Coal Industry Act 1977

FinanceE+W+S

1 Borrowing powers of National Coal Board.E+W+S

(1)For section 1(3) and (4) of the Act of 1965 (subsection (3) of which limits the sums borrowed by the Board and their wholly owned subsidiaries to £1,100 million or such greater sum not exceeding £1,400 million as the Secretary of State may by order specify) substitute the following subsections—

“(3)Without prejudice to subsection (4) of this section, the aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the principal of —

(a)sums borrowed by the Board otherwise than from any of their wholly owned subsidiaries (including any sum which under section 1(4) of the Coal Indusrtry Act 1973 is deemed to have been so borrowed), and

(b)sums borrowed by any wholly owned subsidiary of the Board otherwise than from the Board or from another such subsidiary,

shall not exceed the limit of £1,800 million, but the Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury, on not more than two occasions, by order made by statutory instrument increase or further increase that limit by £400 million (so that the limit becomes £2,200 million or on the second occasion £2,600 million).

(4)The aggregate of the amounts outstanding in respect of sums borrowed temporarily by the Board under subsection (1) and subsection (2A) of this section—

(a)shall not at any time exceed such limit as the Secretary of State may from time to time direct, and

(b)at the end of any financial year of the Board shall not be such as to permit any accumulated deficit on the Board’s revenue account to exceed £50 million or such lesser or greater sum, but not exceeding £100 million, as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Treasury may specify by order made by statutory instrument.”

(2)In Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act the provisions of the said section 1 of the Act of 1965, and of section 2 of the Act of 1973 (which also relates to the borrowing powers of the Board and its subsidiaries), are set out as amended by the enactments specified in Part II of that Schedule.

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7 Payments to redundant workers. E+W+S

(1)For the purpose of providing assistance to persons made redundant by the closure of coal mines [F5or coking plants], the reduction in the number of persons employed thereat or the consequent reduction in ancillary services and facilities the Secretary of State may make a scheme providing for the making of payments to or in respect of persons of any prescribed class who at any time between 17th July 1967 and [F629th March 1987]—

(a)are employed at a coal mine or at any place of a prescribed class used for providing services or facilities ancillary to the working of one or more coal mines, [F7or

(b)are employed by any person carrying on in Great Britain a business which consists wholly or mainly of the production of coke and are so employed either at a coking plant or at any place of a prescribed class used for providing services or facilities ancillary to the operation of one or more coking plants;

and who in either case] become redundant within the meaning of the scheme in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

(2)The payments to be made under a scheme under this section shall be either—

(a)payments by the Secretary of State to persons to whom the scheme applies in accordance with subsection (1) above, or

(b)payments by the Secretary of State to the [F8Corporation] in respect of the carrying out by the [F8Corporation] of arrangements relating to concessionary coal.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F9

(4)The aggregate amount of the payments made by the Secretary of State under this section and section 3 of the Act of 1967 during the financial years of the [F8Corporation] ending in March 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978 shall not exceed £100 million.

[F10(5)The aggregate amount of the payments made by the Secretary of State under this section during the financial years of the [F11Corporation] ending in March 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 [F121984, 1985 [F131986 and 1987] shall not exceed £1,200 million.]]

(7)The power to make a scheme under this section shall be exercisable by order contained in a statutory instrument, and an order made under this subsection may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order so made.

An order shall not be made under this subsection unless a draft thereof has been laid before and approved by the Commons House of Parliament.

(8)In this section—

• “concessionary coal” means coal or other solid fuel supplied free of charge or at reduced prices,

• “prescribed” means prescribed by a scheme under this section.

(9)Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments under a scheme under this section shall be defrayed out of money provided by Parliament.

(10)Section 3 of the Act of 1967, section 2 of the Act of 1971, and section 4 of the Act of 1973, which are superseded by this section, shall cease to have effect, but nothing in this Act is to be taken to prejudice the validity of any scheme made before the commencement of this Act under section 3 of the Act of 1967, and any such scheme may be varied or revoked as if made under this section.

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Other provisionsE+W+S

9 Activities relating to petroleum,E+W+S

(1)The [F15Corporation] shall have power to carry on any activities consisting of—

(a)the acquisition and treatment of petroleum.

(b)the manufacture and sale of products of petroleum, or

(c)the treatment of products of petroleum for the purpose of rendering them saleable,

if it appears to the [F15Corporation] that those activities will or may ultimately provide an outlet for coal or products of coal, or may lead to the development of chemical processes or methods, or acquisition of commercial, industrial or technological experience or knowledge which may lead to new or improved uses of coal or products of coal.

(2)The functions of the [F15Corporation] shall include the carrying on of such activities as it may appear to the [F15Corporation] to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for them to carry on for or in connection with the exercise of their powers under subsection (1) above.

(3)The [F15Corporation] shall have power to do anything and to enter into any transaction (whether or not involving expenditure, borrowing or lending, or the acquisition of any property or rights) which in the opinion of the [F15Corporation] is calculated to facilitate the proper exercise of their powers under this section, or is incidental or conducive to the exercise of those powers.

(4)The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the duties and powers conferred on the [F15Corporation] by section 1 of the Act of 1946.

(5)In this section and section 10 below “petroleum” means any of the following (other than coal) namely—

(a)mineral oil, natural gas and bituminous shales;

(b)deposits not mentioned in the preceding paragraph from which oil can be extracted by destructive distillation; and

(c)hydrocarbons which are related to mineral oil and are not mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

10 Activities relating to minerals other than coal or petroleum.E+W+S

(1)The [F16Corporation] shall have power—

(a)to work and get any minerals, other than coal or petroleum, which are discovered in the course of searching or boring for, or working and getting, coal, and

(b)to carry on such activities as may appear to the [F16Corporation] to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for them to carry on for or in connection with the working and getting by the [F16Corporation] of minerals (other than coal or petroleum) which have been discovered in the course of searching or boring for, or working and getting, coal.

(2)The [F16Corporation] shall have power to do anything and to enter into any transaction (whether or not involving expenditure, borrowing or lending, or the acquisition of any property or rights) which in the opinion of the [F16Corporation] is calculated to facilitate the proper exercise of their powers under this section, or is incidental or conducive to the exercise of those powers.

(3)The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the duties and powers conferred on the [F16Corporation] by Section 1 of the Act of 1946.

11 Overseas activities.E+W+S

(1)Section 1 of the Act of 1946 (which states the [F17Corporation’s] duties and powers) shall not be limited by section 63(3) of that Act (references in that Act to activities to be limited to activities in Great Britain).

(2)Without prejudice to the effect of subsection (1) above, the [F17Corporation] shall have power to do anything outside Great Britain—

(a)which appears to the [F17Corporation] requisite, advantageous or convenient, and

(b)which the [F17Corporation] are required or authorised to do in Great Britain,

whether or not what is done under this subsection is related to the working and getting of coal in Great Britain.

(3)For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that subsection (2) above authorises the [F17Corporation] to work and get coal outside Great Britain.

(4)The [F17Corporation] shall not do anything outside Great Britain except—

(a)with the consent in writing of the Secretary of State, and

(b)if it involves capital expenditure by the [F17Corporation], or the guaranteeing by the [F17Corporation] of any liability, with the consent of the Secretary of State given with the approval of the Treasury.

(5)Subsection (4) above shall not apply to—

(a)selling or supplying for export,

(b)supplying imported goods in Great Britain.

[F18(6)Subsection (4) above shall not apply to anything done with consent given under section 2(2) of the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act 1980 (powers of statutory bodies in relation to furnishing of assistance to, or for the benefit of, overseas countries).]

(7)This section shall not affect the M1National Coal Board (Additional Powers) Act 1966 (petroleum and natural gas) and no account shall be taken of that Act for the purposes of subsection (2) above.

(8)Section 2 of the M2Coal Industry Act 1949, which is superseded by this section, shall cease to have effect.

12 Pensions.E+W+S

(1)In section 37 of the Act of 1946 (regulations about pension schemes) after subsection (1) insert the following subsection—

“(1A)Regulations may be made for providing pensions, gratuities and other like benefits in favour of persons specified in the Table in Schedule 2A to this Act, and references in subsection (1)(c) above to the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection shall include references to the purposes of this subsection.”

(2)After Schedule 2 to the Act of 1946 insert, as Schedule 2A, the provisions set out in Schedule 3 to this Act.

13 Administrative expenses.E+W+S

Any administrative expenses incurred by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Act shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

14 Interpretation.E+W+S

(1)In this Act—

• “the Act of 1946” means the M3Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946;

• “the Act of 1965” means the M4Coal Industry Act 1965;

• “the Act of 1971” means the M5Coal Industry Act 1971;

• “the Act of 1973” means the M6Coal Industry Act 1973;

• “the Act of 1976” means the M7National Coal Board (Finance) Act 1976;

• “the Board” means the National Coal Board;

• [F19“the Corporation” means the British Coal Corporation;]

• “wholly owned subsidiary” shall be construed in accordance with [F20[F21section 736] of the Companies Act 1985].

(2)Except so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any other enactment.

15 Amendments and repeals.E+W+S

(1)The minor and consequential amendments in Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect.

(2)The enactments specified in Schedule 5 to this Act shall be repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

16 Citation, commencement and extent.E+W+S

(1)This Act may be cited as the Coal Industry Act 1977, and the Coal Industry Acts 1946 to 1976 and this Act may be cited together as the Coal Industry Acts 1946 to 1977.

(2)Th is Act shall come into force at the expiration of a period of one month beginning with the date on which this Act is passed.

(3)This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, but without prejudice to the provisions of this Act relating to activities of the Board outside Great Britain.