shall not apply to land acquired in exercise of the power conferred by subsection (4) of that section (which relates to the acquisition of land for the purpose of being given in exchange for land forming part of a common, open space, or fuel or field garden allotment which has been, or is proposed to be, acquired under subsection (1) or (2) of that section).

(2) Where in exercise of the power conferred by subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 215 of the said Act of 1959 (which relates to the acquisition of land by certain Ministers or, as the case may be, a special road authority for certain purposes connected with trunk roads or special roads in England and Wales), any land forming part as aforesaid has been, or is proposed to be, acquired for any of the purposes mentioned in that subsection and other land is required for the purpose of being given in exchange for the first-mentioned land, that subsection shall apply to the acquisition of that other land as if it were land required by the Minister in question or, as the case may be, the special road authority for the construction or improvement of a highway; and subsection (3) of the said section 215 (which imposes the like prohibition as is referred to in subsection (1) of this section) shall not apply to an acquisition by virtue of this subsection.

141 Application of Town and Country Planning Acts

(1) Section 86 of the Act of 1962 (application of Town and Country Planning Acts) shall have effect as if the expression " Board " therein included each of the new authorities and the Executive for any designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act.

(2) Where in the case of any company—

(a) the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of one of the following bodies, namely, a board, a new authority, or such an Executive as aforesaid; or

(b) two or more such bodies as aforesaid are members of the company and, if those bodies were a single body corporate, the company would be a wholly-owned subsidiary of that body corporate,

the said section 86 shall have effect as if the expression " Board " therein included that company and, so far as the activities of the company consist of the carrying on of any such undertaking as is mentioned in the definition of " statutory undertakers " in section 221(1) of the [1962 c. 38.] Town and Country Planning Act 1962 or in section 113(1) of the [1947 c. 53.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947, the company shall be deemed for the purposes of the said section 86 and any other enactment relating to statutory undertakers or statutory undertakings to be such undertakers carrying on such an undertaking.

(3) Subsection (1) of the said section 86 shall apply—

(a) to anything done by a Board or new authority in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 49(3) or (4) of this Act; and

(b) to anything done by such an Executive as aforesaid in the exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph (xxii) of section 10(1) of this Act; and

(c) to anything done by such a company as aforesaid which, if that company were a Board or such an Executive as aforesaid, would be an exercise of—

(i) the powers referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the said subsection (1); or

(ii) the powers conferred by the said section 49(3) or (4); or

(iii) the powers conferred by the said paragraph (xxii),

as it applies to anything done by a Board in the exercise of the powers referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the said subsection (1).

142 Powers of Minister in connection with channel tunnel

(1) The Minister may acquire by agreement any land which in his opinion is likely to be required for the provision in England of a terminal for, or of other works for the purposes of, a railway linking England with France and passing under the English Channel.

(2) Where compensation is payable by a local authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1962 in consequence of any decision or order given or made under Part III of that Act, or under the provisions of Part VIII of that Act relating to purchase notices, then if that decision or order was given or made wholly or partly in consequence of the land to which it relates being likely to be required as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section the Minister may pay to that authority a contribution of such amount as he may with the consent of the Treasury determine.

143 Channel Tunnel Planning Council

(1) If the Minister sees fit by order so to direct, there shall be established in accordance with Part I of Schedule 15 to this Act a body to be known as " the Channel Tunnel Planning Council".

(2) With a view to facilitating the work of any body or bodies which may be established in agreement with the Government of the French Republic for the operation of a railway linking England with France and passing under the English Channel, the Council shall be charged with the duty of carrying out the following tasks in connection with the construction and operation of such a railway, namely—

(a) formulating the operational requirements ;

(b) planning the necessary administrative and financial arrangements;

(c) making, or arranging for the making of, preliminary works trials and studies; and

(d) taking any other steps which the Minister is satisfied are necessary or expedient for the purpose of preparing for the construction and operation of such a railway;

and the Council shall in discharging that duty act in accordance with such directions, whether general or particular, as may from time to time be given to them by the Minister and, when it appears to the Council to be appropriate, in consultation with any body established in France for the like purposes, and shall have power to do all such things as may be necessary for the discharge of that duty.

(3) The provisions of Part II of the said Schedule 15 shall have effect with respect to the borrowing powers and accounts of the Council.

(4) If the Council are established but at any time thereafter it appears to the Minister that the Council are no longer required, he may by order, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, make provision for the dissolution of the Council; and any such order may include provision—

(a) for the disposal by the Minister of any assets of the Council in such manner as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine ;

(b) for the extinguishment of any debt due to the Minister from the Council; and

(c) for the discharge by the Minister out of moneys provided by Parliament of any other liabilities of the Council;

and on the coming into force of such an order subsections (1) to (3) of this section and the said Schedule 15 shall cease to have effect.

144 Transfer and disposal of historical records and relics

(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4) of this section, the Railways Board may, with the consent of the Minister—

(a) transfer without consideration to the Secretary of State for Education and Science any of the historical records and relics which were vested in the Board by section 31(2)(f) of the Act of 1962 and are for the time being in the possession of the Board, and any premises of the Board in which any significant collection of those records or relics is housed ;

(b) transfer, without consideration or by way of sale, to any other person, or otherwise dispose of, any of those records or relics.

(2) No record vested in the Railways Board by the said section 31(2)(f) which is housed by the Board in premises in Scotland shall under subsection (1) of this section be transferred to any person other than the Secretary of State for Scotland or otherwise disposed of unless that record—

(a) has been previously offered by the Board to that Secretary of State; and

(b) has not been claimed by that Secretary of State within six months of the date on which the offer was made;

and if the record is claimed as aforesaid the Board shall transfer it without consideration to that Secretary of State.

(3) No record having special associations with the undertaking of the London Board, and no relic having special associations with the undertaking of any relevant authority (that is to say, any of the Boards other than the Railways Board, any of the new authorities or the Holding Company) shall under subsection (1) of this section be transferred to any person other than the authority in question or otherwise disposed of unless—

(a) it has been previously offered by the Railways Board to that authority ; and

(b) it has not been claimed by that authority within six months of the date on which the offer was made ;

and if the record or relic is claimed as aforesaid the Railways Board shall transfer it without consideration to that authority.

(4) There shall be no transfer or disposal of any record or relic under subsection (1)(b) of this section, except in pursuance of subsection (2) or (3) of this section, unless—

(a) the record or relic has been previously offered by the Railways Board to the Secretary of State for Education and Science; and

(b) it has not been claimed by him within six months of the date on which the offer was made;

and, in the case of a record, before consenting to a transfer or disposal to which the foregoing provisions of this subsection apply, the Minister shall consult with such persons as the Minister and the Secretary of State for Education and Science acting jointly may consider—

(i) to possess appropriate qualifications for advising on the treatment of records of the class or description to which the particular record in question belongs; and

(ii) to be the appropriate persons to consult with respect to that particular record.

(5) Where any record or relic has been transferred to any relevant authority under subsection (3) of this section or under paragraph 4 of the British Transport Historical Relics Scheme 1963, that relevant authority shall, in respect of that record or relic, have the same powers, exercisable subject to the same conditions, as the Railways Board have under subsection (1) of this section in respect of the records and relics there mentioned.

(6) Subsections (1) to (5) of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the schemes in force under paragraph 1(5) of Schedule 6 to the Act of 1962 (which impose duties as to the preservation of the historical records and relics vested in the Railways Board by that Act) and the Railways Board may, with the approval of the Minister, vary or revoke any such scheme so far as appears to the Board and the Minister to be expedient in consequence of those subsections; but, where any record or relic which has been transferred to a relevant authority under subsection (3) of this section or under paragraph 4 of the said Scheme of 1963 is for the time being in the possession of that or any other relevant authority, then (without prejudice to the powers conferred by subsection (5) of this section and to any relevant requirement of any scheme made under the said paragraph 1(5) which remains in force with or without variations made under this subsection) it shall be the duty of the relevant authority for the time being having possession of that record or relic to preserve it in suitable accommodation.

(7) Neither the Railways Board nor the London Board shall dispose of any document or object for the time being in their possession which was not vested in them by the said section 31(2)(f) but falls within a class of documents or objects for the time specified by an agreement between the Board concerned and the Secretary of State for Education and Science as of sufficient interest to warrant preservation in any collection maintained or proposed to be maintained by him, unless—

(a) it has been previously offered by the Board to that Secretary of State; and

(b) it has not been claimed by him within six months of the date on which the offer was made ;

and if that document or object is claimed as aforesaid the Board concerned shall transfer it without consideration to that Secretary of State.

(8) Any offer or claim for the purposes of this section shall be in writing; and any such claim shall be of no effect unless—

(a) it contains a statement of the time (which shall be not more than three months after the date of the claim) when the claimant proposes to remove what he has claimed; and

(b) the claimant removes what he has claimed in accordance with that statement or at such later time as may be allowed by the authority to whom the claim was made.

(9) Nothing in Schedule 1 to the [1958 c. 51.] Public Records Act 1958 shall cause any records transferred under this section to become, by reason of that or any subsequent transfer, public records within the meaning of that Act; but any records so transferred which at any time are for the time being in the custody of the Secretary of State for Scotland may be treated for the purposes of section 5(1) of the [1937 c. 43.] Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 as records belonging to Her Majesty.

145 Minor amendments of Road Traffic Act 1960

(1) The power of prescribing conferred by subsection (3) of section 117 of the Act of 1960 (which provides that for the purposes of that Act an express carriage is a public service vehicle carrying passengers at separate fares none of which is less than one shilling or such greater sum as may be prescribed) may be exercised so as to provide for different minimum fares for the purposes of that subsection in different circumstances.

(2) The power of the Minister under subsection (2) of section 123 of the Act of 1960 to appoint a deputy or an additional deputy to the traffic commissioner for the Metropolitan Traffic Area or the chairman of the traffic commissioners for any other traffic area (being a power exercisable if the Minister considers that, owing to the number of applications under Parts III and IV of that Act, the duties to be performed by those persons cannot conveniently or efficiently be performed by them alone) shall include power to appoint two or more deputies, or as the case may be, additional deputies to any of those persons.

(3) Sections 154(1) and 188(1) of the Act of 1960 (which require traffic commissioners and licensing authorities to cause proper accounts to be kept and to prepare an annual statement of accounts) shall cease to have effect.

(4) Section 255 of the Act of 1960 (method of calculating weight of motor vehicles for the purposes of that Act and of other enactments relating to the use of motor vehicles on roads) shall apply also for the purposes of any enactment relating to the use of trailers on roads and, in relation to a trailer, shall apply as if the reference to the propulsion of the vehicle were a reference to the propulsion of any vehicle by which the trailer is drawn.

146 Approval marks

(1) Section 47 of the [1962 c. 59.] Road Traffic Act 1962 (which relates to approval marks for motor vehicle parts for the purposes of certain international agreements) shall apply where any international agreement to which the United Kingdom is a party provides—

(a) for markings to be applied to a motor vehicle to indicate that the vehicle is fitted with motor vehicle parts within the meaning of that section of any description and either—

(i) that the parts conform with a type approved by any country; or

(ii) that the vehicle is such that as so fitted it conforms with a type -so approved; and

(b) for motor vehicles bearing those markings to be recognised as complying with the requirements imposed by the law of another country,

as it applies where such an agreement provides as mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of that section.

(2) In the said section 47, the expression " motor vehicle part" shall include any equipment for the protection of drivers or passengers in or on a motor vehicle notwithstanding that it does not form part of, or of the equipment of, that vehicle.

(3) In this section, the expression " motor vehicle " means a mechanically propelled vehicle or a vehicle designed or adapted for towing by a mechanically propelled vehicle.

147 Exhibition of licences under Vehicle (Excise) Act 1962

For section 8(3) of the [1962 c. 13.] Vehicles (Excise) Act 1962 (which relates to the exhibition of licences issued under that Act) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(3) Subject to the provisions of regulations under this Act, and without prejudice to section 7 thereof, any person who uses or keeps on a public road any mechanically propelled vehicle on which duty under this Act is chargeable without there being fixed to and exhibited on that vehicle in the prescribed manner a licence for, or in respect of the use of, that vehicle issued under this Act and for the time being in force shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds”.

148 Amendment of Road Safety Act 1967

(1) The [1967 c. 30.] Road Safety Act 1967 shall have effect with the amendments hereafter specified in this section.

(2) In section 9(1)(b) (which relates to the issue of goods vehicle test certificates)—

(a) for the words " is found on an examination " there shall be substituted the words " has been found on examination ";

(b) for the words " does so comply " there shall be substituted the words " has been found so to comply ".

(3) In section 14, in subsection (8) (under which the Minister may by regulations make certain exemptions provided for by paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection) at the end there shall be added the following paragraph:—

“(c) make provision for the issue in respect of a vehicle in such circumstances as may be prescribed of a certificate of temporary exemption exempting that vehicle from the provisions of subsection (1), (2) or (3) of this section for such period as may be specified in the certificate”.

(4) In section 14, in subsection (9) (under which the Minister may by regulations provide that a licence for a vehicle under the [1962 c. 13.] Vehicles (Excise) Act 1962 shall not be granted unless certain requirements are satisfied) for the words " under the last foregoing subsection " there shall be substituted the words " under paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of this section or unless there is produced in respect of the vehicle a certificate of temporary exemption issued by virtue of paragraph (c) of that subsection which exempts that vehicle from the provisions of the said subsection (2) or (3), as the case may be, for a period which includes the date on which the licence is to come into force. "

149 Application of road traffic enactments to Crown roads

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 32 of the [1968 c. 41.] Countryside Act 1968 with respect to certain Crown roads, the Minister may, with the consent of the appropriate Crown authority or authorities concerned, by order, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, direct that, subject to subsection (3) of this section and to such exceptions, adaptations or modifications appearing to him to be necessary or expedient as may be specified in the order, all or any of the road traffic enactments shall apply to all Crown roads, or to any specified Crown road or Crown roads, or to Crown roads of a specified class, as they apply in relation to other roads to which the public has access.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, but subject to subsection (3) of this section, any order under the said subsection (1) with respect to any of the road traffic enactments may in particular include provision—

(a) for enabling functions with respect to a road exercisable under the enactment in question by the local authority or the highway authority to be exercised with respect to a Crown road by the appropriate Crown authority or by a particular local authority or highway authority;

(b) for enabling power to make an order, regulation or scheme under the enactment in question with respect to a Crown road which would otherwise be exercisable by a local authority or highway authority to be exercised instead by the Minister, and for requiring the consent of the Minister to the variation or revocation by any other authority of such an order, regulation or scheme made by him;

(c) for a certificate of the appropriate Crown authority or of the Minister that the authority or Minister has, or has not, consented to the doing of anything for which under the order or under this section the consent of the authority or, as the case may be, the Minister is required to be evidence, and in Scotland sufficient evidence, of the facts stated ;

(d) for exempting from any provision of the enactment in question persons and vehicles on a Crown road in the service of the Crown or of an agent of the Crown.

(3) No order, regulation or scheme in relation to a Crown road shall be made, varied or revoked under any of the road traffic enactments by virtue of an order under subsection (1) of this section except by or with the consent of the appropriate Crown authority.

(4) With a view to the avoidance of doubt, the road traffic enactments specified in an order under subsection (1) of this section may include any provision of those enactments notwithstanding that it would have applied in relation to Crown roads apart from the making of the order; and the inclusion in the order of a provision which would so have applied shall not prejudice anything done under that provision in relation to a Crown road before the coming into force of the order.

(5) In this section—

(a) the expression " appropriate Crown authority ", in relation to a Crown road, means—

(i) in the case of a road on land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, the Crown Estate Commissioners or other government department having the management of that land;

(ii) in the case of a road on land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Chancellor of the Duchy ;

(iii) in the case of a road on land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall, such person as the Duke of Cornwall or the possessor for the time being of the Duchy of Cornwall appoints ;

(iv) in the case of a road on land belonging to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department, that department;

and if any question arises under this paragraph as to what authority is the appropriate Crown authority in relation to any Crown road, that question shall be referred to the Treasury, whose decision shall be final;

(b) the expression " Crown road " means a road, other than a highway, to which the public has access by permission granted by the appropriate Crown authority, or otherwise granted by or on behalf of the Crown ;

(c) the expression " road traffic enactments" means the enactments (whether passed before or after or contained in this Act) relating to road traffic, including the lighting and parking of vehicles, and any order or other instrument having effect by virtue of any such enactment;

and, in the application of this section to Scotland or Wales, for any reference to the Minister there shall be substituted a reference to the Secretary of State.

(6) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any enactment in addition to this section and section 32 of the [1968 c. 41.] Countryside Act 1968 which relates to Crown roads.

150 Railways and Coastal Shipping Committee

(1) The Minister shall establish a committee, to be known as the Railways and Coastal Shipping Committee, for the purpose of—

(a) considering and from time to time reporting to the Minister on matters which affect the interests both of the Railways Board and of persons engaged in coastal shipping, and in particular any such matters which the Minister may refer to the committee for consideration; and

(b) dealing with any complaint as to the charges for the carriage of goods by rail made or quoted by the Railways Board in competition with coastal shipping, being a complaint which is made to the committee, or made to the Minister and referred by him to the committee, and which is so made by or on behalf of a body appearing to the committee or, as the case may be, to the Minister to be representative of the interests of persons engaged in coastal shipping.

(2) The committee shall consist of—

(a) such number as the Minister thinks fit of shipping members, that is to say, members representing the interests of persons engaged in coastal shipping, who shall be appointed by the Minister after consultation with the President of the Board of Trade and with such body or bodies as the Minister thinks fit, being a body or bodies appearing to the Minister to be representative of such persons ; and

(b) the like number of railway members, that is to say, members representing the Railways Board, who shall be nominated by the Railways Board and of whom at least one shall be a member of that Board.

(3) The committee shall appoint one of their members to be their chairman and, subject to subsection (4) of this section, their procedure, including their quorum, shall be such as they may determine.

(4) If, at the meeting at which the committee consider any such complaint as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section, a majority of those present and voting of each respectively of—

(a) the shipping members ; and

(b) the railway members,

are unable to agree together as to the action, if any, to be taken on the complaint, the chairman of the committee shall, if such a majority either of the shipping members or of the railway members so request, report the failure to reach agreement to the Minister, who shall then refer the complaint for a determination of the matters referred to in subsection (5) of this section to a person appearing to the Minister to have suitable qualifications for that purpose.

(5) The matters to be determined by the person appointed by the Minister under subsection (4) of this section in connection with a complaint are—

(a) the cost to the Railways Board of providing the services in question;

(b) the cost of providing corresponding services by coastal shipping; and

(c) the likely effect on the Railways Board and on persons engaged in coastal shipping respectively of losing the business in question to the other of them, including any effect of the loss of that business on the charges of that Board or, as the case may be, such persons for other services by way of the carriage of goods,

the costs referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection being broken down in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(6) The person appointed to determine the matters aforesaid in connection with a complaint—

(a) may require the Railways Board and the complainant respectively to submit written evidence in support of their case; and

(b) shall make any evidence so submitted by the Railways Board or by the complainant available to the other of them;

and subject to the foregoing provisions of this subsection the procedure for the purpose of determining those matters shall be such as the Minister may direct.

(7) After considering the report of the person appointed to determine the matters aforesaid in connection with any complaint, the Minister may give to the Railways Board any directions which he may consider appropriate in the circumstances of the case.

(8) In this section the expression " coastal shipping " has the same meaning as in the Act of 1962.

151 Amendment of Highlands and Islands Shipping Services Act 1960

The County of Bute shall be a county to which section 1 of the [1960 c. 31.] Highlands and Islands Shipping Services Act 1960 (assistance to persons providing sea transport services) applies, and accordingly in the Schedule to the said Act after the words " The County of Argyll" there shall be inserted the words " The County of Bute ".

152 Amendment of 1937 c. 28 as to marine works in Scotland

(1) In subsection (1) of section 7 of the Harbours, Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Act 1937 (which provides that in certain circumstances the Secretary of State may authorise a local or harbour authority to undertake, subject to the Second Schedule to the said Act, certain operations in connection with a marine work) for the words " twenty-five thousand pounds" (substituted by section 1 of the [1953 c. 11.] Harbours, Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Act 1953) there shall be substituted the words " one hundred thousand pounds ".

(2) This section and the [1937 c. 28.] Harbours, Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Act 1937 may be cited together as the Harbours, Piers and Ferries (Scotland) Acts 1937 and 1968.

153 Compensation for certain refusals under Docks and Harbours Act 1966

(1) Where in the case of an application for a licence under the [1966 c. 28.] Docks and Harbours Act 1966 for the employment of dock workers which has been refused by the licensing authority—

(a) the application was made before the commencement of section 1 of that Act; and

(b) the applicant has not appealed under section 7 of that Act against the authority's decision to refuse the application; and

(c) after the date when notice of that decision was given to the applicant by the authority, all applications for such licences for the port in question have been referred to the Minister under section 8(2) of that Act,

then, subject to subsection (2) of this section, for the purposes of compensation under section 13 of that Act for the refusal of that application subsection (5) of the said section 13 (which relates to the date to be treated for the purposes of such compensation as the date of refusal of a licence) shall not apply, and shall be deemed never to have applied, in relation to that refusal, but for the purposes of subsection (3) of that section the refusal shall be treated as having taken place on the date referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect in relation to a case where the amount of the compensation under the said section 13 has been determined before the date of the coming into force of this section unless within three months of that date the applicant sends to the licensing authority a written request that it shall so have effect.

154 Restriction of operation of Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947, s. 226

Expenditure incurred by a district council under or by virtue of this Act shall not be taken into account in any calculation as to the limit of one shilling per pound imposed on the rate which may be levied by such a council in any year by section 226 of the [1947 c. 43.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947.

155 Amendments as to disqualification for membership of House of Commons, etc.

(1) Part II of Schedule 1 to the [1957 c. 20.] House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 (which specifies the bodies of which the members are disqualified for membership of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom) shall have effect with the insertion at the appropriate places in alphabetical order of the following entries, namely—

• The Channel Tunnel Planning Council.

• The Freight Integration Council.

• The National Bus Company.

• The National Freight Corporation.

• The Scottish Transport Group.

(2) The Part substituted by Schedule 3 to the said Act of 1957 for the said Part II in its application to the Senate and House of Commons of Northern Ireland shall have effect with the insertion at the appropriate places in alphabetical order of the following entries, namely—

• The Freight Integration Council

• The National Freight Corporation.

(3) A person shall cease to be disqualified—

(a) for membership of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by reason of holding the office of director of the Hotel Company referred to in the Act of 1962 or of any of the companies shown in List A in Part I, in Part III and in List A in Part IV of Schedule 4 to that Act;

(b) for membership of the Senate and House of Commons of Northern Ireland by reason of holding office as director of any of the following companies, that is to say—

• Caledonian Steam Packet Company (Irish Services) Limited.

• Railway Sites Limited.

• British Road Services Limited.

• B.R.S. (Parcels) Limited.

• B.R.S. (Pickfords) Limited.

• Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Limited.

156 Miscellaneous, supplementary and consequential provisions

(1) With a view to giving the public advance notice of plans for the discontinuance of any rail or shipping services provided by the Freight Corporation, the Scottish Group or any subsidiary of that Corporation or Group, that Corporation or Group shall from time to time publish in such manner and in such places in the United Kingdom as the Minister or, in the case of the Scottish Group, the Secretary of State may direct such information as to their plans as the Minister or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State may determine.

(2) The enactments referred to in Schedule 16 to this Act shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Schedule, being provisions supplementary to or consequential on provisions of this Act.

157 Orders and regulations

Any power to make orders or regulations conferred on any Minister by any provision of this Act shall, except in the case of an order under section 124, be exercisable by statutory instrument; and any power to make an order under any provision of this Act shall include power to make such an order varying or revoking any previous order under that provision.

158 Inquiries

(1) The Minister may hold inquiries for the purposes of his functions under any provision of this Act other than Part V as if those purposes were purposes of the [1919 c. 50.] Ministry of Transport Act 1919 and section 20 of that Act shall apply accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of any functions under this Act of the Secretary of State for Scotland or the Secretary of State for Wales, subsection (1) of this section, the said section 20 and section 90(2) to (7) of the Act of 1962 shall have effect as if for any reference therein to the Minister there were substituted a reference to that Secretary of State.

159 Interpretation-general

(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, and except in any Part as respects which the expression in question is separately defined, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say—

• " the Act of 1960 " means the [1960 c. 16.] Road Traffic Act 1960;

• " the Act of 1962 " means the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962 ;

• " appointed day " means the relevant day appointed under section 166(2) of this Act;

• " area bus service " means a bus service which is, or so far as it is, a service on which passengers may be taken up and set down at different places within the same area designated under section 9(1) of this Act, whether or not any passengers on that service may also be taken up or set down outside that area ;

• " the Boards " means the Boards established under section 1 of the Act of 1962, namely, the British Railways Board, the London Transport Board, the British Transport Docks Board and the British Waterways Board, and references to a Board shall be construed accordingly;

• " the Bus Company " means the National Bus Company established under section 24 of this Act;

• " bus service " means a service for the carriage of passengers by road for which a road service licence is required, or would but for section 19 (3) (a) of this Act be required, other than an excursion or tour ;

• " charges " includes fares, rates, tolls and due" of every description;

• " the Docks Board " means the British Transport Docks Board established under section 1 of the Act of 1962;

• " excursion or tour " means, subject to section 21(2) and (3) of this Act, a service for the carriage of passengers by road which is, or is predominantly, of such a nature that it could be provided under a road service licence authorising only excursions or tours, that is to say, is a service which consists, or consists predominantly, of the carriage by stage or express carriage of passengers at separate fares entitling those passengers to travel together on a journey, with or without breaks, the timing of which is not regulated by the terms of the road service licence, from the place or places at which the passengers are taken up (being the same place or two or more places in the same vicinity) to one or more other places and back to the place or places at which they were taken up, not being—

  (a)

  a service provided as part of, or as an addition to, a regular service at fixed times on which all the passengers are not expected to complete the whole of that journey ; or

  (b)

  a service required to be provided in accordance with traffic requirements;

• " express carriage " and " stage carriage " have the same meanings respectively as for the purposes of the Act of 1960;

• " ferry service " means a transport service by water (including such a service by means of a hovercraft) which carries passengers and operates regularly between two or more points both or all of which are in Great Britain;

• " the Freight Corporation " means the National Freight Corporation established under section 1 of this Act;

• " functions " includes powers, duties and obligations ;

• " goods " includes animals and mails ;

• " harbour " has the same meaning as in the Act of 1962 ;

• " highway authority " in relation to any highway means—

  (a)

  for the purposes of the application of this Act to England or Wales, the highway authority for that highway under Part I of the [1959 c. 25.] Highways Act 1959;

  (b)

  for the purposes of the application of this Act to Scotland— (i) where the highway is a trunk road, the Secretary of State; and

  (i)

  in any other case, the county council or the town council of a burgh charged with the maintenance and management of any of the highways therein;

• " the Holding Company " means the Transport Holding Company established under section 29 of the Act of 1962;

• " hovercraft " has the same meaning as in the [1968 c. 59.] Hovercraft Act 1968;

• " inland waterway " includes every such waterway whether natural or artificial;

• " land " includes land covered by water and any interest or right in, over or under land ;

• " lease " includes an agreement for a lease ;

• " liability " includes an obligation ;

• " the London Board " means the London Transport Board established under section 1 of the Act of 1962 ;

• " the Minister " means, save as otherwise expressly provided and in particular subject to sections 7(7), 8(5), 9(6), 17(6)(a) and 28(6) of this Act, the Minister of Transport;

• " the new authorities " means the Freight Corporation, the Bus Company and the Scottish Group ;

• " participant ", in relation to a pension scheme, means a person who (whether he is referred to in the scheme as a member, as a contributor or otherwise) contributes or has contributed under the scheme and has pension rights thereunder and " participate " shall be construed accordingly;

• " pension ", in relation to a person, means a pension, whether contributory or not, of any kind whatsoever payable to or in respect of him, and includes a gratuity so payable and a return of contributions to a pension fund, with or without interest thereon or any other addition thereto and any sums payable on or in respect of the death of that person;

• " pension fund " means a fund established for the purposes of paying pensions;

• " pension rights " includes, in relation to any person, all forms of right to or eligibility for the present or future payment of a pension, and any expectation of the accruer of a pension under any customary practice, and includes a right of allocation in respect of the present or future payment of a pension ;

• " pension scheme " includes any form of arrangement for the payment of pensions, whether subsisting by virtue of Act of Parliament, trust, contract or otherwise;

• " plated weight ", in relation to a vehicle, means a weight required to be marked on it by means of a plate in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of section 64 of the Act of 1960 or required to be so marked by section 10 of the [1967 c. 30.] Road Safety Act 1967 ;

• " public service vehicle " has the same meaning as for the purposes of the Act of 1960;

• " the Railways Board " means the British Railways Board established under section 1 of the Act of 1962 ;

• " road service licence " has the same meaning as for the purposes of the Act of 1960 and except in section 30 of this Act includes a permit granted under the said section 30;

• " Scottish Group " means the Scottish Transport Group established under section 24 of this Act;

• " securities ", in relation to a body corporate, means any shares, stock, debentures, debenture stock, and any other security of a like nature, of the body corporate;

• " subsidiary " and " wholly-owned subsidiary ", subject to section 51(5) of this Act, have the same meanings respectively as in the Act of 1962 ;

• " vehicle " includes a hovercraft;

• " the Waterways Board " means the British Waterways Board established under section 1 of the Act of 1962 ;

• " Wales " includes Monmouthshire, and references to England shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or applied by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

160 Stamp duty

(1) Nothing in section 12 of the [1895 c. 16.] Finance Act 1895 (which requires Acts to be stamped as conveyances on sale in certain cases) or in section 52 of the [1946 c. 64.] Finance Act 1946 (which exempts from stamp duty certain documents connected with nationalisation schemes) shall be taken as applying to this Act.

(2) Where the Commissioners of Inland Revenue are satisfied that the conditions specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (3) of this section are fulfilled, stamp duty shall not be chargeable—

(a) under section 112 of the [1891 c. 39.] Stamp Act 1891 in respect of the amount which is to form the nominal share capital of a company, or in respect of any increase in the nominal share capital of a company ; or

(b) under section 8 of the [1899 c. 9.] Finance Act 1899 in respect of the amount proposed to be secured by an issue of loan capital by a company,

if or to the extent that the Commissioners are also satisfied—

(i) in a case falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of the said subsection (3), that the total capital of the company, whether nominal share capital or loan capital, on the relevant transfer date referred to in the said paragraph (a) or (b) will not exceed the total value of the assets less liabilities transferred;

(ii) in a case falling within paragraph (c) of that subsection, that the amount or aggregate amount of the increase of nominal share capital or of the loan capital to be issued or of both does not exceed the total value of the assets less liabilities to be transferred.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (2) of this section are—

(a) that the company is a company formed in pursuance of subsection (2) of section 5 of this Act, and, in the case of an increase of nominal share capital or an issue of loan capital, that the increase or issue is to take place before the transfer date for the purposes of subsection (3)(a) of that section ;

(b) that the company is a company formed for the purpose of a transfer to be effected by section 4(1), 7(5), 8(4), 17(5), 28(1) or (2), 29(2) or 53(2) of this Act and, in the case of an increase of nominal share capital or issue of loan capital, that the increase or issue is to take place before the transfer date ;

(c) in the case of an increase of nominal share capital or issue of loan capital to which paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection does not apply, that the increase or issue is for the purpose of a transfer to be effected by section 7(5), 8(4) or 53(2) of this Act and is to take place before the transfer date.

(4) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable under section 8 of the [1899 c. 9.] Finance Act 1899 in respect of the amount proposed to be secured by an issue of loan capital by the Executive for a designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act if or to the extent that the Commissioners of Inland Revenue are satisfied—

(a) that the issue will take place before the transfer date for the transfers to that Executive under section 17(5) of this Act; and

(b) that the total loan capital of that Executive on that date will not exceed the total value of the assets less liabilities to be transferred.

(5) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any instrument which is certified to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue by the appropriate Board or new authority or appropriate Executive established under section 9(1) of this Act as having been made or executed in pursuance of Schedule 4 to this Act otherwise than by virtue of section 7(7)(b) thereof ; but no such instrument shall be deemed to be duly stamped unless it is stamped with the duty to which it would but for this subsection be liable or it has, in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of the [1891 c. 39.] Stamp Act 1891, been stamped with a particular stamp denoting that it is not chargeable with any duty or that it is duly stamped.

161 Income tax, etc.

(1) In relation to the Railways Board, paragraph; 10(1)(a) of Schedule 8 to the [1968 c. 3.] Capital Allowances Act 1968 (which relates to capital allowances in respect of assets transferred to the Boards by the Act of 1962) shall have effect, and that paragraph and section 42(1)(a) of the Act of 1962 (being the provision re-enacted by that paragraph) shall each be deemed always to have had effect, as if for the words from " as shown " onwards there were substituted the words " as at 1st January 1963 as shown in the first accounts of the Railways Board, and ".

(2) In section 55(6) of the [1965 c. 25.] Finance Act 1965 (which relates to chargeable gains of companies) after the figures " 1962 " there shall be inserted the words " and the new authorities within the meaning of the Transport Act 1968 established under that Act of 1968 " ; and Part I of Schedule 13 to that Act, except in so far as it relates to recovery of tax, shall have effect in relation to the Executive for a designated area within the meaning of section 9(1) of this Act as if that Executive were a company within the meaning of the said Part I.

(3) In section 83(4) of the Capital Allowances Act 1968 and, in relation to chargeable periods ending on or before 5th April 1968, in section 35(3) of the [1966 c. 18.] Finance Act 1966 (which specify certain grants the making of which in respect of any expenditure disentitles the grantee to investment allowances or initial allowances in respect of that expenditure) at the end of paragraph (b) there shall in each case be inserted the words “or

(c) a grant made under section 32, 34(1) or 56(1), or a payment made under section 56(2), of the Transport Act 1968”.

(4) In the [1966 c. 32.] Selective Employment Payments Act 1966, in Part I of Schedule 1 (which sets out the bodies to which section 3 of that Act applies)—

(a) in paragraph 14, after the words " paragraphs 9 to 13 " there shall be inserted the words " or paragraphs 23 to 25 ";

(b) at the end there shall be added the following paragraphs—

“23 The National Freight Corporation.

24 The National Bus Company.

25 The Scottish Transport Group”;

and in subsection (3) of the said section 3 after the words " paragraphs 9 to 13 " there shall be inserted the words " and 23 to 25 ".

162 Rating

(1) Where any premises are occupied wholly or partly—

(a) for purposes of a subsidiary of the Railways Board, the London Board or the Waterways Board which, if the undertaking of that subsidiary formed part of the undertaking of that Board, would be non-rateable purposes within the meaning of subsection (6) of section 32 of the [1967 c. 9.] General Rate Act 1967; or

(b) for purposes of the Freight Corporation or of any subsidiary of that Corporation which, if the undertaking of that Corporation or subsidiary formed part of the undertaking of the Railways Board, would be non-rateable purposes as aforesaid,

then, for the purposes of the rating of those premises so far as they are occupied for such purposes as are mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection, the undertaking of that subsidiary of that Board or, as the case may be, of the Freight Corporation or that subsidiary of that Corporation shall be deemed to form part of the undertaking of that Board and the premises so far as so occupied shall be deemed to be occupied for non-rateable purposes of that Board.

(2) The Freight Corporation shall in each year pay to the Railways Board such amount towards the amount paid by that Board under subsection (5) of the said section 32 as is fairly attributable to premises occupied for purposes of that Corporation or any subsidiary of that Corporation; and any dispute between the Board and the Corporation as to the amount due under this subsection shall be referred to the Minister for determination, who may before making his determination refer it to the Freight Integration Council for their recommendations; and the determination of the Minister shall be final.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (6) or (7) of the said section 32, purposes of the exercise by any of the Boards aforesaid or the Freight Corporation of any powers conferred by section 48 or subsections (1) to (7) of section 50 of this Act or purposes of the exercise by a subsidiary of any of those Boards or that Corporation of corresponding powers shall not be treated as non-rateable purposes within the meaning of the said section 32(6).

(4) Where any premises are occupied partly for such purposes as are mentioned in subsection (1)(d) or (b) of this section and partly for other purposes of the Freight Corporation or of such a subsidiary as is so mentioned, then—

(a) where those premises are a hereditament in England or Wales—

(i) there shall be ascribed to the hereditament under section 19 of the said Act of 1967 such net annual value as may be just having regard to the extent to which it is occupied for those other purposes; and

(ii) if under any scheme for the time being in force such as is mentioned in section 117(7) of that Act any deduction falls to be made from the net annual value of the hereditament in arriving at its rateable value, that deduction shall be calculated with regard only to those other purposes ;

(b) where those premises are lands and heritages within the meaning of the [1854 c. 91.] Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854—

(i) it shall be the duty of the Assessor of Public Undertakings (Scotland) to ascertain and fix such net annual value as may be just, having regard to the extent to which the premises are occupied for those other purposes, and for the foregoing purpose subsections (2) and (3) of section 124 of the [1948 c. 26.] Local Government Act 1948 (subjects to be valued by Assessor of Public Undertakings (Scotland)) shall apply as they apply for the purposes of subsection (1) of that section ; and

(ii) the deduction, if any, to be made by the Assessor from the net annual value in arriving at the rateable value shall be calculated with regard only to those other purposes.

(5) Section 32(4) of the said Act of 1967 (which provides for the rating of railway or canal premises in England and Wales occupied partly for certain specified purposes) shall have effect as if after paragraph (b) thereof there were inserted the following paragraph:—

“(c) purposes of the exercise by a transport Board of any powers conferred by section 48 or subsections (1) to (7) of section 50 of the Transport Act 1968”.

(6) Section 87(1) of the said Act of 1948 (which provides for the rating of railway or canal premises in Scotland occupied partly for non-rateable purposes and partly for other purposes) shall have effect in relation to the Railways Board and the Waterways Board as if references to other purposes included only references to other purposes being—

(a) purposes of any parts of the undertaking of either of those Boards which, within the meaning of section 86 of that Act, are concerned with the carriage of goods or passengers by road transport or sea transport or with harbours; or

(b) purposes of any parts of the said undertakings which are subsidiary or incidental to any such part as aforesaid ; or

(c) purposes of the exercise by those Boards of any powers conferred by section 48 or subsections (1) to (7) of section 50 of this Act.

(7) In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a) for any reference to subsection (6) of section 32 of the said Act of 1967 there shall be substituted a reference to section 86(2) of the [1948 c. 26.] Local Government Act 1948 ;

(b) for the reference to subsection (5) of the said section 32 there shall be substituted a reference to section 66(3) of the Act of 1962.

163 Expenses

There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament—

(a) any expenses incurred by any Minister under or in consequence of the provisions of this Act;

(b) any increase attributable to any of the provisions of this Act in the sums so payable under any other Act.

164 Application to Northern Ireland

(1) The provisions of this Act set out in Part I of Schedule 17 to this Act shall extend to Northern Ireland subject to the modifications set out in Part II of that Schedule, but save as aforesaid this Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

(2) For the purposes of section 6 of the [1920 c. 67.] Government of Ireland Act 1920 (which relates to the powers of the Parliament of Northern Ireland) this Act shall be deemed to be an Act passed before the appointed day.

165 Repeals

The following enactments are hereby repealed, that is to say—

(a) the provisions of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962 specified in Part I of Schedule 18 to this Act;

(b) the provisions of the [1967 c. 76.] Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 specified in Part II of that Schedule;

(c) the enactments specified in Part III of that Schedule to the extent specified in the third column of that Part; and

(d) as from the appointed day for the purposes of subsection (8) of section 94 of this Act, and subject to the provisions of that subsection, the enactments specified in Part IV of that Schedule to the extent specified in the third column of that Part.

166 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Transport Act 1968.

(2) Section 93 of this Act shall come into force on the passing of this Act and the other provisions of this Act shall come into force on such day as, subject to subsection (3) of this section, the Minister may by order appoint, and different days may be appointed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

(3) The reference to the Minister in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed—

(a) in relation to—

(i) the provisions of Part II of this Act; and

(ii) any of the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 34, 36, 37, 44, 56, 116 to 119, 121, 122 and 126 to 130 ; and

(iii) the bringing into force with respect to the Scottish Group of any provision of this Act which refers to that Group,

as a reference to the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly;

(b) in relation to section 131 of this Act and to any section of this Act which relates only to Scotland, as a reference to the Secretary of State.