Transport Act 1962

Part I U.K. The Boards and the Holding Company

PreliminaryU.K.

1 The four Boards.U.K.

(1)For the purposes of this Act there shall be . . . F1 public authorities to be called—

• the British Railways Board (in this Act referred to as the “Railways Board”);

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

• the British Transport Docks Board (in this Act referred to as the “Docks Board”); and

• the British Waterways Board,

among whom the functions and (subject to the provisions of this Act relating to the Holding Company) the property of the British Transport Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”) shall be divided in accordance with this Act.

(2)The chairman of each Board shall be appointed by the Minister, and the other members of each Board (including any vice chairman) shall be appointed by the Minister after consultation with the chairman of that Board.

(3)The British Railways Board [F2shall consist of a chairman and not more than fifteen nor less than nine other members]; the chairmen and other members of the Board shall be appointed from among persons who appear to the Minister to have had wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, transport, industrial, commercial or financial matters, administration, applied science, or the organisation of workers, and the Minister in appointing them shall have regard to the desirability of having members who are familiar with the special requirements and circumstances of particular regions and areas served by the Board.

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

(6)The British Waterways Board shall consist of a chairman, a vice chairman and not more than nine nor less than four other members; the chairmen and other members of the Board shall be appointed from among persons who appear to the Minister to have had wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, the operation, management or administration of inland navigations or related matters or who appear to him to have special knowledge relating to some important aspect of the Board’s work or to have had wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, transport, industrial, commercial or financial matters, administration, applied science or the organisation of workers, and the Minister in appointing them shall have regard to the desirability of having members who are familiar with the special requirements and circumstances of particular regions and areas served by the Board.

(7)Part I of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect as regards the constitution and proceedings of the Boards, and as regards their members.

2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F5U.K.

The Railways BoardU.K.

3 Duty and powers of Railways Board.U.K.

(1)It shall be the duty of the Railways Board in the exercise of their powers under this Act to provide railway services in Great Britain and, in connection with the provision of railway services, to provide such other services and facilities as appear to the Board to be expedient, and to have due regard, as respects all those railway and other services and facilities, to efficiency, economy and safety of operation.

(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F6

(3)Subject to this Act, the Railways Board shall have power—

[F7(a)to carry goods and passengers by rail within, to or from Great Britain,

(aa)to carry goods and passengers by rail between places outside Great Britain in so far as they consider it expedient to do so in connection with the exercise of their powers under paragraph (a) above,]

[F8(b)in the circumstances specified in sections 4 and 4A of this Act respectively, to carry goods by road and to secure the provision by other persons of services for the carriage of passengers by road]

(c)to operate the harbours owned or managed by the Railways Board, and to provide port facilities at those harbours,

(d)to consign goods on behalf of other persons from any place in Great Britain, or from any place to which the Railways Board have themselves carried the goods in question to any other place, whether in Great Britain or elsewhere,

(e)to store within Great Britain goods which have been or are to be carried by the Railways Board, and, so far as any premises provided for the purposes of that or any other part of their business are not required for those purposes, to use them to provide facilities for the storage of other goods,

(f)to enter into and carry out agreements—

(i)with carriers outside Great Britain for the through carriage of goods and passengers under one contract or at a through charge or in the same vehicles or containers, and

(ii)with any person engaged in coastal shipping for co-ordinating the activities of that person with those of the Board, and in particular for facilitating the through carriage of goods, for the quoting of through rates and for the pooling of receipts or expenses.

[F9(g)to do anything which appears to the Board to be expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the provision by the Board of railway services outside Great Britain.]

(4)Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not be construed as imposing, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court to which the Board would not otherwise be subject.

4 Railways Board’s road services. U.K.

(1)Subject to this section, the Railways Board shall have power—

(a)to provide transport services by road—

(i)for the carriage of goods which have been or are to be carried by rail or water by the Railways Board, and

(ii)for the carriage of goods where a railway service has been temporarily interrupted, . . . F10

(iii). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F11

and to carry goods . . . F11 by those services;

(b)to exercise [F12in relation to the carriage of goods by road] the powers conferred by the Railway Road Transport Acts of 1928 (which relate to the provision of road transport services).

(2)The Railways Board shall not in exercise of the powers conferred by the said Acts of 1928 without the consent of the Minister—

(a), (b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F13

(c)carry any goods by road for hire or reward.

(3), (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F14

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F15

(6)Except as provided by this section the Railways Board shall not have power to provide services for the transport of goods . . . F16 by road.

(7)In this section “the Railway Road Transport Acts of 1928” has the meaning assigned by paragraph 1 of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act.

[F174ARailways Board’s road passenger transport services.U.K.

(1)Subject to this section, the Railways Board shall have power to secure the provision by other persons of services for the carriage of passengers by road where a railway service has been temporarily interrupted, or has been discontinued.

(2)The route (and stopping places) of any such service provided where a railway service has been discontinued need not correspond precisely with the route of the discontinued service (even where it is practicable to do so), so long as the service so provided broadly corresponds with the discontinued service, in terms of the localities it serves.

(3)Subsection (2) above is not to be taken as prejudicing the power of the Board under subsection (1) above to secure the provision of a service which deviates in any respect from the route of a railway service which has been interrupted or discontinued where it is not practicable for a service by road to correspond precisely to the railway service in question.

(4)Before entering into any agreement in pursuance of subsection (1) above for the provision by any other person of a service for the carriage of passengers by road in a case where a railway service has been discontinued, the Board shall invite other persons to submit tenders to provide that service for such period and on such basis as may be specified in the invitation to tender.

(5)Subsection (4) above shall not apply in relation to an agreement for the provision of such a service on a temporary basis in a case where a service for the carriage of passengers by road provided under an agreement entered into by the Board in pursuance of subsection (1) above has been temporarily interrupted.

(6)Nothing in subsection (4) above shall be read as requiring the Board to accept any tender submitted in response to an invitation to tender issued under that subsection.

(7)The Railways Board may not under this section secure the provision by any person of a service for the carriage of passengers by road provided otherwise than by means of public service vehicles or licensed taxis.

(8)The Railways Board may not themselves directly provide services for the carriage of passengers by road.

(9)In this section—

(a)“licensed taxi” means—

(i)in England and Wales, a vehicle licensed under section 37 of the Town Police Clauses Act M11847 or section 6 of the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act M21869 or under any similar enactment; and

(ii)in Scotland, a taxi licensed under section 10 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act M31982; and

(b)“stopping place” means a point at which passengers are taken up or set down in the course of the service in question.]

5 Railways Board’s shipping services and power to provide air services.U.K.

(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F18

(2)The Railways Board shall have the powers conferred by the Railway Air Transport Acts of 1929 but shall not exercise those powers without the consent of the Minister.

(3)Except as provided by this section the Railways Board shall not have power to provide—

(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F18

(b)air transport services.

(4)In this section “the Railway Shipping Acts” and “the Railway Air Transport Acts of 1929” have the meanings assigned by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act.

6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F19U.K.

7, 8.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F20U.K.

The Docks BoardU.K.

9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F21U.K.

The British Waterways BoardU.K.

10 Duty and powers of British Waterways Board.U.K.

(1)It shall be the duty of the British Waterways Board in the exercise of their powers under this Act to provide to such extent as they may think expedient—

(a)services and facilities on the inland waterways owned or managed by them, and

(b)port facilities at any harbour owned or managed by them,

and to have due regard to efficiency, economy and safety of operation as respects the services and facilities provided by them.

(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F22

(3)Subject to this Act, the British Waterways Board shall have power—

(a)to carry goods and passengers by inland waterway and to provide facilities for traffic on the inland waterways owned or managed by them,

(b)to operate the harbours owned or managed by them and to provide port facilities at those harbours,

(c)to provide transport services by road—

(i)for the carriage of goods which have been or are to be carried by the Board by inland waterway, and

(ii)for the carriage of goods where the use of an inland waterway owned or managed by the Board has been temporarily interrupted,

and to carry goods by those services,

(d)to abstract and sell untreated water from any inland waterway owned or managed by the Board for any purpose,

(e)to consign goods on behalf of other persons on routes wholly or partly over any of the inland waterways owned or managed by them or to or from, or on routes through, any of the harbours owned or managed by them,

(f)to store goods which have been or are to be carried on any of the inland waterways owned or managed by the Board, or which have been or are to be loaded or unloaded in or carried through any of the harbours owned or managed by them, and, so far as any premises provided for the purposes of that or any other part of their business are not required for those purposes, to use them to provide facilities for the storage of other goods,

(g)to enter into and carry out agreements—

(i)with carriers outside Great Britain for the through carriage of goods and passengers under one contract or at a through rate or in the same vessels or containers, and

(ii)with any person engaged in coastal shipping for co-ordinating the activities of that person with those of the Board and, in particular, for facilitating the through carriage of goods, for the quoting of through rates and for the pooling of receipts or expenses.

(4)Subsections (1) . . . F23 of this section shall not be construed as imposing, either directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court to which the Board would not otherwise be subject.

Provisions concerning all the BoardsU.K.

11 Development of land. U.K.

(1)Subject to this section, each Board shall have power to develop their land in such manner as they may think fit.

(2)Each Board may, in particular, and subject to this section,—

(a)retain any part of their land which is not required for the purposes of their business and develop it for use by other persons, and

(b)where the use of their land for the purposes of their business can be combined with its use for other purposes, develop the land by constructing or adapting buildings thereon for use wholly or partly by other persons,

with a view to selling or otherwise disposing of any right or interest in the land or, as the case may be, the buildings or any part of the buildings, after the development is carried out.

(3)A Board shall not incur any substantial item of expenditure in developing their land for use for purposes which are not the purposes of their business without the consent of the Minister, and the Minister may from time to time give directions to the Boards indicating what is to be treated for the purposes of this section as a substantial item of expenditure.

(4)Where a Board propose under this section to develop any land for use otherwise than for the purposes of their business they shall have power, with the consent of the Minister, to acquire by agreement adjoining land for the purpose of developing it together with the other land . . . F24

Except as provided by the foregoing provisions of this subsection, a Board shall not have power to acquire land for purposes which are not related to any of the activities of the Board other than the development of land.

12Pipe-lines. E+W+S

(1)Subject to this section, the Boards shall have power—

(a)to construct and operate pipe-lines in Great Britain, and

(b)to enter into transactions with other persons for the construction or operation by those other persons of pipe-lines on land in Great Britain belonging to the Boards.

(2)The Boards shall not have power to acquire land for the purpose of constructing pipe-lines except—

(a)where the pipe-line is or is to be mainly on land belonging to the Boards and acquired for other purposes, or

(b)where the pipe-line is required for the purposes of the business of the Board other than the operation of pipe-lines.

(3)A Board shall not without the consent of the Minister construct any pipe-line unless the pipe-line is required for the purposes of the business of the Board other than the operation of pipe-lines.

(4)In this section the expression “pipe-line” means any main or pipe for the transmission of any substance, together with any works provided in connection with the operation of such a main or pipe.

13 The Boards’ powers of manufacture and production. U.K.

(1)Each of the Boards shall have power to construct, manufacture, produce, purchase, maintain and repair anything required for the purposes of the business—

(a)of that Board,

(b)of any other Board, or

(c)of a subsidiary of any of the Boards or of a subsidiary of the Holding Company,

and, subject to section eleven of this Act and to the following provisions of this section, the Boards shall not have power to construct, manufacture, produce, purchase, maintain or repair anything not required for any of those purposes.

(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F25

(3)Subsection (1) of this section shall not affect the powers conferred by section forty-three of the M4British Transport Commission Act 1950 (which relates to the supply of railway equipment to the Ulster Transport Authority, and which will under this Act apply to the Railways Board), . . . F26

[F27(4)Each of the Boards shall from time to time submit to the Minister proposals as to the manner in which their powers of construction, manufacture and production under the foregoing provisions of this section are to be exercised, and shall exercise those powers in accordance with those proposals as approved by the Minister with or without modification; but the Minister may, after consultation with a Board, direct that Board to discontinue any of the activities which they are carrying on in accordance with proposals so approved.]

(5)—(8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F28

14 Supplemental provisions relating to the Boards’ powers. U.K.

(1)Subject to this Act, the Boards shall have power—

(a)to enter into and carry out agreements with any person for the carrying on by that person, whether as agent for the Board or otherwise, of any of the activities which the Board may themselves carry on,

(b)without prejudice to the foregoing paragraph, to enter into agreements with the other Boards and with any subsidiary of any of the Boards or of the Holding Company, for the management, working and use by one party to the agreement of works, land or other property belonging to the other party, and with respect to the rendering of services and the pooling of receipts or expenses,

(c)to acquire land for the purposes of their business,

(d)in places where those using the services and facilities provided by the Board may require them, to provide both for them and for other persons facilities for the purchase and consumption of food and drink, places for refreshment and such other amenities and facilities as it may appear to the Board requisite or expedient to provide,

(e)to dispose (whether absolutely or for a term of years) of any part of the undertaking of the Board or any property which in their opinion is not required by them for the purposes of their business, and, in particular, to dispose of an interest in, or right over, any property, which, subject to the interest or right, is retained by the Board,

(f)to do anything for the purposes of advancing the skill of persons employed by the Board or the efficiency of the equipment of the Board or of the manner in which that equipment is operated, including the provision by the Board, and the assistance of the provision by others, of facilities for training, education and research,

(g)to provide houses, hostels and other like accommodation for persons employed by the Board,

(h)to make housing loans to persons employed by the Board to assist them to acquire housing accommodation and to guarantee loans made by building societies and other bodies to such persons for housing purposes,

(j)to invest any sums which are not immediately required by the Board for the purposes of their business,

(k)to turn their resources to account so far as not required for the purposes of their business, and

(l)to do all other things which in the opinion of the Board are necessary to facilitate the proper carrying on of their business.

(2)The Boards shall have power to acquire any undertaking or part of an undertaking if the assets comprised in the undertaking or the part of the undertaking are wholly or mainly assets which the Board require for the purposes of their business.

(3)Each of the Boards shall have power with the consent of the Minister, and for the purposes of their business, to lend money to, or give a guarantee for the benefit of, any person for the purposes of an undertaking carried on by him, or, where that person is a body corporate, any undertaking carried on by a subsidiary of that body corporate.

(4)Each of the Boards shall have power with the consent of the Minister, and for the purposes of their business, to subscribe for or acquire any securities of a body corporate.

(5)Subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not affect the power of a Board—

(a)to lend money by way of investment or to subscribe for or acquire securities by way of investment, or

(b)to leave outstanding any loan made or guarantee given, or to retain any securities acquired, by the Commission before the vesting date.

(6)Each of the powers conferred on any Board by the foregoing provisions of this Act shall be deemed to be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other powers so conferred; and it is hereby declared that those provisions relate only to the capacity of the Boards as statutory corporations, and nothing in those provisions shall be construed as authorising the disregard by any of the Boards of any enactment or rule of law.

15Compulsory purchase of land. E+W+S

(1)Subject to this section, the Minister may authorise any Board to purchase compulsorily any land in Great Britain which they require for the purposes of their business and the [F29Acquisition of Land Act 1981], shall apply [F30as if each Board were a local authority within the meaning of that Act] and as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act:

(2)The Minister shall not under this section authorise a Board to purchase land for the purpose of constructing a pipe-line if the construction of that pipe-line requires the consent of the Minister under subsection (3) of section twelve of this Act.

(3)The power of purchasing land compulsorily in this section shall include power to acquire an easement or other right over land by the creation of a new right:

(4)In the application of this section to Scotland, there shall be substituted, for any reference to the [F31Acquisition of Land Act 1981], a reference to the M5Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947, and, for any reference to an easement, a reference to a servitude; and the reference in the last foregoing subsection to a fuel or field garden allotment shall be omitted.

16 Working agreements involving the delegation of special statutory powers. ]U.K.

(1)A Board may enter into any working agreement to which this section applies notwithstanding that it involves the delegation of the functions of the Board under any enactment relating to any part of their undertaking.

(2)In the foregoing subsection the reference to a working agreement to which this section applies is a reference to an agreement of one of the kinds described in paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section three or paragraph (g) of subsection (3) of section ten or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section fourteen of this Act.

17Power to promote and oppose Bills. U.K.

(1)Each Board may, with the consent of the Minister, promote Bills in Parliament and may oppose any Bill in Parliament.

(2)The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section shall be in lieu of any power to promote or oppose Bills which a Board might otherwise possess under the provisions of this Act as successors to the persons carrying on any undertaking, and, in particular, the persons carrying on any undertaking transferred to the Commission by the M6Transport Act 1947, but nothing in this section shall be construed as prejudicing any power exercisable by any Board as successors to apply for orders, and oppose applications for orders, including orders subject to special parliamentary procedure.

(3)In the application of this section to Scotland “Bill in Parliament” includes an order under the M7Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936.

Financial provisionsU.K.

18 Financial duty of Boards. U.K.

(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F33

(2)Each Board shall charge to revenue in every year all charges which are proper to be made to revenue, including, in particular, proper provision for the depreciation or renewal of assets and proper allocations to general reserve, and the reference in subsection (1) of this section and other references in this Act to charges properly chargeable to revenue shall be construed accordingly.

(3)Without prejudice to the Board’s powers to establish specific reserves, each Board shall establish and maintain a general reserve.

(4)The management by each Board of their general reserve, the sums to be carried from time to time to the credit thereof, and the application of the moneys comprised therein shall be as the Board may determine:

(a)no part of the moneys comprised in the general reserve shall be applied otherwise than for the purposes of the Board; and

(b)the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, give to the Board directions as to any matter relating to the establishment or management of the general reserve or the carrying of sums to the credit thereof, or the application thereof.

(5)Each of the Boards may, with the consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Treasury, make charges to capital account representing interest on expenditure of a capital nature (including expenditure of a capital nature incurred by the Commission before the vesting date), being interest for any period which ends on or before the end of the accounting period in which the project or scheme to which the expenditure relates is in the opinion of the Minister completed.

(6)This section shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the Railways Board and the British Waterways Board.

19 Borrowing powers of Boards. U.K.

(1)Subject to the limit in subsection (3) of this section, each of the Boards may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise, either from the Minister or, with the consent of the Minister, from any other person, such sums as the Board may require for meeting their obligations or discharging their functions under this Act, but the aggregate of the amounts outstanding in respect of any temporary loans raised by a Board under this subsection shall not exceed such limit as the Minister may for the time being have imposed on that Board for the purposes of this subsection by a direction given to the Board.

(2)Subject to the limit in subsection (3) of this section, each of the Boards may borrow (otherwise than by way of temporary loan) from the Minister [F34or, with the consent of [F35the Minister] and the approval of the Treasury, may borrow (otherwise than by way of temporary loan) in a currency other than sterling from any person, or in sterling from the Commission of the European Communities or from the European Investment Bank] such sums as the Board may require for all or any of the following purposes—

(a)for meeting any expenses properly chargeable to capital, being expenses incurred in connection with the provision or improvement of assets in connection with the business of the Board,

(b)for the provision of working capital,

(c)for acquiring an undertaking or part of an undertaking,

(d)for lending money to, or meeting a guarantee given for the benefit of, any person for the purpose of an undertaking carried on by him, or where that person is a body corporate, an undertaking carried on by a subsidiary of that body corporate,

(e)for subscribing for or acquiring securities of a body corporate, otherwise than by way of investment,

(f)for the payment of interest charged to capital account under subsection (5) of the last foregoing section,

(g)to pay off—

(i)any part of the commencing capital debt of the Board,

(ii)any money borrowed by the Board,

(iii)any liability transferred to the Board from the Commission under or in pursuance of this Act,

(h)for any purpose for which capital moneys are properly applicable (whether or not specified in the foregoing paragraphs).

(3)The aggregate amount outstanding in respect of—

(a)the principal of any money borrowed by a Board under this section, and

(b)the Board’s commencing capital debt, as defined in Part II of this Act . . . F36

taken together shall not exceed—

(i). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F37

(ii). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F38

(iii). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F39

[F40(iv)for the British Waterways Board £25 million or such greater sum not exceeding £35 million as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument specify.]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F41

[F42(3A)An order made under paragraph (iv) of subsection (3) above shall be made by statutory instrument, and no such order shall be made unless a draft of the order has been approved by resolution of the House of Commons.]

(4)A Board shall not have power to borrow money except in accordance with this section.

(5)References in this section to borrowing do not include—

(a)borrowing by a Board from a body corporate which is a subsidiary of that Board; or

(b)the receipt of money by a Board in the course of the carrying on of a savings bank operated by the Board or the use by the Board of money so received, or

(c)the receipt or use by a Board of money of a pension fund established for the purposes of a pension scheme in which employees of the Board or of a subsidiary of the Board participate.

(6)This section shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the Railways Board and the British Waterways Board.

20 Exchequer loans. U.K.

(1)Subject to this Act the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury lend to a Board any sums which that Board have power to borrow under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of the last foregoing section.

(2)Any loans which the Minister makes under this section shall be repaid to him at such times and by such methods, and interest thereon shall be paid to him at such rates and at such times, as he may with the approval of the Treasury from time to time direct.

(3)The Treasury may issue out of the [F43National Loans Fund] to the Minister such sums as are necessary to enable him to make loans under subsection (1) of this section.

[F44(4)For the purpose of providing sums to be issued under the last foregoing subsection, or of providing for the replacement of sums so issued, the Treasury may at any time, if they think fit, raise money in any manner in which they are authorised to raise money under the National Loans Act, 1939, and any securities created and issued to raise money under this subsection shall be deemed for all purposes to have been created and issued under that Act.]

(5)Any sums received by the Minister under subsection (2) of this section shall be paid into the [F43National Loans Fund] . . . F45

(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F46

21 Treasury guarantees. U.K.

(1)The Treasury may guarantee, in such manner and on such conditions as they may think fit, the repayment of the principal of, [F47the payment of interest on and the discharge of any other financial obligation in connection with], any sums which a Board borrow from a person other than the Minister in exercise of their powers under . . . F48 section nineteen of this Act.

(2)Immediately after any guarantee is given under this section the Treasury shall lay a statement of the guarantee before each House of Parliament, and where any sum is issued for fulfilling such a guarantee the Treasury shall, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year, beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that in which all liability in respect of the principal of the sum and in respect of interest thereon is finally discharged, lay before each House of Parliament a statement relating to that sum.

(3)Any sums required by the Treasury for fulfilling any guarantee under this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

(4)If any sums are issued in fulfilment of any guarantee given under this section in favour of a Board, that Board shall make to the Treasury, at such times and in such manner as the Treasury may from time to time direct, payments of such amounts as the Treasury may so direct in or towards repayment of the sums so issued, and payments of interest on what is outstanding for the time being in respect of sums so issued at such rate as the Treasury may so direct.

(5)Any sums received by the Treasury under the last foregoing subsection shall be paid into the Exchequer.

[F5021A[F49 Grants to the Railways Board.]U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, make to the Railways Board grants of such amounts, at such times and in such manner, as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine—

(a)towards the expenditure of that Board; or

(b)without prejudice to paragraph (a) of this subsection, for the purpose of enabling that Board to make any payment (whether by way of repayment of principal or payment of interest or of any other description) in respect of any loan made to them under section twenty of this Act.

(2)Grants under this section may be made subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

(3)Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making grants under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

(4)This section is without prejudice to any other power to make grants to the Railways Board.]

22 Special provisions for Railways Board.U.K.

(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F51

(2), (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F52

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F53 for the purposes of subsection (1) of section eighteen of this Act as it applies to the Railways Board, the Railways Board shall take into consideration deficits on revenue account arising at any time after the vesting date, except so far as the Minister has, under subsection (1) of this section, made a grant to meet any such deficit.

(6), (7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F54

23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F55U.K.

24 Accounts. U.K.

(1)Each Board—

(a)shall cause proper accounts and other records in relation thereto to be kept, and

(b)shall prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form and containing such particulars, compiled in such manner, as the Minister may from time to time direct with the approval of the Treasury.

(2)The accounts of each Board shall be audited by an auditor or auditors to be appointed annually by the Minister and a person shall not be qualified to be so appointed unless he is a member [F56or is a firm in Scotland each of the partners wherein is a member] of one or more of the following bodies—

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland;

• The Association of Certified and Corporate Accountants;

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;

• Any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for the time being recognised for the purposes of [F57section 389(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1985 by the Secretary of State].

(3)So soon as the accounts of a Board have been audited as aforesaid, they shall send a copy of the statement of accounts referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section to the Minister, together with a copy of the report made by the auditor or auditors on that statement, and a copy of that statement and of any such report shall be included in the report which is under this Act to be laid by the Minister annually before each House of Parliament.

(4)Section thirty-nine of the M8Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1888, and the M9Railway Companies (Accounts and Returns) Act 1911 (which relate to the making of returns and the keeping of statistics by railway and canal companies), and, except so far as the Minister may by order made by statutory instrument otherwise provide, so much of any statutory provision as relates to the accounts, statistics and returns to be kept or made by the owners of undertakings which were by the M10Transport Act 1947, transferred to the Commission, or as relates to the audit or publication of any such accounts, shall not apply to any of the Boards.

Supplemental provisions relating to the BoardsU.K.

25 The Boards’ subsidiaries. U.K.

(1)It shall be the duty of a Board which has a subsidiary to exercise its control over the subsidiary so as to ensure that the subsidiary—

(a)does not engage in activities in which the Board has no power to engage (including activities in which the Board has no power to engage because the consent of the Minister has not been obtained), and

(b)does not do anything which the Minister has directed the Board not to do, and

(c)does not, except with the consent of the Minister, borrow money from any person other than the Board, and

(d)does not, except with the consent of the Minister, raise money by the issue of shares or stock to any person other than the Board.

(2)The Minister may give to a Board such directions as appear to him appropriate for ensuring that the Board carry out the duty imposed on them by the foregoing subsection.

(3), (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F58

26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F59E+W+S

27Powers of Minister in relation to Boards. U.K.

(1)The Minister may, after consultation with any Board, give to that Board directions of a general character as to the exercise and performance by the Board of their functions [F60(including the exercise of rights conferred by the holding of interests in companies)] in relation to matters which appear to him to affect the national interest.

(2)A Board, [(F61other than the Railways Board)] in framing and carrying out proposals involving substantial outlay on capital account by the Board or by a subsidiary of the Board, shall act on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Minister.

(3)In the exercise and performance of their functions as to training, [F62and education], each Board shall act on lines settled as aforesaid.

(4)Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, the Minister may, after consultation with any Board, direct the Board to discontinue any of their activities, dispose of any part of their undertaking, dispose of any assets held by them, call in any loan made by them or exercise any power they may possess to revoke any guarantees given by them:

(5)The Minister may, after consultation with any Board, direct the Board to exercise their control over a subsidiary of the Board so as to require the subsidiary to discontinue any of their activities, dispose of any part of their undertaking, dispose of any assets held by them, call in any loan made by them or exercise any power they may possess to revoke any guarantees given by them.

(6)If it appears to the Minister that there is anything which a Board ought in the interests of national defence to have power to do, or which a Board ought in the interests of national defence to be required to do, and that it would be consistent with the duties imposed on that Board by this Act, he may authorise or direct the Board to do that thing; and no limitation on the powers of the Board contained in this Act or in any local enactment shall prevent the Board from acting in accordance with the authorisation or direction.

(7)Each Board [F61(other than the Railways Board)] shall furnish the Minister with such returns, accounts and other information with respect to their property and activities, and the property and activities of any company which is their subsidiary, as he may from time to time require.

(8)Without prejudice to the provisions of the last foregoing subsection, each Board [F61(other than the Railways Board)] shall, as soon as possible after the end of each accounting year of the Board, make to the Minister a report on the exercise and performance by them of their functions during that year and on their policy and programme, and the Minister shall lay a copy of every such report before each House of Parliament.

The report for any year shall set out any direction given by the Minister under this Act [F63or section 3 of the Transport Act 1982] to the Board during that year, unless the Minister has notified to the Board his opinion that it is against the interests of national security to do so, and shall include a statement of the salaries or fees and of the emoluments of each of the members of the Board during that year.

28 Powers exercisable subject to Minister’s consent. U.K.

(1)Any consent which the Minister is authorised to give under the foregoing provisions of this Act may be given for any case or description of cases specified in the consent, or may be general, and may be given subject to conditions.

(2)Nothing done by a Board shall be unlawful on the ground that it was done without the consent of the Minister and that under the foregoing provisions of this Act it required the consent of the Minister.

(3)If it appears to the Minister that a Board propose to do anything, or have done anything, without the consent of the Minister which in his opinion requires his consent under this Act, he shall, after consultation with the Board, give to the Board such directions as appear to the Minister to be appropriate.

(4)The directions which the Minister may give under the last foregoing subsection in a case where a Board have already done anything without the Minister’s consent may in particular require the Board to discontinue any activity or to dispose of any assets, and directions may be so given notwithstanding that they make it necessary for the Board to dispose of assets at a loss.

29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F64U.K.

Status of the Boards and the Holding CompanyU.K.

30 Status of Boards and the Holding Company.U.K.

It is hereby declared that neither any of the Boards nor . . . F65 are to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown, or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown, or (subject to the express provisions of this Act relating to stamp duty and income tax) as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local, and that their property is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.