Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953

1 Power of local authorities to establish certain special funds

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a local authority may establish either or both of the following funds, that is to say—

(a) a capital fund, to be used for defraying any expenditure of the authority to which capital is properly applicable, or in providing money for repayment of loans (but not in making any annual payment required to be made in respect of loans);

(b) a renewal and repairs fund, to be used for the purpose of defraying expenditure to be incurred from time to time in repairing, maintaining, replacing and renewing any buildings, works, plant, equipment or articles belonging to the authority.

(2) A fund established by a local authority under this section shall not be used to meet, directly or indirectly, any expenditure incurred by the authority for the purposes of an undertaking of the authority, being a transport, water, district heating, harbour, dock, pier or ferry undertaking or a market or civic restaurant, or incurred for the purposes of any functions of the authority as a local education authority.

(3) Pending the application of any such fund as aforesaid for the purposes authorised by this section, the moneys in the fund shall (unless applied in any other manner authorised by any enactment) be invested in statutory securities; and any income arising from the investment of those moneys, or otherwise from the application of the fund, shall be carried to the county fund or the general rate fund, as the case may be.

(4) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other enactment authorising a local authority to establish a fund for a purpose for which a fund may be established under this section; and where such a fund has been established by a local authority before the commencement of this Act, the Minister may, by order made by statutory instrument on the application of that authority, make provision for the amalgamation of that fund with any corresponding fund established by that authority under this section.

(5) In this section " statutory securities " means any security in which trustees are for the time being authorised by law to invest trust moneys, and any mortgage, bond, debenture, debenture stock, stock or other security created by a local authority, other than annuities, rentcharges or securities transferable by delivery, but does not include, in the case of any local authority, any securities of that authority.