Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977

45Payments to British Aerospace and wholly owned subsidiaries

(1)For the purpose of promoting the design, development or production of civil aircraft, the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury may, at any time after the aircraft industry vesting date, make payments in accordance with this section to British Aerospace or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

(2)No payments may be made under this section unless—

(a)the Secretary of State is of opinion that it is in the national interest that payments on the scale and in the way proposed should be made ; and

(b)it appears to the Secretary of State that, if the payments are not made, it would be inconsistent with the duties imposed on British Aerospace by or under sections 7 and 10 of this Act for British Aerospace or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries to undertake the design, development or production in question.

(3)Payments under this section may be made on any terms and conditions, and, without prejudice to the generality of this subsection, by way of fees or by any description of investment or lending or by the making of grants.

(4)The aggregate of the sums paid under this section, less any sums received by the Secretary of State, otherwise than by way of payment of interest on money lent under this section, in pursuance of the terms and conditions on which any such payment was made shall not at any time exceed £30 million or such greater sum, not exceeding £50 million, as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Treasury specify by order made by statutory instrument.

(5)The power to make an order under subsection (4) above includes power to vary or revoke any order previously made in the exercise of that power; and no such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by the Commons House of Parliament.

(6)There shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments under this section and any sums received by the Secretary of State in pursuance of the terms and conditions on which payments are made under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.