The Secretary of State may by order establish a committee to give him advice in relation to the exercise of the power to make regulations under this section and Schedule 12 to this Act shall have effect in relation to it.

The Secretary of State may make regulations under this section in relation to any substance or article without observing the requirements of subsection (6) above where it appears to him that there is an imminent risk, if those requirements are observed, that serious pollution of the environment will be caused.

Regulations under this section may provide that a person who contravenes or fails to comply with a specified provision of the regulations or causes or permits another person to contravene or fail to comply with a specified provision of the regulations commits an offence and may prescribe the maximum penalty for the offence.

No offence under the regulations shall be made punishable with imprisonment for more than two years or punishable on summary conviction with a fine exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (if not calculated on a daily basis) or, in the case of a continuing offence, exceeding one-tenth of the level on the standard scale specified as the maximum penalty for the original offence.

Regulations under this section may make different provision for different descriptions of waste or waste of any description in different circumstances.

Regulations under this section may, as respects any description of waste, confer or impose on waste regulation authorities or any of them such functions in relation to the importation of waste as appear to be appropriate to the Secretary of State, subject to such limitations and conditions as are specified in the regulations.

Regulations under this section may confer or impose on waste regulation authorities or any of them functions of enforcing any of the regulations on behalf of the Secretary of State whether or not the functions fall within subsection (3) above.

In the application of this section to Northern Ireland and the territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Northern Ireland “waste regulation authority” means a district council established under the M1Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.

The Secretary of State may, for the purpose of assessing their potential for causing pollution of the environment or harm to human health, by regulations make provision for and in connection with the obtaining of relevant information relating to substances which may be specified by him by order for the purposes of this section.

The Secretary of State shall not make an order under subsection (1) above specifying any substance without consulting the committee established under section 140(5) except where it appears to him that information about the substance needs to be obtained urgently under this section.

The Secretary of State shall have regard, in imposing or providing for the imposition of any requirement under subsection (4)(b), (c), (d) or (e) above, to the cost likely to be involved in complying with the requirement.

The enactments which are relevant for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above are the following—

• the M2Explosive Substances Act 1875;

• the M3Radioactive Substances Act 1960;

• Parts II, III and VIII of the M4Medicines Act 1968;

• Part IV of the M5Agriculture Act 1970;

• the M6Misuse of Drugs Act 1971;

• Part III of the M7Food and Environment Protection Act 1985; and

• the M8Food Safety Act 1990;

and a substance is a regulated substance for the purposes of any such enactment in so far as any prohibition, restriction or requirement is imposed in relation to it by or under the enactment for the purposes of that enactment.

It shall be the duty of a local authority, as respects land in its area subject to contamination, to maintain, in accordance with the regulations, a register in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars.

The duty imposed by subsection (2) above on a local authority is a duty to compile and maintain the register from the information available to the authority from time to time.

A local authority shall secure that the register is open to inspection at its principal office by members of the public free of charge at all reasonable hours and shall afford to members of the public reasonable facilities for obtaining, on payment of reasonable charges, copies of entries in the register.

Regulations under subsection (1)(c) above may prescribe the measures to be taken by local authorities for informing persons whose land is the subject of entries in a register about the entries or for enabling them to inform themselves about them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In sections 31(7)(a), 31A(2)(c)(i) and 32(7)(a) of the M9Control of Pollution Act 1974 (corresponding penalties for Scotland), for the words “the statutory maximum” there shall be substituted “£20,000”.

Part II of the M10Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (under which licences are required for deposits by British vessels etc at sea anywhere or by foreign vessels etc in United Kingdom waters or, in certain circumstances, within British fishery limits) shall be amended as follows.

In section 9(5) (Convention State defence to offence of acting without or in contravention of a licence), in paragraph (b), for the word “waters” there shall be substituted the words “controlled waters (and not within United Kingdom waters)”.

In section 24(1) (definitions) at the end of the definition of “United Kingdom waters” there shall be inserted the words “and “United Kingdom controlled waters” means any part of the sea within the limits of an area designated under section 1(7) of the M11Continental Shelf Act 1964”.

In Schedule 2 (powers in relation to vessels, aircraft, etc. for the purposes of Part I or Part II or both Parts of the Act), in paragraph 3(3) (removal to United Kingdom), after the words “Part I” there shall be inserted the words “or II”.

Schedule 14 to this Act (which amends the provisions of the M13Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971) shall have effect.

This section (and Schedule 14) shall not apply in relation to any offence committed before this section comes into force.

Every local authority shall appoint an officer (under whatever title the authority may determine) for the purpose of discharging the functions imposed or conferred by this section for dealing with stray dogs found in the area of the authority.

The officer may delegate the discharge of his functions to another person but he shall remain responsible for securing that the functions are properly discharged.

Where the officer has reason to believe that any dog found in a public place or on any other land or premises is a stray dog, he shall (if practicable) seize the dog and detain it, but, where he finds it on land or premises which is not a public place, only with the consent of the owner or occupier of the land or premises.

Where any dog seized under this section wears a collar having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the address of any person, or the owner of the dog is known, the officer shall serve on the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner, a notice in writing stating that the dog has been seized and where it is being kept and stating that the dog will be liable to be disposed of if it is not claimed within seven clear days after the service of the notice and the amounts for which he would be liable under subsection (5) below are not paid.

A person claiming to be the owner of a dog seized under this section shall not be entitled to have the dog returned to him unless he pays all the expenses incurred by reason of its detention and such further amount as is for the time being prescribed.

Where a dog is disposed of under subsection (6)(a) or (b) above to a person acting in good faith, the ownership of the dog shall be vested in the recipient.

The officer shall keep a register containing the prescribed particulars of or relating to dogs seized under this section and the register shall be available, at all reasonable times, for inspection by the public free of charge.

The officer shall cause any dog detained under this section to be properly fed and maintained.

Notwithstanding anything in this section, the officer may cause a dog detained under this section to be destroyed before the expiration of the period mentioned in subsection (6) above where he is of the opinion that this should be done to avoid suffering.

Where the finder of a dog keeps the dog by virtue of this section he must keep it for not less than one month.

In Scotland a person who keeps a dog by virtue of this section for a period of two months without its being claimed by the person who has right to it shall at the end of that period become the owner of the dog.

If the finder of a dog fails to comply with the requirements of subsection (1) or (3) above he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

The Secretary of State may, by regulations, prescribe the procedure to be followed under subsection (2)(a) above.

In this section “local authority” and “officer” have the same meaning as in section 149 above.

In section 50(1) of that Act (meaning of “local authority”) at the end there shall be inserted the words “and to section 13(3) above”.

In section 60(1) of that Act (enforcement), at the end, there shall be inserted the words “but subject, in the case of orders under section 13, to any provision made under subsection (3) of that section.”

The appropriate Minister may by regulations prohibit or restrict the burning of crop residues on agricultural land by persons engaged in agriculture and he may (by the same or other regulations) provide exemptions from any prohibition or restriction so imposed.

Where it appears to the appropriate Minister appropriate to do so in consequence of any regulations made under the foregoing provisions of this section, the appropriate Minister may, by order, repeal any byelaws of local authorities dealing with the burning of crop residues on agricultural land.

Financial assistance may be given in respect of particular activities or generally in respect of all or some part of the activities carried on or supported by the recipient.

Financial assistance shall be given in such form and on such terms as the Secretary of State may think fit and, in particular, assistance may be given by making grants (whether or not repayable), loans or guarantees to, or by incurring expenditure, or providing services, staff or equipment for the benefit of, the recipient.

The Secretary of State may, by order, vary subsection (1) above by adding to or deleting from it any description of organisation, scheme, programme or international agreement whose purposes relate to the protection, improvement or better understanding of the environment.

Subject to any Order made after the passing of this Act by virtue of subsection (1)(a) of section 3 of the M18Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, the environmental protection technology scheme for research and development in the United Kingdom in relation to such technology shall not be a transferred matter for the purposes of that Act but shall for the purposes of subsection (2) of that section be treated as specified in Schedule 3 to that Act.

Financial assistance may be given in respect of particular activities or generally in respect of all or some part of the activities carried on or supported by the recipient.

Financial assistance shall be given in such form and on such terms as the Secretary of State may think fit and, in particular, assistance may be given by making grants (whether or not repayable), loans or guarantees to, or by incurring expenditure, or providing services, staff or equipment for the benefit of, the recipient.

The Secretary of State may, by order, vary subsection (1) above by adding to or deleting from it any description of organisation, scheme, programme or international agreement whose purposes relate to the protection, improvement or better understanding of the environment.

Subject to any Order made after the passing of this Act by virtue of subsection (1)(a) of section 3 of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, the environmental protection technology scheme for research and development in the United Kingdom in relation to such technology shall not be a transferred matter for the purposes of that Act but shall for the purposes of subsection (2) of that section be treated as specified in Schedule 3 to that Act.