The Police Act 1997 (Provisions in relation to the NCIS Service Authority) Order 1998

PART K MISCELLANEOUS POWERS

Subsidiary powers of the Authority

K1.—(1) Without prejudice to any powers exercisable apart from this article but subject to the provisions of this Order and any other enactment passed before or after this Order, the Authority shall have power to do any thing (whether or not involving the expenditure, borrowing or lending of money or the acquistion or disposal of any property or rights) which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of its functions.

(2) The Authority shall not by virtue of this article raise money, whether by means of levying or borrowing, or lend money except in accordance with the enactments relating to those matters respectively.

Placing of staff of a local authority at disposal of other local authorities

K2.—(1) Without prejudice to any powers exercisable apart from this article, a local authority may enter into an agreement with another local authority for the placing at the disposal of the latter for the purposes of its functions, on such terms as may be provided by the agreement, of the services of officers employed by the former, but shall not enter into any such agreement with respect to any officer without consulting him.

(2) For superannuation purposes service rendered by an officer of an authority whose services are placed at the disposal of another authority in pursuance of this article is service rendered to the authority by whom he is employed, but any such officer shall be treated for the purposes of any enactment relating to the discharge of a local authorities' functions as an officer of that authority.

Contracts of the Authority

K3.—(1) The Authority may make standing orders with respect to the making of contracts by it or on its behalf.

(2) The Authority shall make standing orders with respect to the making by it or on its behalf of contracts for the supply of goods or materials or for the execution of works.

(3) Standing orders made by the Authority with respect to contracts for the supply of goods or materials or for the execution of works shall include provision for securing competition for such contracts and for regulating the manner in which tenders are invited, but may exempt from any such provison contracts for a price below that specified in standing orders and may authorise the Authority to exempt any contract from any such provision when the Authority is satisfied that the exemption is justified by special circumstances.

(4) A person entering into a contract with the Authority shall not be bound to inquire whether the standing orders of the Authority which apply to the contract have been complied with, and non-compliance with such orders shall not invalidate any contract entered into by or behalf of the Authority.

Insurance by the Authority against accidents to members

K4.—(1) The Authority may enter into a contract of insurance of Class 1 in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Insurance Companies Act 1982(1) against risks of any member of the Authority meeting with a personal accident, whether fatal or not, while engaged on the business of the Authority.

(2) Any sum received by the Authority under any such contract shall, after deduction of any expenses incurred in the recovery thereof, be paid by it to, or to the general representatives of, the member of the Authority in respect of an accident to whom that sum is received.

(3) The provisions of the Life Assurance Act 1774(2) shall not apply to any such contract.

(4) In this article the expression “member of the Authority” includes a member of a committee of the Authority who is not a member of that Authority.

Subscriptions to local government associations

K5.  The Authority may pay reasonable subscriptions, whether annually or otherwise, to the funds—

(a) of any association of local authorities or police authorities formed (whether inside or outside the United Kingdom) for the purpose of consultation as to the common interests of those authorities and the discussion of matters relating to local government, or

(b) of any association of officers or members of local authorities or police authorities which was so formed.

Appearance of the Authority in legal proceedings

K6.  Any member or officer of the Authority who is authorised by the Authority to prosecute or defend on its behalf, or to appear on its behalf in, proceedings before a magistrates' court shall be entitled to prosecute or defend or to appear in any such proceedings, and, notwithstanding anything contained in the Solicitors Act 1974(3), to conduct any such proceedings although he is not a solicitor holding a current practising certificate.

Inspection of documents

K7.—(1) Any member of the public may inspect and make a copy of or extract from an order for the payment of money made by the Authority.

(2) The accounts of the Authority and of any proper officer of the Authority shall be open to the inspection of any member of the Authority, and any such member may make a copy of or extract from the accounts.

(3) A document directed by this article to be open to inspection shall be so open at all reasonable hours and, except where otherwise expressly provided, without payment.

(4) If a person having the custody of any such document—

(a) obstructs any person entitled to inspect the document or to make a copy thereof or extract therefrom in inspecting the document or making a copy or extract, or

(b) refuses to give copies or extracts to any person entitled to obtain copies or extracts,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

Photographic copies of documents

K8.—(1) Subject to paragraph (6) below, any requirement imposed by any enactment that the Authority shall keep a document of any description shall be satisfied by its keeping a photographic copy of the document.

(2) Subject to paragraph (6) below, any requirement imposed by an enactment that a document of any description in the custody or under the control of the Authority shall be made available for inspection shall be satisfied by it making available for inspection a photographic copy of the document.

(3) In legal proceedings a photographic copy of a document in the custody of the Authority, or of a document which has been destroyed while in the custody of the Authority, or of any part of any such document, shall, subject to paragraph (5) below, be admissible in evidence to the like extent as the original.

(4) A certificate purporting to be signed by the proper officer of the Authority that a document is such a photographic copy as is mentioned in paragraph (3) above, shall, subject to paragraph (6) below, be evidence to that effect.

(5) The court before which a photographic copy is tendered in evidence in pursuance of paragraph (3) above may, if the original is in existence, require its production and thereupon that paragraph shall not apply to the copy.

(6) A photographic copy of a document in colour where the colours are relevant to the interpretation of the document shall not suffice for the purpose of this article unless it so distinguishes between the colours as to enable the document to be interpreted.

(7) In this article “court” and “legal proceedings” have the same meanings as in the Civil Evidence Act 1968(4).

Service of notices on the Authority etc.

K9.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, any notice, order or other document required or authorised by any enactment to be given to or served on the Authority or the chairman or an officer of the Authority shall be given or served by addressing it to the Authority and leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the principal office of the Authority or any other office of the Authority specified by it as one at which it will accept documents of the same description as that document.

(2) Paragraph (1) above does not apply to a document which is to be given or served in any proceedings in court, but except as aforesaid the methods of giving or serving documents provided for by that provision are in substitution for the methods provided for by any other enactment so far as it relates to the giving or service of documents to or on the Authority, the chairman or an officer of the Authority.

Public notices

K10.  Save as otherwise expressly provided, a public notice required to be given by the Authority shall be given in such manner as appears to the Authority to be desirable for giving publicity to the notice.

Service of notices by the Authority

K11.—(1) Paragraphs (2) to (5) below shall have effect in relation to any notice, order or other document required or authorised by or under any enactment to be given to or served on any person by or on behalf of the Authority or by an officer of the Authority.

(2) Any such document may be given to or served on the person in question either by delivering it to him, or by leaving it at his proper address, or by sending it by post to him at that address.

(3) Any such document may—

(a) in the case of a body corporate, be given to or served on the secretary or clerk of that body;

(b) in the case of a partnership, be given to or served on a partner or a person having the control or management of the partnership business.

(4) For the purpose of this article and of section 27 of the Interpretation Act 1978(5) (service of documents by post) in its application to this article, the proper address of any person to or on whom a document is to be given or served shall be his last known address, except that—

(a) in the case of a body corporate or their secretary or clerk, it shall be the address of the registered or principal office of that body;

(b) in the case of a partnership or a person having the control or management of the partnership business, it shall be that of the principal office of the partnership;

and for the purposes of this paragraph the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom shall be their principal office within the United Kingdom.

(5) If the person to be given or served with any document mentioned in paragraph (1) above has specified an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address within the meaning of paragraph (4) above as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description, as that document, that address shall also be treated for the purpose of this article and section 27 of the Interpretation Act 1978 as his proper address.

(6) If the name or address of any owner, lessee or occupier of land to or on whom any document mentioned in paragraph (1) above is to be given or served cannot after reasonable inquiry be ascertained, the document may be given or served either by leaving it in the hands of a person who is or appears to be resident or employed on the land or by leaving it conspicuously affixed to some building or object on the land.

(7) The foregoing provisions of this article do not apply to a document which is to be given or served in any proceedings in court.

(8) Except as aforesaid and subject to any provision of any enactment or instrument excluding the foregoing provisions of this article, the methods of giving or serving documents which are available under those provisions are in addition to the methods which are available under any other enactment or any instrument made under any enactment.

Authentication of documents

K12.—(1) Any notice, order or other document which the Authority is authorised or required by or under any enactment to give, make or issue may be signed on behalf of the Authority by the proper officer of the Authority.

(2) Any document purporting to bear the signature of the proper officer of the Authority shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been duly given, made or issued by the Authority.

(3) Where any enactment or instrument made under an enactment makes, in relation to any document or class of documents, provision with respect to the matters dealt with by one of the two foregoing paragraphs, that paragraph shall not apply in relation to that document or class of documents.

(4) In paragraph (2) the word “signature” includes a facsimile of a signature by whatever process reproduced.

Lost and uncollected property

K13.—(1) This article has effect where—

(a) property comes into the possession of the Authority after being found on buildings or premises owned or managed by it; or

(b) property which has been deposited with the Authority is not collected from it in accordance with the terms under which it was deposited.

(2) Where—

(a) property is found on any building or premises owned or managed by the Authority;

(b) it is subsequently handed over to the Authority,

any right of possession of the property which was vested in a person by virtue of its having been found is extinguished.

(3) If—

(a) the Authority gives the owner or, as the case may be, the depositor of the property notice in writing—

(i) that it requires him to collect the property by a date specified in the notice; and

(ii) that if he does not do so the property will vest in the Authority on that date; and

(b) if he fails to comply with the notice,

the property shall vest in the Authority on the specified date.

(4) The date to be specified in a notice under paragraph (3) above shall be not less than one month from the date of the notice.

(5) Where it appears to the Authority, on the date when property comes into its possession as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1) above, that it is impossible to serve a notice under paragraph (3) above, the property shall vest in the Authority one month from that date.

(6) Where the Authority is satisfied after reasonable inquiry that it is impossible to serve a notice under paragraph (3) above in relation to any property it shall vest in it six months from the relevant date.

(7) Where—

(a) any property is of a perishable nature; or

(b) to look after it adequately would involve the Authority in unreasonable expense or inconvenience,

the Authority may sell or otherwise dispose of it at such time and in such manner as it thinks fit.

(8) Where property is sold or otherwise disposed of under paragraph (7) above—

(a) any person to whom the property is transferred shall have a good title to it; and

(b) any proceeds of sale shall vest in the Authority on the day when the property would have vested in it under this article if it had not been sold.

(9) Where any property which came into the possession of the Authority as mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) above vests in the Authority under this article, the Authority may give the whole or any part of the property to the person through whom it came into its possession.

(10) Where the proceeds of sale of property which came into the possession of the Authority as mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) above vest in the Authority under this article, the Authority may make a payment not exceeding the value of the property to the person through whom it came into its possession.

(11) Where property is claimed by its owner or depositor before it vests in the Authority under this article, he may collect it on payment to the Authority of any sum which it requires him to pay in respect of costs incurred by it—

(a) in making inquiries for the purposes of this article or serving any notice under paragraph (3) above; and

(b) in looking after the property adequately.

(12) In this article “the relevant date” means—

(a) in relation to property which came into the possession of the Authority as mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) above, the date when it came into its possession; and

(b) in relation to uncollected property,—

(i) the date when the Authority accepted custody of it; or

(ii) the date when the period for which it was deposited with it expired, whichever is the later.

Emergency financial assistance to the Authority

K14.—(1) In any case where—

(a) an emergency or disaster occurs involving destruction of or danger to life or property, and

(b) as a result, the Authority incurs expenditure on, or in connection with, the taking of immediate action (whether by the carrying out of works or otherwise) to safeguard life or property, or to prevent suffering or severe inconvenience,

the Secretary of State may establish a scheme under this article for the giving of financial assistance to the Authority in respect of that expenditure.

(2) Financial assistance given pursuant to a scheme under this article shall take the form of grants paid by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury and, subject to that, the terms and conditions of a scheme shall be such as the Secretary of State considers appropriate to the circumstances of the particular emergency or disaster concerned.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2) above, a scheme under this article may —

(a) make the payments of grants conditional upon the making of claims of a description specified in the scheme;

(b) make provision with respect to the expenditure qualifying for grant and the rates and amounts of grants; and

(c) make provision in certain specified circumstances for the repayment of any grant, in whole or in part.

Use of spare capacity of computers of the Authority

K15.—(1) If the Authority—

(a) has provided a computer for the purpose of enabling the Authority to perform any of its functions other than functions under this article; and

(b) considers that the computer can, without detriment to its use for that purpose, be used for the benefit of the Authority in pursuance of the following provisions of this article,

the Authority may enter into agreements with other persons for the provision by the Authority of facilities for using the computer or of services provided by means of the computer.

(2) An agreement in pursuance of this article may contain such terms as to payment or otherwise as the parties consider appropriate; and it shall be the duty of the Authority, in settling the terms of such an agreement, to ensure that they are terms on which the Authority considers that a person other than the Authority could reasonably be expected to provide the facilities or services in question.

(3) In this article “computer” means any device for storing and processing information.

(1)

1982 c. 50.

(2)

1774 c. 48.

(3)

1974 c. 47.

(4)

1968 c. 64.

(5)

1978 c. 30.