55Power to authorise amendment of taxi fare byelaws
(1)The following provisions of this section shall have effect for the purpose of facilitating the amendment of byelaws fixing the charges payable for hackney carriages (in this section referred to as " taxi fare byelaws ").
(2)Whenever the Secretary of State considers it proper to do so, he may by order authorise the local authority having power to amend any taxi fare byelaws to amend those byelaws by resolution so as to increase or reduce the charges thereby permitted with a view to off-setting any change in the costs of operating hackney carriages which is attributable to the imposition, variation or abolition of any tax or duty affecting those costs.
For the purposes of this subsection the costs of operating hackney carriages shall be taken to include any tax charged by reference to the charges payable for such carriages.
(3)An order under this section shall apply to all local authorities having power as aforesaid in the area to which the order applies, and—
(a)may limit in any way that the Secretary of State thinks fit the power of amendment which it confers; and
(b)may include provision for securing that appropriate steps are taken to publish any resolution passed in pursuance of the order and to make copies available to the public.
(4)Where a byelaw is amended by virtue of this section, the amendment shall have effect as if made under the same power as that under which the byelaw was made, and (without prejudice to any power of amendment exercisable by virtue of this section) the byelaw may accordingly be amended by a subsequent exercise of the power under which the byelaw was made.
(5)An order under this section shall be contained in a statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, and may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order thereunder.
(6)This section does not extend to Northern Ireland.