(1)The designated Minister and any such local authority as is mentioned in subsection (1) of section eight of the M1Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946, may be authorised to purchase compulsorily in accordance with the provisions of that Act—
(a)any land required by them for discharging any of the functions exercisable by them respectively under the preceding provisions of this Act; and
(b)in the case of the designated Minister, any land required by any other Minister or any local or police authority for discharging any functions exercisable under the preceding provisions of this Act by that other Minister or that authority,
and that Act shall apply accordingly—
(i)as if paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section one thereof (which refers to the compulsory purchase of land by the Minister of Transport under certain enactments) included a reference to any compulsory purchase of land by the designated Minister under this subsection;
(ii)as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act; and
(iii)as if references in that Act to the confirming authority were references to the designated Minister.
(2)Where, in the discharge of any functions exercisable by them under this Act, the designated Minister or any local or police authority do any work for the purpose of providing or maintaining a civil defence shelter, he or they may, if it appears expedient so to do, do that work and provide or maintain the shelter wholly or partly in, under or over any [F1highway][F1road]:
Provided that—
(a)the powers conferred by this subsection shall be exercisable subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed by regulations to be made by the designated Minister, and to such provisions as to compensation as may be so prescribed; and
(b)in no event shall the said powers be exercised unless the designated Minister or local authority, as the case may be, is or are satisfied that the shelter will not so obstruct the [F1highway][F1road] as substantially to diminish the utility of the [F1highway][F1road] to the public.
(3)Any person duly authorised in that behalf by the designated Minister or any local or police authority by whom functions are exercisable under the preceding provisions of this Act shall have a right to enter any land at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting that or any other land with a view to ascertaining whether or not anything ought to be constructed or done thereon or any use made thereof for civil defence purposes:
Provided that a person proposing to exercise a power of entry conferred under this section—
(a)shall, if so required, produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority;
(b)shall not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless twenty-four hours’ notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier.
(4)If—
(a)any person who, in compliance with the provisions of this section, is admitted into a factory or workplace, discloses, otherwise than in the performance of his duty, to any person any information obtained by him in the factory or workplace with regard to any manufacturing process or trade secret; or
(b)any person to whom, by reason of his official position, any information obtained as aforesaid is disclosed, discloses, otherwise than in the performance of his duty, that information to any person,
he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F2level 3 on the standard scale] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such a fine and such imprisonment.
(5)The powers conferred by this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any powers which would apart from this section be available in relation to any of the functions exercisable under the preceding provisions of this Act, and, in particular, the powers of compulsory purchase conferred by subsection (1) of this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the powers conferred by [F3section 9 of the M2Police Act 1964], on councils of counties or county boroughs to purchase compulsorily land required for the purpose of any of the functions of the police authority for the county or borough.
(6)In the application of this section to Scotland—
(a)for the references to the M3Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946, and to subsection (1) of section eight thereof, there shall respectively be substituted references to the M4Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947, and to subsection (1) of section seven thereof; and
(b)in subsection (5), for the words from [F3“section 9”] to the end of the subsection there shall be substituted the words [F4“section 10 of the M5Police (Scotland) Act 1967 on police authorities to acquire compulsorily land required for the purposes of their functions under that Act”].
Textual Amendments
F1 “road” substituted (S.) for “highway” by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), s. 156(1), Sch. 9 para. 37
F2Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46 and (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G
F3Words substituted by virtue of Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30), s. 17(2)(a)
F4Words substituted by Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77), Sch. 4
Marginal Citations
