(1)The Minister may with the approval of the Treasury, and after consultation with the Home-Grown Cereals Authority, by order made by statutory instrument, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament and which may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order under this subsection, authorise and require the discharge by that Authority instead of by the Minister of such functions of the Minister under the [1882 c. 37.] Corn Returns Act 1882 (other than his functions under section 14 of that Act with respect to the making of regulations) as may be specified in the order, subject to such restrictions or directions with respect to the discharge by the Authority of those functions as may be so specified; and while that order remains in force—
(a)the [1965 c. 14.] Cereals Marketing Act 1965 shall have effect as if the functions to which the order for the time being relates were included in the functions of the Authority under Part I of that Act; and
(b)if, in accordance with the order, the Authority are required to receive returns made in pursuance of the said Act of 1882, the persons required to make the returns shall make them to the Authority instead of to the Minister;
but nothing in any such order shall authorise the Authority to institute proceedings for an offence under the said Act of 1882 except in pursuance of a direction by the Minister.
(2)The contents of any return furnished to the Authority aforesaid by virtue of any functions of the Minister under the said Act of 1882 which they are required and authorised to discharge by an order under subsection (1) of this section shall not without the consent of the person furnishing the return be published or otherwise disclosed except—
(a)to a member of the Authority appointed by virtue of section 1(2)(a) of the said Act of 1965 or to an officer of the Authority duly authorised in that behalf; or
(b)to, or to an officer of, the Minister; or
(c)in the form of a summary of similar returns furnished by or obtained from a number of persons, being a summary so framed as not to enable particulars relating to any one person or undertaking to be ascertained from it; or
(d)with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal proceedings pursuant to or arising out of the said Act of 1882 ;
and any person who publishes or otherwise discloses the contents of any return in contravention of this subsection shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400 or on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
(3)As from such date as the Minister may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, the said Act of 1882 shall have effect subject to the following amendments, being amendments as to the places from which, the persons by whom, and the matters in respect of which returns under that Act are to be made, namely—
(a)in section 4 (which, as amended by Schedule 3 to the [1943 c. 16.] Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1943, provides for the making of returns from such towns as may be prescribed)—
(i)the words " under the direction of the Board of Trade " shall cease to have effect; and
(ii)for the word " towns " there shall be substituted the word " areas ";
(b)for sections 5 and 6 (which relate to the weekly returns to be made under the said Act of 1882 and the persons by whom they are to be made) there shall be substituted the following section:—
Every person carrying on in an area for the time being prescribed under section 4 of this Act a business consisting of or including the buying of British corn by wholesale from the growers shall weekly at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed make to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or, in Scotland, to the Secretary of State a return in writing signed by that person specifying with respect to such period of seven days as may be prescribed the aggregate amount of each sort of British corn, if any, bought by that person from the growers and the aggregate purchase price thereof, and giving such additional particulars of the purchases comprised in the return as may be prescribed”;
(c)in section 14, for the words from " refer " onwards there shall be substituted the words " make different provision for different circumstances ";
(d)in section 18, in the definition of " British corn ", after the word " barley " in each place where it occurs there shall be inserted the words " rye, maize ".
(4)In this section, the expression " the Minister " means, in relation to England and Wales, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, in relation to Scotland, the Secretary of State.
(5)In the application to Scotland of subsection (1) of this section, the words from " but nothing " to the end shall be omitted.