Transport Act 1968

48 Manufacture, repair and supply. U.K.

(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 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 (3) (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.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 48 restricted (6.1.1994) by 1993 c. 43, ss. 150(1)(o), 152(1), Sch. 12 para. 6(4); S.I. 1993/3237, art. 2(2)

C2 S. 48(2) extended by Transport Act 1982 (c. 49, SIF 126), Sch. 5 para. 5(1)(2)

C3 Part of the text of s. 48(7), s. 49(1) and s. 50(2) is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991.