Agricultural Marketing Act 1958

19 Consumers' committees and committees of investigation

(1) The Minister shall appoint two committees (hereafter in this Act referred to as a " consumers' committee " and a " committee of investigation ") for Great Britain, for England and Wales and for Scotland respectively.

(2) A consumers' committee shall—

(a) consist of a chairman and of not less than six other members, who shall be such persons as appear to the Minister, after consultation as to one member with the Co-operative Union, to represent the interests of the consumers of all the products the marketing of which is for the time being regulated by schemes approved by the Minister; and

(b) be charged with the duty of considering and reporting to the Minister on—

(i) the effect of any scheme approved by the Minister, which is for the time being in force, on consumers of the regulated product; and

(ii) any complaints made to the committee as to the effect of any such scheme on consumers of the regulated product.

(3) A committee of investigation shall—

(a) consist of a chairman and either four or five other members; and

(b) be charged with the duty, if the Minister in any case so directs, of considering, and reporting to the Minister on, any report made by a consumers' committee and any complaint made to the Minister as to the operation of any scheme which, in the opinion of the Minister, could not be considered by a consumers' committee under the last foregoing subsection.

(4) On receiving the report of a committee of investigation under this section the Minister shall forthwith publish the conclusions of the committee in such manner as he thinks fit.

(5) For the purpose of enabling any committee appointed under this section to consider any matter which it is their duty under this section to consider, the board administering the scheme to which the matter relates shall furnish the committee with such accounts and other information relating to the affairs of the board as the committee may reasonably require, and shall be entitled to make representations to the committee with respect to the matter in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Part of this Act with respect to the procedure of the committee.

(6) If a committee of investigation report to the Minister that any provision of a scheme or any act or omission of a board administering a scheme is contrary to the interests of consumers of the regulated product, or is contrary to the interests of any persons affected by the scheme and is not in the public interest, the Minister, if he thinks fit so to do after considering the report—

(a) may by order make such amendments in the scheme as he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of rectifying the matter;

(b) may by order revoke the scheme ;

(c) in the event of the matter being one which it is within the power of the board to rectify, may by order direct the board to take such steps to rectify the matter as may be specified in the order, and thereupon it shall be the duty of the board forthwith to comply with the order.

Before taking any action under this subsection the Minister shall give the board notice of the action which he proposes to take and shall consider any representations made by the board within fourteen days after the date of the notice.

(7) The Minister may at any time, after consultation with the board concerned, by order revoke or vary any order in force under paragraph (c) of the last foregoing subsection so as either—

(a) to withdraw the whole or any part of the directions in force thereunder; or

(b) to vary or add to those directions in any manner which he thinks necessary or expedient in order better to attain the purposes for which those directions were given:

Provided that, except with the consent of the board, the Minister shall not vary or add to any directions under paragraph (b) of this subsection where, in his opinion, the need for the variation or addition arose from circumstances not obtaining at the date when the directions were given.

Any order made under this subsection shall state the general nature of the reasons for the making thereof.

(8) Any order made under paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of this section, under paragraph (c) of that subsection or under the last foregoing subsection shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, and any order made under paragraph (b) of the said subsection (6) shall not take effect unless it has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(9) In considering for the purpose of this section whether any person represents the interests of consumers of any product, or whether any provision of a scheme or any act or omission of a board is contrary to the interests of consumers of any product, regard shall be had to the interests of persons who purchase the product, or commodities produced wholly or partly therefrom, for their own consumption or use and not to the interests of persons who purchase the product, or such commodities as aforesaid, for the purpose of any trade or industry carried on by them.