The Postal Services Act 2000 (Consequential Modifications to Local Enactments No. 1) Order 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes supplemental, incidental and consequential provision in relation to local enactments in connection with the commencement of the provisions of the Postal Services Act 2000.

Article 1 provides for citation, commencement and extent.

Article 2 confers on universal service providers the benefit of certain compulsory powers in relation to land originally conferred by local enactments on the Postmaster-General and transferred to the Post Office by paragraph 100 of Schedule 4 to the Postal Services Act 1969, which is repealed in Schedule 2 to this Order.

Article 3 applies to orders made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 or the Acts that it consolidated. Section 144 of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 construes provisions repealed by and re-enacted (with or without modification) as the equivalent provision in the 1984 Act unless the context otherwise requires. Article 3 requires references in any such orders to a Post Office vehicle or a vehicle bearing the Royal Mail livery to be construed as a reference to a vehicle that bears a livery that is used by a universal service provider in connection with the provision of a universal postal service. It also requires references to a statutory duty of the Post Office to be construed as references to the duty of the universal service provider to provide a universal postal service.

Article 4 gives effect to Schedule 1 (amendments) and 2 (repeals).

Schedule 1 makes various consequential amendments to references in local enactments to the Post Office, the Post Office Act 1953, the Postmaster-General and to provisions relating to statutory undertakers and statutory undertakings.

Paragraphs 1, 2(2)(a), 5, 6, 8, 11 and 14 make consequential amendment to local enactments conferring benefits on the Postmaster-General or Post Office. They replace references to “the Postmaster-General” and “the Post Office” with references to a universal service provider in connection with the provision of a universal postal service. This restricts the application of the legislation to the person or persons nominated to be the universal service provider and only insofar as they are carrying out activities in connection with the provision of a universal postal service.

Paragraphs 2(2)(b), 2(3) and 13 make consequential amendment by replacing references to “the Post Office Act 1953” with references to the Postal Services Act 2000.

Paragraphs 3, 4, 9 and 10 make consequential amendment to the definition of “statutory undertaker” in certain local enactments so as to replace references to the Post Office with references to a universal service provider in connection with the provision of a universal postal service. This restricts the application of the legislation to the person or persons nominated to be the universal service provider and only insofar as they are carrying out activities in connection with the provision of a universal postal service.

Schedule 2 makes various repeals and one revocation in consequence of the commencement of the Postal Services Act 2000.