Friendly Societies Act 1974

The Registry of Friendly Societies

1 The Registry Office

(1) There shall continue to be a Chief Registrar of friendly societies (in this Act called " the Chief Registrar ") and one or more assistant registrars of friendly societies for the central registration area.

(2) The Chief Registrar and assistant registrars of friendly societies for the central registration area shall constitute the central office of the registry of friendly societies.

(3) There shall continue to be an assistant registrar of friendly societies for Scotland (in this Act called the " assistant registrar for Scotland ").

(4) The central office may, with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, have attached to it such assistants skilled in the business of an actuary and an accountant as may be required for discharging the duties imposed on the office by this Act.

2 Terms of office, qualifications and status of Chief and assistant registrars

(1) The Chief Registrar shall be a barrister of not less than twelve years' standing or a person who has held the office of assistant registrar for not less than five years.

(2) One at least of the assistant registrars of friendly societies for the central registration area shall be a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years' standing.

(3) The assistant registrar for Scotland shall be an advocate, writer to the signet or solicitor of not less than seven years standing.

(4) The Chief and every assistant registrar shall be appointed by, and shall hold his office during the pleasure of, the Treasury.

(5) Except in so far as this Act otherwise provides, the assistant registrars shall be subordinate to the Chief Registrar.

3 Salaries and expenses

There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament—

(a) to the Chief and assistant registrars such salaries or other remunerations as the Minister for the Civil Service may allow; and

(b) any expenses which may be incurred for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

4 Registration areas and functions of assistant registrars in those areas

(1) For the purposes of this Act there shall be two registration areas, that is to say,—

(a) the area consisting of England and Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man ; and

(b) Scotland.

(2) Any reference in this Act to the central registration area is a reference to the area specified in subsection (1)(a) above.

(3) Within the registration areas for which they are respectively appointed, the assistant registrars shall exercise all functions and powers given by this Act to the registrar and may also, by the written authority of the Chief Registrar, exercise such of the functions and powers given by this Act to the Chief Registrar as he may delegate to them.

5 Particular functions of assistant registrar for Scotland

(1) Subject to any Treasury regulations, the assistant registrar for Scotland shall—

(a) send to the central office copies of all such documents registered or recorded by him as the Chief Registrar may direct; and

(b) record such documents and matters as may be sent to him for record from the central office and such other documents and matters as are in this Act required to be recorded ; and

(c) circulate and publish, or transmit to or from societies registered in Scotland from or to the central office, such information and documents relating to the purposes of this Act as the Chief Registrar may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct; and

(d) report his proceedings to the Chief Registrar as he may direct.

(2) The assistant registrar for Scotland shall not refuse to record any rules or amendment of rules which have been registered by the central office.

6 Report of the Chief Registrar and publication of information relating to friendly societies

(1) The Chief Registrar shall every year make a report—

(a) of his proceedings and of those of the assistant registrars;

(b) of the principal matters transacted by him and them; and

(c) of the valuations returned to the registrar during the year preceding;

and that report shall be laid before Parliament.

(2) The central office shall, with the approval of the Treasury, collect from the returns under this Act and from other sources and publish and circulate, either generally or in any particular district, or otherwise make known, such information on the subject of statistics of life and sickness and the application thereof to the business of friendly societies, such particulars of their returns and valuations and such other information useful to the members of, or to persons interested in, societies registered or capable of being registered under this Act, as the Chief Registrar may think fit.