Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order or regulations under this Part shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

The power of the Secretary of State under section 34 F2, 59(6A) or 123 (including that power as extended by subsection (2) above) may be exercised by modifying any enactment comprised in or made under this Act, or any other enactment.

The power of the Secretary of State under section 40(8), F344(11), 52(8) (including that enactment as applied by section 65(3)), 58(3), 68 or 102 as extended by subsection (2) above may be exercised by modifying any enactment comprised in or made under this Act, or any other enactment.

An order made by the Secretary of State under section 28 (including that enactment as applied by section 42(5), 59(5) and 67(7)), 40(8), 52(8) (including that enactment as applied by section 65(3)), 111(4) or (6), 114(3)(b) or (4)(b) or 121 or Schedule 7 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

No order shall be made by the Secretary of State under section 34, F444(11), 59(6A), 68, 102, 123 or 128(6) unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

An order made by the Secretary of State under section 58(3) shall be laid before Parliament after being made and shall cease to have effect unless approved, within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which it is made, by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

In calculating the period of 28 days mentioned in subsection (7), no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.

If an order made by the Secretary of State ceases to have effect by virtue of subsection (7), any modification made by it of an enactment is repealed (and the previous enactment revived) but without prejudice to the validity of anything done in connection with that modification before the order ceased to have effect and without prejudice to the making of a new order.

If, apart from this subsection, an order made by the Secretary of State under section 58(3) would be treated for the purposes of the standing orders of either House of Parliament as a hybrid instrument, it shall proceed in that House as if it were not such an instrument.

Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

Where an offence under this Part is committed by a Scottish partnership and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a partner, he as well as the partnership commits the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

In subsection (3) “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner.

For the purposes of subsection (2) the principal office of a company constituted under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom is its principal office within the United Kingdom.

Subsection (5) applies if a person to be served under this Part with any document by another has specified to that other an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address (as determined under subsection (2)) as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description as that document.

In relation to that document, that address shall be treated as his proper address for the purposes of this section and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 in its application to this section, instead of that determined under subsection (2).

Any notice in writing or other document required or authorised by virtue of this Part to be served on any person may be served on that person by transmitting the text of the notice or other document to him by means of F5an electronic communications network or by other means but while in electronic form provided the text is received by that person in legible form and is capable of being used for subsequent reference.

This section does not apply to any document if rules of court make provision about its service.

In this section references to serving include references to similar expressions (such as giving or sending).

Subsection (1) shall not exclude from section 26 any case which would otherwise fall within that section.

A reference under section 22, 33, 45 or 62 (whether or not made by virtue of this section) may be framed so as to exclude from consideration, either altogether or for a specified purpose or to a specified extent, any matter which, apart from this section, would not have been taken into account on that reference.

The reference in subsection (1) to bodies corporate which associated persons control shall be construed in accordance with section 26(3) and (4).

In this section “relative” means a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal ancestor or descendant (the stepchild of any person, or anyone adopted by a person, whether legally or otherwise, as his child being regarded as a relative or taken into account to trace a relationship in the same way as that person’s child); and references to a spouse F7, civil partner or partner shall include a former spouse F7, civil partner or partner.

References in this Part to the supply of services shall be construed in accordance with this section; and references in this Part to a market for services and other related expressions shall be construed accordingly.

The supply of services does not include the provision of services under a contract of service or of apprenticeship whether it is express or implied and (if it is express) whether it is oral or in writing.

The supply of services includes making arrangements for the use of computer software or for granting access to data stored in any form which is not readily accessible.

The supply of services includes making arrangements by means of a relevant agreement (within the meaning of F8paragraph 29 of Schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act 1984 for sharing the use of telecommunications apparatus.

The supply of services includes permitting or making arrangements to permit the use of land in such circumstances as the Secretary of State may by order specify.

In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “action” includes omission; and references to the taking of action include references to refraining from action;

• “agreement” means any agreement or arrangement, in whatever way and whatever form it is made, and whether it is, or is intended to be, legally enforceable or not;

• “business” includes a professional practice and includes any other undertaking which is carried on for gain or reward or which is an undertaking in the course of which goods or services are supplied otherwise than free of charge;

• “change of circumstances” includes any discovery that information has been supplied which is false or misleading in a material respect;

• “F22EU law” means—

  1. a

     all the rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions from time to time created or arising by or under the Community Treaties; and

  2. b

     all the remedies and procedures from time to time provided for by or under the Community Treaties;

• “consumer” means any person who is—

  1. a

     a person to whom goods are or are sought to be supplied (whether by way of sale or otherwise) in the course of a business carried on by the person supplying or seeking to supply them; or

  2. b

     a person for whom services are or are sought to be supplied in the course of a business carried on by the person supplying or seeking to supply them;

  and who does not receive or seek to receive the goods or services in the course of a business carried on by him;

• “customer” includes a customer who is not a consumer;

• F9“the EC Merger Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20th January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings;

• “enactment” includes an Act of the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland legislation and an enactment comprised in subordinate legislation, and includes an enactment whenever passed or made;

• “enterprise” means the activities, or part of the activities, of a business;

• F10“the European Merger Regulations” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4064/89 of 21st December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1310/97 of 30th June 1997;

• “goods” includes buildings and other structures, and also includes ships, aircraft and hovercraft;

• “modify” includes amend or repeal;

• “notice” means notice in writing;

• “price” includes any charge or fee (however described);

• “subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) and also includes an instrument made under an Act of the Scottish Parliament and an instrument made under Northern Ireland legislation;

• “subsidiary” has the meaning given by F21section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006 (c. 6);

• “supply”, in relation to the supply of goods, includes supply by way of sale, lease, hire or hire-purchase, and, in relation to buildings or other structures, includes the construction of them by a person for another person;

• F18“the UK financial system” means the financial system in the United Kingdom; and

• “United Kingdom national” means an individual who is—

  1. a

     a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen;

  2. b

     a person who under the British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61) is a British subject; or

  3. c

     a British protected person within the meaning of that Act.

References in this Part to a person carrying on business include references to a person carrying on business in partnership with one or more other persons.

Any duty to publish which is imposed on a person by this Part shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a duty on that person to publish in such manner as he considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the matter concerned to the attention of those likely to be affected by it.