3Grant towards expenses of local and police authorities
(1)
Regulations to be made by the designated Minister with the consent of the Treasury may authorise or require the payment by the designated Minister of such grants towards expenses incurred by local authorities or police authorities in or in connection with the discharge of functions conferred on them under the last preceding section, and towards expenses incurred by statutory water undertakers as defined in section one of the Water Act, 1948, not being local authorities, in or in connection with civil defence, as may be prescribed by the regulations.
(2)
The said grants shall—
(a)
in the case of such expenses as may be prescribed in that behalf by the regulations, be grants which may amount to complete reimbursement of the whole amount of the expenses;
(b)
in other cases, be grants of not more than three quarters of the expenses.
(3)
Any grants under this section towards expenses incurred by a police authority in England or Wales shall be paid into the police fund, that is to say, in the case of a combined police authority as defined in section nineteen of the Police Act, 1946, into the combined police fund as defined in that section, and, in any other case, into the police fund as defined in the Third Schedule to the Police Pensions Act, 1921.
(4)
No grants shall be made under section eight of the Air Raid Precautions Act, 1937, towards any expenditure incurred after such date as may be specified in that behalf by the regulations first made under this section.