Industry Act 1975

2 General purposes and functions

(1) The purposes for which the Board may exercise their functions are—

(a) the development or assistance of the economy of the United Kingdom or any part of the United Kingdom;

(b) the promotion in any part of the United Kingdom of industrial efficiency and international competitiveness; and

(c) the provision, maintenance or safeguarding of productive employment in any part of the United Kingdom.

(2) The functions of the Board shall be—

(a) establishing, maintaining or developing, or promoting or assisting the establishment, maintenance or development of any industrial undertaking ;

(b) promoting or assisting the reorganisation or development of an industry or any undertaking in an industry ;

(c) extending public ownership into profitable areas of manufacturing industry;

(d) promoting industrial democracy in undertakings which the Board control; and

(e) taking over publicly owned securities and other publicly owned property, and holding and managing securities and property which are taken over.

(3) The Board may do anything, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, which is calculated to facilitate the discharge of the functions specified in subsection (2) above or is incidental or conducive to their discharge.

(4) In particular, but not so as to derogate from the generality of subsection (3) above, the Board shall have power—

(a) to acquire, hold and dispose of securities ;

(b) to form bodies corporate;

(c) to form partnerships with other persons ;

(d) to make loans;

(e) to guarantee obligations (arising out of loans or otherwise) incurred by other persons ;

(f) to acquire and dispose of land, premises, plant, machinery and equipment and other property ;

(g) to make land, premises, plant, machinery and equipment and other property available for use by other persons; and

(h) to provide services in relation to finance, management, administration or organisation of industry.

(5) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the foregoing provisions of this section relate only to the capacity of the Board as a statutory corporation, and nothing in the said provisions shall be construed as authorising the disregard by the Board of any enactment or rule of law.