23.—(1) An industrial training board may submit to the Department for the Department's approval proposals (in this Order referred to as levy proposals) for the raising and collection of a levy to be imposed for the purpose of raising money towards meeting the board's expenses.
(2) The Department may make an order imposing a levy (in this Order referred to as a levy order) giving effect to levy proposals approved under paragraph (1) and providing for the levy to be imposed on employers in the industry except in so far as they are exempted from it by the industrial training order or the levy order.
(3) Levy proposals shall include proposals for exempting from the levy any employer who, in view of the small number of his employees or the small amount of the relevant emoluments, ought in the opinion of the board to be exempted and the Department shall not make a levy order in pursuance of levy proposals unless they provide for the exemption of employers who, in view of the small number of their employees or the small amount of the relevant emoluments, ought in the opinion of the Department to be exempted.
(4) Levy proposals may include proposals for part of the levy not to be eligible for remission (in this Order referred to as the non-remissible part of the levy)
(5) The Department shall not make a levy order in pursuance of any levy proposals unless the Department is satisfied that remission proposals provide for full remission of the remissible part of the levy in such cases as the Department considers appropriate.
(6) The Department shall not make a levy order in pursuance of levy proposals which include proposals that the amount of the non-remissible part of the levy will exceed two-tenths of one per cent. of the relevant emoluments unless—
(a)the Department is satisfied that the proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in the industry; and
(b)one of the conditions mentioned in paragraph (7) is satisfied.
(7) The conditions referred to in paragraph (6) are—
(a)that the relevant organisations consider, after taking reasonable steps to ascertain the views of the persons they represent, that the proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in the industry;
(b)that the order—
(i)will be made less than two years after the making of a former levy order giving effect to proposals made by the board in respect of which the Department was satisfied that the condition in sub-paragraph (a) was applied; and
(ii)will not provide for a level of non-remissible levy higher than that provided for by the former order;
(c)that neither of the conditions mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) applies but the proposals are considered by the Department to be appropriate in the circumstances.
(8) The Department shall not make a levy order in pursuance of any levy proposals if the Department estimates that the amount which would, if the order were made, be payable by virtue of it by any employer in the industry exceeds an amount which the Department estimates is equal to one per cent. of the relevant emoluments, unless—
(a)the Department is satisfied that the proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in the industry; and
(b)one of the conditions mentioned in paragraph (9) is satisfied.
(9) The conditions referred to in paragraph (8)(b) are—
(a)that the relevant organisations consider, after taking reasonable steps to ascertain the views of the persons they represent, that the proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in the industry;
(b)that the condition mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) does not apply but the proposals are considered by the Department to be appropriate in the circumstances.
(10) In this Article—
the relevant emoluments in relation to any person means the aggregate of the emoluments and payments intended to be disbursed as emoluments which are paid and payable by him to or in respect of persons employed in the industry in respect of the period specified in the levy proposals as the period which is relevant for the purposes of this Article, and
the relevant organisations means organisations appearing to the Department to represent more than half the persons who the Department considers are likely to be liable to make payments by way of levy in consequence of the proposals and organisations appearing to the Department to represent persons who the Department considers are together likely to be liable to make payments by way of levy in consequence of the levy proposals which amount to more than half the aggregate amount of those payments.