Crown Agents Act 1979
The Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations
1 Reconstitution of Crown Agents as body corporate.
2 Vesting in Crown Agents of property, rights and liabilities.
3 General functions of Crown Agents.
4 Authorised agency activities.
5 Authorised non-agency activities.
6 Ancillary powers.
7 Duty to act as agents of certain governments etc. on request.
8 Pre-funding of agency activities.
9 Duties with respect to management of activities.
10 Power of Minister to obtain information from Crown Agents.
11 Annual reports.
12 Control by Crown Agents of subsidiaries.
Financial provisions
13 General financial duties of Crown Agents.
14 Directions by Minister as to reserves of Crown Agents and their wholly owned subsidiaries.
15 Management of liquid assets of Crown Agents and their wholly owned subsidiaries.
16 Payments to Minister.
17 Crown Agents’ commencing capital debt.
18 Borrowing powers of Crown Agents and their wholly owned subsidiaries.
19 Limit on certain liabilities of Crown Agents and their subsidiaries.
20 Grants and loans by Minister.
21 Treasury guarantees.
22
23 Power of Minister to give directions with respect to financial matters.
24 Duty to insure against insurable financial risks.
The Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board
25 The Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board.
26 Position with respect to recoverable grants paid to unincorporated Agents.
Miscellaneous and general
27 Exemptions.
28 Provisions as to revenue of, and alienations by, former Agents.
29 Administrative expenses.
30 Orders, regulations and consents.
31 Interpretation.
32 Consequential amendments, transitional provisions and repeals.
33 Citation and extent.
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE 1 Supplementary Provisions as to Constitution Etc. of Crown Agents
Appointment and tenure of members
1It shall be the duty of the Minister—
2Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, a person...
3A person may at any time resign his office as...
4Where a member becomes or ceases to be the chairman...
5If the chairman or deputy chairman ceases to be a...
6(1) If the Minister is satisfied that a member—
Remuneration etc. of members
7The Crown Agents shall pay to each of their members...
8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disqualification of members of Crown Agents for House of Commons and Northern Ireland Assembly
9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proceedings
10The quorum of the Crown Agents and the arrangements relating...
11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12The validity of any proceedings of the Crown Agents shall...
Staff
13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Performance of functions
16The Crown Agents may authorise any member or employee of...
Instruments and contracts
17The fixing of the common seal of the Crown Agents...
18(1) A document purporting to be duly executed under the...
SCHEDULE 2
1In this Schedule “the former Agents” means the persons who...
2Every agreement to which the former Agents or any of...
3(1) Every agreement, whether in writing or not, and every...
4Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs 2 and 3,...
5Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs 2 and 3,...
6(1) If any question arises whether any particular item of...
SCHEDULE 3
Part I Descriptions of Authorities and Bodies for whom Crown Agents can Act as Agents
1The government of any colony . . . or of...
2The government of any other country or territory outside the...
3Any department of the Government of the United Kingdom or...
4Any organisation whose members consist of or include two or...
5Any non-profit-making authority or body of an international character established...
6Any public authority or public body established under the law...
7Any organisation or body established for charitable purposes.
8Any body corporate the whole of whose issued share capital...
9Any body corporate for the time being approved by the...
10The trustees of any pension fund maintained by any authority...
11Any body corporate for the time being approved by the...
Part II Supplementary
1If any question arises whether a particular authority or body...
2A determination by the Minister under the preceding paragraph—
SCHEDULE 4
1Procuring movable property of any kind.
2Making arrangements for and in connection with the conveyance of...
3Obtaining professional advice on projects, and negotiating and making contracts...
4Acquiring and disposing of land, doing anything in connection with...
5Negotiating and making contracts for the design, production or supply...
6Selling coins, medallions, currency notes and postage stamps to dealers....
7Recruiting staff.
8Making travel and other arrangements for staff and other persons....
9Paying remuneration, allowances, expenses and pensions.
10Accepting funds for investment of behalf of the principal and...
11Making or receiving payments in accordance with standing or other...
12Managing operations relating to the raising and servicing of loans....
13Administering and managing the provision or utilisation of financial, technical...
14Negotiating and making contracts for the assembly, installation, commissioning or...
SCHEDULE 5 Provisions Relating to Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board
Appointment and tenure of members
1Paragraphs 1 to 6 of Schedule 1 shall apply to...
Remuneration, &c.
2(1) The Board shall pay to each of their members...
Proceedings
3Paragraphs 10 to 12 of Schedule 1 shall apply to...
Performance of functions
4The Board may authorise any person to perform on behalf...
Instruments and contracts
5The fixing of the common seal of the Board shall...
6Paragraph 18 of Schedule 1 shall apply in relation to...
Vesting in Board or property, rights and liabilities
7(1) On the appointed day there shall by virtue of...
Ancillary powers
8(1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the Board...
Duties with respect to management of activities
9Section 9 shall apply to the Board as it applies...
Power of Minister to obtain information from Board
10Section 10 shall apply to the Board as it applies...
Annual reports
11Section 11 shall apply to the Board as it applies...
Control by Board of subsidiaries
12(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), section 12 shall apply in...
Management of liquid assets of Board and their subsidiaries
13Any money for the time being standing to the credit...
Application of surplus revenue of Board
14(1) If for any accounting year there is an excess...
Borrowing by the Board and their subsidiaries
15(1) Subject to paragraph 16, the Board may borrow money...
Limit on indebtedness of Board and their subsidiaries
16(1) The aggregate of the following amounts, namely—
Grants and loans by Minister
17Section 20 shall apply to the Board as it applies...
Treasury guarantees
18(1) The Treasury may on or after the appointed day...
19Section 21 shall apply in relation to the Board as...
Accounts and audit
20(1) Subsections (1) to (4) of section 22 shall apply...
Power of Minister to give instructions
21(1) Without prejudice to any other power conferred on the...
Duty to insure against insurable financial risks
22It shall be the duty of the Board to secure,...
Dissolution of Board
23(1) If at any time it appears to the Minister...
24(1) If the prescribed day is not the 1st January,...
SCHEDULE 6 Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions
Part I CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS
Public Records Act 1958(c. 51)
In Schedule 1 to the Public Records Act 1958 (definition...
(a)in the entry beginning “Crown Agents", for “Crown Agents for...
(b)after that entry insert the entry—
“Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board"
Part II
Final accounts of unincorporated Agents
1(1) If by the appointed day— (a) the unincorporated Agents...
2(1) If— (a) on the appointed day the circumstances are...
3Without prejudice to section 30(1)(c), an order under section 31(2)...
Final report on affairs of unincorporated Agents
4(1) If by the appointed day the unincorporated Agents have...
SCHEDULE 7 REPEALS.

Crown Agents Act 1979

1979 c.43

An Act to reconstitute as a body corporate, and make other provision with respects to, the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, including the establishment of a Board to realise certain of their assets.

Annotations:
Commencement Information
I1

Act in force at Royal Assent subject to s. 1(1); Act wholly in force at 1.1.1980