Factsheet: Trade and Transport Facilitation

There shall be constituted, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section,—

Each Corporation shall consist of—

In relation to either Corporation, the Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument—

Subject to any provision made by virtue of subsection (3) above, the arrangements relating to meetings of each Corporation shall be such as it may determine; and the validity of any proceedings of either Corporation shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members or in the office of chairman or by any defect in the appointment of a member.

Each Corporation—

Neither Corporation is to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, privilege or immunity of the Crown, and its property is not to be regarded as property of or held on behalf of the Crown.

The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument specify a different name by which either Corporation is to be known; and where any such different name is so specified, any reference in this Act or in any other enactment, instrument or document to British Aerospace or, as the case may be, to British Shipbuilders, shall be construed accordingly.

The power to make an order under subsection (7) above includes power to vary or revoke any order previously made under that subsection; and a statutory instrument containing regulations or an order made under any provision of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

The Secretary of State shall maintain in respect of each Corporation a register of members' financial interests and shall ensure that all members of a Corporation enter in the register kept in respect of it statements of such of their financial interests as, were they Members of the House of Commons, they would be required to register in accordance with resolutions of that House, any such resolution being construed, in its application to members of a Corporation, with appropriate modifications.

British Aerospace British Shipbuilders

It shall be the duty of British Aerospace, subject to section 7(3) below, to promote and secure the promotion by its wholly owned subsidiaries of—

It shall be the duty of British Shipbuilders to promote and secure the promotion by its wholly owned subsidiaries of—

It shall be the duty of each Corporation—

It shall be the duty of each Corporation to seek to secure the benefit of the knowledge and experience of persons employed by it and its wholly owned subsidiaries in the organisation and conduct of the tasks in which those persons are employed.

The Secretary of State may, after consultation with a Corporation, by order made by statutory instrument, prescribe in relation to that Corporation—

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

It shall be the duty of each Corporation— and in the event of any conflict between the duty imposed by this subsection and any duty imposed by the preceding provisions of this section, the duty imposed by this subsection shall prevail.

In carrying out its functions under this Act, it shall be the duty of each Corporation to promote industrial democracy in a strong and organic form in its undertakings and the undertakings of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

It shall be the duty of each Corporation to enter within 3 months of the relevant vesting date into consultation with the relevant trade unions as to the methods which it should adopt for the purpose of carrying out its duty under subsection (8) above.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing upon either Corporation, directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court.

In addition to any activities which it is under a duty to carry on, each Corporation may carry on—

Subject to subsection (3) below, each Corporation shall have power—

Except with the consent of, or in accordance with the terms of any general authority given by, the Secretary of State, neither Corporation shall have power—

The powers conferred by subsection (2) above in relation to bodies corporate shall be exercisable whether or not they are or will be incorporated in the United Kingdom; and the power conferred by paragraph (c) of that subsection shall be exercisable whether or not the partnership will be governed by the law of any part of the United Kingdom.

Section 209 of the Companies Act 1948 and section 200 of the Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1960 (power to acquire shares of shareholders dissenting from scheme or contract approved by majority) shall have effect in relation to the transfer of shares or any class of shares in a company to either of the Corporations; and references to a transferee company in those sections shall be construed accordingly.

Each Corporation shall have power—

Each Corporation may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, promote Bills in Parliament, and may without any such consent oppose any Bill in Parliament; and any reference in this subsection to a Bill in Parliament includes a reference to an order under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936 and a proposed Measure introduced in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Each Corporation shall have power to do anything and to enter into any transaction (whether or not involving the expenditure of money, the borrowing or lending of money, the acquisition of any property or rights or the disposal of any property or rights) which in its opinion is calculated to facilitate the exercise or performance of the functions conferred on it under or by virtue of any enactment or which in its opinion is incidental or conducive to the exercise or performance of any such function.

For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the preceding provisions of this section relate only to the capacity of each Corporation as a statutory corporation, and nothing in those provisions shall be construed as authorising the disregard by either Corporation of any enactment or rule of law.

Each Corporation shall give effect to any direction given to it under subsection (2) below or under any of the following provisions of this Act and shall secure, so far as appropriate, that each of its wholly owned subsidiaries also gives effect to any such direction.

The Secretary of State may give directions of a general character as to the exercise and performance by either Corporation of its functions (including the exercise of rights conferred by the holding of interests in bodies corporate, whether or not incorporated in the United Kingdom) in relation to matters which appear to the Secretary of State to affect the national interest.

Before giving any direction to either Corporation under subsection (2) above, the Secretary of State—

Before giving any such direction to British Shipbuilders, the Secretary of State shall have full regard to the need—

When the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (2) above, he shall lay a copy of it before each House of Parliament within 28 days of giving it, unless he has notified the Corporation to which it is given that he is of opinion that it is against the national interest to lay it or that he accepts the Corporation's contention that it is against the Corporation's commercial interests to lay it.

British Aerospace shall, forthwith after the aircraft industry vesting date and subsequently from time to time when it considers it appropriate or the Secretary of State so requires,—

British Shipbuilders shall, forthwith after the shipbuilding industry vesting date and subsequently from time to time when it considers it appropriate or the Secretary of State so requires—

Each Corporation's report on its first review under subsection (1) or (2) above shall be made to the Secretary of State before such date not more than 6 months after the relevant vesting date as he may after consultation with the Corporation determine.

Before reaching conclusions in consequence of any review undertaken under subsection (1) or (2) above, each Corporation shall consult any relevant trade union.

The Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament— and may, after doing so, and after considering the report and consulting the Corporation concerned about it, give to the Corporation such directions as he considers appropriate for securing that the general principles upon which the activities of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries are organised are calculated to produce the greatest efficiency in the management of those activities.

Except in so far as it is satisfied that adequate machinery exists for achieving the purposes of this section, it shall be the duty of each Corporation to consult any relevant trade union with a view to the conclusion between the Corporation and any such trade union of such agreements as appear to the parties to be desirable with respect to the establishment and maintenance of machinery for the purposes specified in subsection (2) below.

The purposes referred to in subsection (1) above are—

Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting either Corporation or any wholly owned subsidiary of either Corporation from taking part together with other employers or organisations of employers in the establishment and maintenance of machinery for any of the purposes set out in subsection (2) above.

It shall be the duty of each Corporation, after consulting any relevant trade union, to formulate in each year other than that in which it is constituted a corporate plan relating to the conduct, during such period beginning in that year as the Corporation considers appropriate, of the operations of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries and dealing, subject to subsection (2) below, with the following matters, namely,— and, in formulating its corporate plan in each year and in determining the period to which the plan is to relate, and in the general conduct of the operations of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries in each year, the Corporation shall act on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Secretary of State.

If the Secretary of State gives a direction to either Corporation to that effect, the plan formulated by the Corporation in any year under subsection (1) above need not deal with such of the matters falling within paragraphs (a) to (d) of that subsection as may be specified in the direction.

If the estimated cost to British Aerospace and its wholly owned subsidiaries of the development of any aircraft or guided weapon exceeds such amount as may for the time being be notified to British Aerospace by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subsection, British Aerospace shall secure that neither it nor any of its wholly owned subsidiaries undertake, or participate with others in the undertaking of, that development except with the consent of the Secretary of State.

In this section

In such manner and at such times as the Secretary of State may specify in relation to it, each Corporation shall furnish the Secretary of State with such information— with respect to such matters relating to the Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiaries or the activities (past, present or future), plans or property of any of them as the Secretary of State may so specify.

The Secretary of State may, by directions given to either Corporation, require it to publish, in such manner as may be specified in the directions, such information as may be so specified relating to—

Before giving any directions under subsection (2) above the Secretary of State shall consult the Corporation to which they are to be given.

Each Corporation shall secure that, notwithstanding anything in the memorandum or articles of association of any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, none of those subsidiaries— except with the consent of, or in accordance with the terms of any general authority given by, the Secretary of State.

Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above shall apply whether or not the body corporate is or will be incorporated in the United Kingdom, and paragraph (c) shall apply whether or not the partnership will be governed by the law of any part of the United Kingdom.

Each Corporation shall secure that, except with the consent of, or in accordance with the terms of any general authority given by, the Secretary of State, none of its wholly owned subsidiaries shall dispose of an interest in any other of its wholly owned subsidiaries, unless the disposal is to the Corporation itself or to another of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

The financial duties of each Corporation shall be such as may from time to time be determined by the Secretary of State with the approval of the Treasury and after consultation with the Corporation concerned.

In relation to each Corporation, the first determination under subsection (1) above shall be made within the period of 12 months beginning on the relevant vesting date.

As soon as possible after the making of a determination under subsection (1) above the Secretary of State shall give notice thereof to the Corporation concerned.

Each Corporation's report for any accounting year shall set out any determination made in relation to it under subsection (1) above, other than a determination which was wholly superseded before the beginning of the accounting year to which the report relates.

The Secretary of State shall not make, and the Treasury shall not approve, a determination under subsection (1) above, unless satisfied that the duties to be imposed on the Corporation concerned by the determination are likely, taken together, to result in an adequate return on the capital employed by the Corporation and its subsidiaries.

A determination under subsection (1) above—

As soon as possible after the making of any determination under subsection (1) above the Secretary of State shall lay a copy of the determination before each House of Parliament.

Subject to subsections (6) and (7) below, each Corporation may borrow money in accordance with the provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) below.

Each Corporation may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise,— such sums as may be required for meeting the obligations and discharging the functions of the Corporation or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

Each Corporation may borrow, otherwise than by way of temporary loan,— such sums as may be required by the Corporation or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries for capital purposes or for fulfilling any guarantee entered into by it.

Each Corporation may borrow from any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, without any consent, approval or other authority.

It shall be the duty of each Corporation to secure that none of its wholly owned subsidiaries borrows otherwise than from the Corporation or from another of its wholly owned subsidiaries except with the consent of the Secretary of State and the approval of the Treasury.

The aggregate of— shall not exceed £175 million or such greater sum, not exceeding £250 million, as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, specify by order made by statutory instrument.

The aggregate of— shall not exceed £200 million or such greater sum, not exceeding £300 million, as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, specify by order made by statutory instrument.

No part of the commencing capital of the Corporations specified under section 15(1) below shall be taken into account under subsection (6) or (7) above.

A loan is an excluded loan for the purposes of subsections (6) and (7) above if—

The power to make an order under subsection (6) or subsection (7) 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.

Without prejudice to his powers under any other enactment, the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, lend to either Corporation any sums which it has power to borrow from him under section 11 above and the Treasury may issue to the Secretary of State out of the National Loans Fund any sums necessary to enable the Secretary of State to make loans in pursuance of this subsection.

Any loans made in pursuance of subsection (1) above shall be repaid to the Secretary of State at such times and by such methods, and interest on the loans shall be paid to him at such times and at such rates, as he may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time direct.

All sums received by the Secretary of State in pursuance of subsection (2) above shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

The Secretary of State shall prepare in respect of each financial year two accounts (one relating to British Aerospace and the other relating to British Shipbuilders) of—

The Secretary of State shall send each of the accounts referred to in subsection (4) above to the Comptroller and Auditor General before the end of the month of November next following the end of the financial year to which it relates; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on each of the accounts and lay copies of each and of his report thereon before each House of Parliament.

The form of the accounts prepared in pursuance of subsection (4) above and the manner of preparing them shall be such as the Treasury may direct.

The Treasury may guarantee, in such manner and on such conditions as they think fit, the repayment of the principal of and the payment of interest on any sums which either Corporation borrows from a person other than the Secretary of State.

Immediately after a 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 the guarantee so given 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.

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

If any sums are issued in fulfilment of a guarantee given under this section, the Corporation to whose loan the guarantee relates 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 so direct in or towards repayment of the sums so issued and payments of interest, at such rate as the Treasury so direct, on what is outstanding for the time being in respect of sums so issued.

Any sums received by the Treasury in pursuance of subsection (4) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

On the aircraft industry vesting date any rights or obligations of the Secretary of State in existence on that date with respect to any loan which— shall, by virtue of this section, become rights or obligations of British Aerospace.

On the shipbuilding industry vesting date any rights or obligations of the Secretary of State in existence on that date with respect to any loan which— shall, by virtue of this section, become rights or obligations of British Shipbuilders.

The loans referred to in subsections (1) and (2) above are—

As soon as possible after the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State shall by notice in writing given to each Corporation— and so much of the commencing capital of a Corporation as is not specified as mentioned in paragraph (b) above is in this section referred to as “the commencing debt” of the Corporation.

The commencing capital of a Corporation shall not exceed the aggregate of—

On the relevant vesting date each Corporation shall assume a liability to the Secretary of State in respect of the commencing capital of the Corporation.

The rate of interest payable on so much of the principal of the commencing debt of a Corporation as is for the time being outstanding, the date from which interest is to begin to accrue, the arrangements for paying off the principal of the debt, and the other terms of the debt shall be such as the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time determine; and different rates and dates may be determined under this subsection with respect to different portions of the commencing debts.

Any sums received by the Secretary of State by way of interest on or repayment of the commencing debt of a Corporation shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

Subject to section 11 above, the Secretary of State may with the approval of the Treasury pay to either Corporation such sums (in this Act referred to as “public dividend capital”) as he thinks fit.

In consideration of receiving public dividend capital, each Corporation shall make payments to the Secretary of State (in this Act referred to as “public dividends ”) in accordance with subsection (4) or subsection (5) below.

Each Corporation shall, in respect of each of its accounting years, decide whether or not to propose to the Secretary of State to pay any public dividend and, if it decides to make such a proposal, the amount it proposes to pay.

If either Corporation makes a proposal under subsection (3) above in respect of an accounting year of the Corporation and the proposal is agreed by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury, the Corporation shall in respect of that accounting year pay a public dividend of the amount so proposed.

If, in respect of any of its accounting years,— the Corporation shall, in respect of that accounting year, pay a public dividend of such amount, if any, as the Secretary of State may determine with the consent of the Treasury and after consultation with the Corporation.

Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments of public dividend capital shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament, and any public dividends received by him shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of each Corporation—

If the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury so requires a Corporation by notice in writing, the Corporation shall, in respect of any accounting year of the Corporation to which the notice relates, comply with its obligation under subsection (1)(c) above, so far as it relates to those members of the group which are specified in the notice, by preparing a statement of consolidated accounts dealing with the members of the group specified in the notice and giving a true and fair view of their state of affairs and profit or loss.

Every statement of accounts prepared by a Corporation in accordance with this section shall comply with any requirement which the Secretary of State has, with the consent of the Treasury, notified in writing to the Corporation relating to—

Subject to any requirement notified to the Corporation under subsection (3) above, in preparing any statement of accounts in accordance with this section, each Corporation shall follow, with respect to each of the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) of that subsection, such course as may for the time being be approved by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury.

The first accounting year of each Corporation shall end on such date as the Secretary of State may direct in relation to that Corporation and, subject to subsection (6) below, each subsequent accounting year of each Corporation shall be the period of 12 months beginning immediately after the end of the previous accounting period.

If the Secretary of State so directs in relation to an accounting year of either Corporation, that accounting year shall end on such date as may be specified in the direction (whether before or after the date on which it would otherwise expire).

The accounts kept, and all statements prepared, by a Corporation under this section shall be audited by auditors appointed for each accounting year of the Corporation by the Secretary of State.

A person shall not be qualified for appointment under subsection (7) above unless he is a member of one or more bodies of accountants established in the United Kingdom, and for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 161(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1948 by the Secretary of State: Provided that a Scottish firm may be so appointed if each of the partners therein is qualified to be so appointed.

As soon as the accounts kept, and the statements prepared, by a Corporation under this section have been audited, the Corporation shall send to the Secretary of State— together with a copy of any report made by the auditors on the statements or on the accounts of the Corporation; and the Secretary of State shall lay a copy of every statement and report of which a copy is received by him in pursuance of this subsection before each House of Parliament.

It shall be the duty of each Corporation to make to the Secretary of State, as soon as possible after the end of each of its accounting years, a report on the operations of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries during that year.

The report of a Corporation under subsection (1) above for any accounting year shall set out any direction under this Act given to it during that year by the Secretary of State unless the Secretary of State has given a notice concerning it under section 4(5) above and has not revoked it.

The Secretary of State may at any time revoke a notice under section 4(5) above by notice given to the Corporation concerned.

The report for any accounting year shall contain a statement about the performance of the Corporation's duty under section 2(8) above.

A copy of the register under section 1(9) above maintained by the Secretary of State in respect of the Corporation shall be annexed to each such report.

The Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of every report made to him under subsection (1) above.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, on the aircraft industry vesting date all securities of the companies which on 29th October 1974 were known by the names specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, being the companies other than any excepted company which on that date fulfilled the conditions in Part II of that Schedule, shall, by virtue of this section, vest in British Aerospace free from all trusts and incumbrances.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, on the shipbuilding industry vesting date, all securities of the companies which on 31st July 1974 were known by the names specified in Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act, being the companies other than any excepted company which on that date fulfilled the conditions in Part II of that Schedule, shall, by virtue of this section, vest in British Shipbuilders free from all trusts and incumbrances.

Each Corporation shall, in respect of the securities of any company which vest in it by virtue of this Part of this Act, be entitled or subject, as from the date of transfer, to the exclusion of the previous holders thereof, to all the rights, privileges and advantages and all the liabilities and obligations arising from the holding of those securities, in all respects as if the securities had been duly transferred to the Corporation in accordance with the enactments and rules of law (other than this Act) applicable thereto and everything necessary to make those rights, privileges, advantages, liabilities and obligations fully effective had been duly done.

Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, all persons concerned with the keeping of the register of the holders of any such securities as are referred to in that subsection shall forthwith register the relevant Corporation therein and the company concerned shall forthwith issue to that Corporation the appropriate documents of title relating to the securities of the company which vest in that Corporation by virtue of this Part of this Act.

In this section—

Subject to subsection (5) below, where immediately before the date of transfer an acquired company was the wholly owned subsidiary of the person from whom it was acquired, any property, rights or liabilities to which this subsection applies shall vest in the acquired company on the date of transfer of the company.

The property, rights and liabilities to which subsection (1) above applies are any property, rights and liabilities of an associated privately owned company which—

Property, rights and liabilities satisfy a vesting condition for the purposes of this section if—

In the application of subsections (1) to (3) above in a case where the acquired company fulfils the criteria in paragraph 2 of Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act, the references in subsection (3) above to the undertaking carried on by the acquired company shall be construed as references to the shipbuilding undertaking carried on at a shipyard or other works in which the acquired company had an interest in possession on 31st July 1974.

The rights and liabilities under any agreement for the rendering of personal services by any person shall be vested in the acquired company by virtue of this section if, and only if, immediately before the date of transfer, his employment under the agreement was wholly or mainly for the purposes of the undertaking carried on as mentioned in subsection (3) or, as the case may require, subsection (4) above.

The provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing the preceding provisions of this section.

In this section and Schedule 3 to this Act—

In any case where— the Secretary of State may, at any time within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer, serve a notice on the person to whom the debt is owed stating that, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the right to repayment of the whole or part of the debt should be treated as a security of the acquired company for the purposes of vesting and compensation.

Subject to subsection (5) below, where a notice is served under subsection (1) above, no person—

Where a notice has been served under subsection (1) above, the questions— shall be settled by agreement between the Secretary of State and the person on whom the notice was served within the period of 3 months beginning on the day on which he was so served or, in default of such agreement, by arbitration under this Act.

If the arbitration tribunal are satisfied that the right to repayment of the whole or any part of the debt in question ought to be treated as a security of the acquired company for the purposes of vesting and compensation, they shall confirm the Secretary of State's notice under subsection (1) above with any necessary amendments but otherwise shall revoke it.

If, by reason— the right to repayment of the debt or of any part of it does not fall to be treated as a security for the purposes of vesting and compensation, subsection (2) above shall to that extent cease to apply on the date of the agreement or the date when the notice is revoked or amended.

A right to repayment shall not be so treated for the purpose of any provision of this Part of this Act relating to compensation under which it is necessary to determine, at any time before the operative date of the notice,—

Where a matter is referred to the arbitration tribunal under subsection (3) above, the tribunal shall, in determining the issue before them, have regard to all factors which appear to them to be relevant and, in particular, to—

If the terms on which a security is to be treated under this section as having been issued include any charge on assets of the acquired company, subsection (5) of section 38 below shall not apply for the purpose of determining the base value of that security.

In this section—

If, after the date of transfer, a person other than a Corporation or a company which comes into public ownership would, apart from this section, have— that right shall cease as from the date of transfer.

Where the right referred to in subsection (1) above was conferred on a person as an incident of— nothing in that subsection shall affect the continued existence of any other rights or liabilities under that agreement or, as the case may be, under the terms upon which those securities were held.

Where any person suffers loss by reason of the determination, by virtue of this section, of any such right relating to a company as is referred to in subsection (1) above, being a right conferred by an agreement made, or by virtue of the holding of securities issued, before the initial date, or on or after that date with the approval in writing of the Secretary of State, he shall be entitled to claim from the relevant Corporation compensation under this section in respect of that loss.

Any question whether any person has a right to claim compensation under this section or as to the amount of that compensation shall, in default of agreement, be determined by arbitration under this Act; but no claim for compensation under this section shall be made after the expiry of the period of 12 months beginning on the date of transfer of the company concerned.

If, without the prior approval in writing of the Secretary of State, an acquired company has, in pursuance of an authority or recommendation contained in a resolution of the directors of the company passed after the safeguarding date and before the date of transfer,— then, subject to the following provisions of this section, all persons who were directors of the company at the time when the resolution was passed shall be liable to pay to the relevant Corporation an amount equal to the amount of the excess referred to in paragraph (a) above or, as the case may require, to the payments falling within paragraph (b) above.

If, without the prior approval in writing of the Secretary of State, a company which, at the date of the resolution concerned, was a wholly owned subsidiary of an acquired company has, in pursuance of an authority or recommendation contained in a resolution of the directors of the company passed after the safeguarding date and before the date of transfer, made, in respect of a period of control, such payments of interest on any of its securities or on any loan as exceed the maximum permitted for that period by section 24 below, then, subject to the following provisions of this section, all persons who were directors of the company at the time when the resolution was passed shall be liable to pay to the relevant Corporation an amount equal to the amount of that excess.

A claim by the relevant Corporation for the payment of an amount due under subsection (1) or subsection (2) above shall be made within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer of the company concerned and, if so made and not settled by agreement, shall be determined by arbitration under this Act.

If the arbitration tribunal decide the claim in favour of the relevant Corporation, they shall make such orders against all or any of the directors of the company in respect of their liability on the claim as the tribunal think just, having regard to all the circumstances.

For the purposes of this section and section 24 below, any payment by a company out of its net revenue to its members in their capacity as such shall be treated as a payment of dividend, and references in this section and that—

In determining the amount recoverable under this section from the directors of a company by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above, there shall be deducted from the amount which, apart from this subsection, would be so recoverable, a sum equal to income tax on that amount at the basic rate or, as the case may require, the standard rate for the relevant year of assessment, that is to say,—

For the purposes of this section and sections 24 and 25 below, the periods of control, in relation to a company, are the last financial year of the company ending before the safeguarding date and any subsequent period or periods ending before the date of transfer.

In this section and in sections 24 and 25 below—

For the purposes of this section and section 24 below, the certified net revenue of a company for a period of control is such amount as the company's auditor certifies to be the company's net revenue for that period as disclosed by a profit and loss account for that period which, in his opinion, gives a true and fair view of the company's profit or loss.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, for the purposes of section 23 above the payments of dividend or interest permitted for any period of control of a company are as follows—

In this section—

If, with respect to any period of control of a company the maximum permitted payments of dividend in respect of securities forming part of the share capital of the company are those specified in sub-paragraph (ii) of subsection (1)c) above, payments of dividend— shall be within the maximum permitted for that period for the purposes of section 23 above.

In any case where the number of days comprised in a period of control exceeds, or is less than, the number of days comprised in the basis financial year, then, in the application of subsection (1) above to that period of control, the total amount of the dividends paid by the company in the basis financial year shall be treated as increased or, as the case may be, reduced by multiplying that amount by the fraction of which the numerator is the number of days comprised in the period of control and the denominator is the number of days comprised in the basis financial year.

In any case where the issued share capital of a company at the end of a period of control exceeds, or is less than, its issued share capital at the end of the basis financial year, then, in the application of subsection (1) above to that period of control, the total amount of the dividends paid by the company in the basis financial year shall be treated as increased or, as the case may be, reduced by multiplying that amount or, where subsection (4) above applies, that amount as varied under that subsection, by the fraction of which the numerator is the amount of the issued share capital of the company at the end of the period of control and the denominator is the amount of the issued share capital of the company at the end of the basis financial year.

For the purposes of subsection (5) above, the amount of a company's issued share capital at the end of a period of control shall be computed by taking the amount of its issued share capital at the end of the basis financial year and adjusting it— and the amount of the company's issued share capital at the end of the basis financial year shall be what is then the amount of the company's paid-up share capital and of any share premium account (or other comparable account by whatever name called).

Any reference in this section to payments of dividend shall be construed, in the case of payments made before 6th April 1973, as a reference to the gross amount of those payments, that is to say, to the amounts thereof before any deduction was made therefrom in respect of income tax; and if any such payment made by a company before that date was made without deduction of income tax, the amount of that payment shall be treated for the purposes of this section as a net amount paid after deduction of tax, and the gross amount of the payment shall be calculated accordingly for those purposes.

As soon as possible after the date of transfer, each acquired company shall make the following payments to the persons who, immediately before that date, were the holders of securities of the company in respect of which compensation is payable under this Part of this Act, namely—

As soon as possible after the date of transfer, each acquired company and each wholly owned subsidiary of an acquired company shall make to the persons who, immediately before that date, were owed any sums the rights to repayment of which are treated as securities under section 21(6) above, payments of interest which has accrued in respect of them up to the date of transfer, and has not been paid, at the rates permitted under section 24 above or, if rates in excess of those rates have been approved under section 23(1) or (2) above, at the highest rates so approved.

For the purpose of any such payments as are referred to in subsections (1) and (2) above, the statutory or other provisions relating to the company shall be deemed to permit payments of interest or dividend in respect of the final financial period.

In this section the expression “final financial period ”, in relation to a company, means, subject to subsection (5) below, such part of the financial year during which the date of transfer occurs as precedes that date.

In any case where the accounts of a company in respect of the last financial year ending before the date of transfer have not been laid before the company in general meeting before that date, the expression “final financial period”, in relation to that company, means that financial year together with such part of the financial year during which the date of transfer occurs as precedes that date.

If it appears to the Secretary of State that a company which, apart from this section, would not come into public ownership— then, subject to subsection (2) below, the Secretary of State may, at any time before the relevant vesting date or within the period of 3 months beginning on that date, serve on that company a notice (in this Act referred to as a “notice of acquisition”) stating that, subject to the following provisions of this section, the securities of the company will vest in the Corporation specified in the notice in like manner as the securities of the acquired companies.

No notice of acquisition may be served on a company under subsection (1) above if—

The Secretary of State may also serve a notice of acquisition on a company, at any time before the relevant vesting date or within the period of 3 months beginning on that date, if it appears to him—

A company on which a notice of acquisition has been served may, within the period of 3 months beginning on the date of the service of the notice, serve a notice on the Secretary of State contending that none of the conditions specified in subsection (1) or (3) above was fulfilled in relation to the company, and the notice shall set out the grounds of that contention.

Where a notice is served on the Secretary of State under subsection (4) above and neither that notice nor the notice of acquisition is withdrawn, the question whether the contention of the company is correct shall be determined by arbitration under this Act, and, on any such arbitration, the arbitration tribunal shall, if they are satisfied that the contention of the company is correct, revoke the notice of acquisition, but shall otherwise confirm it.

Every notice of acquisition shall specify a date, which shall not be earlier than the relevant vesting date nor earlier than the expiry of 3 months after the service of the notice, and, subject to subsection (7) below, the date so specified shall be the date of transfer in relation to the company on which the notice is served.

The Secretary of State and the company on which a notice of acquisition is served may by agreement substitute another date for the date specified in accordance with subsection (6) above, and where a reference to arbitration is made under the preceding provisions of this section and the arbitration tribunal confirm the notice, the date of transfer shall be whichever is the latest of the following dates, namely—

Where a notice of acquisition is served on a company and is not withdrawn or revoked, the securities of the company shall, on the date of transfer, vest in the Corporation specified in the notice.

If it appears to the Secretary of State, in relation to a company which, apart from this section, would be an acquired company or in relation to a subsidiary of such a company,— the Secretary of State may, at any time before the date which, if the company were to come into public ownership, would be its date of transfer, serve a notice on the company stating that, subject to the following provisions of this section, the securities of the company will not vest in the relevant Corporation by virtue of this Act.

The conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above are—

The conditions mentioned in subsection (1)(b) above are—

A notice served on a company under this section because it appeared to the Secretary of State that the conditions specified in subsection (3) above were fulfilled shall cease to have effect if the notice of acquisition served on the acquired company is withdrawn or revoked.

Without prejudice to subsection (4) above, a company on which a notice has been served under this section may, within the period of 3 months beginning on the date of the service of that notice, serve a notice on the Secretary of State contending that the circumstances at the date of service did not fall within subsection (2) or (3) above.

Where a notice is served on the Secretary of State under subsection (5) above, and neither that notice nor the Secretary of State's notice is withdrawn, any question whether the circumstances at the date of service of the Secretary of State's notice fell within subsection (2) or (3) above shall be determined by arbitration under this Act, and on any such arbitration the arbitration tribunal shall, if they are satisfied that the contention of the company is correct, revoke the Secretary of State's notice but shall otherwise confirm it.

Where a notice under this section has been served by the Secretary of State on any company—

Where—

If a notice served on a company ceases to have effect by virtue of subsection (4) above, the securities of the company shall vest in the relevant Corporation on its date of transfer or on the date on which the notice of acquisition was withdrawn or revoked, whichever is the later.

Where a notice is served on a company under this section and is neither withdrawn nor revoked, and does not cease to have effect by virtue of subsection (4) above, the provisions of this Act other than this section and sections 28 and 29 below shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, as if the company had never been included among the companies falling within Part I of Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 to this Act or, as the case may be, as if no notice of acquisition had ever been served on the company under section 26 above.

In this Act “excluded company” means a company in relation to which this Act has effect as mentioned in subsection (10) above.

Where the Secretary of State has served a notice on a company under this section and either the period within which the company may serve a notice under subsection (3) above has expired without such a notice being served or the question whether or not the Secretary of State's notice is to have effect has been finally settled in favour of the Secretary of State—

Subject to subsection (4) below, it shall not be lawful for an acquired company or a company which is the subsidiary of an acquired company to enter at any time before the date of transfer into a transaction transferring or granting to any person any rights of ownership in, or rights in respect of the user of, any works or part of any works used by that company or by any subsidiary of it.

Subject to subsection (4) below, it shall not be lawful for any company (not being a company falling within subsection (1) above) which has acquired any rights of ownership in, or any rights in respect of the user of, any works or part of any works which, at any time on or after the initial date, were owned or operated by an acquired company or a company which at any such time was a subsidiary of an acquired company, to enter into any transaction transferring or granting to any person any rights of ownership in those works or any part thereof, or any rights in respect of the user of those works or any part thereof—

Subject to subsection (7) below, any transaction purporting to effect such a transfer or grant as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above shall be void.

Nothing in subsection (1) or subsection (2) above shall apply to a transfer or grant which is approved in writing for the purposes of this section by the Secretary of State, either generally or specially; and the Secretary of State may approve a transfer or grant which would otherwise fall within either of those subsections at a time after it has been made and, in that case, the transfer or grant shall be deemed always to have been valid.

Any approval under subsection (4) above may be given subject to conditions, including conditions enabling the relevant Corporation to require the transfer, surrender or grant of rights in respect of the works or part of the works in question to the Corporation itself or to a company which comes into public ownership.

Any question whether a transaction is rendered void by subsection (1) or subsection (2) above shall, unless settled by agreement between the relevant Corporation and the parties to the transaction and the parties to any subsequent transaction relating to the same works, be determined by arbitration under this Act between that Corporation and those parties.

If proceedings for the determination of such a question are not commenced within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer or (if the company concerned has no date of transfer) the relevant vesting date, the transaction shall be deemed always to have been valid (but without prejudice to the effect of any agreement under subsection (6) above).

If a Corporation suffers damage by reason of any transaction which is unlawful by virtue of subsection (1) or subsection (2) above, the Corporation may, at any time within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer or (if the company concerned has no date of transfer) the relevant vesting date, make an application to the arbitration tribunal, and all parties to the transaction and, subject to subsection (9) below, all persons who were directors of the company at the time when the transaction was entered into shall, unless the tribunal otherwise direct, be made parties to the application.

In the case of a transaction entered into in pursuance of a resolution of the directors of a company, no person who was not a director at the time when the resolution authorising or recommending the transaction was passed shall, by reason of his directorship, be made a party to an application under subsection (8) above relating to that transaction.

If, on an application under subsection (8) above, the arbitration tribunal are satisfied that the Corporation concerned has suffered such damage as is referred to in that subsection, they shall make such orders against any of the parties to the application as they think just, having regard to the extent to which those parties were respectively responsible for the transaction or benefited from it and to all the circumstances of the case, for the payment by them to the Corporation of sums sufficient to enable the loss, or such part thereof as the tribunal think just, to be made good.

No person shall be liable to any criminal proceedings by reason only of a contravention of subsection (1) or subsection (2) above.

In any case where he may authorise the Corporation to serve on any person entitled to the rights or property in question a notice (in this Act referred to as a “Schedule 4 notice ”) stating that Schedule 4 below applies to rights or property specified in the notice.

A Schedule 4 notice may be served at any time within the period of 3 months beginning on the date of transfer.

Subject to subsection (4) below, subsection (1) above shall apply in relation to a transaction entered into by a company (in the following provisions of this section referred to as “the former subsidiary ”) which— as if the first reference in paragraph (a) of that subsection to a company which comes into public ownership were a reference to the former subsidiary and as if, in relation to the former subsidiary, the reference to the date of transfer were a reference to the date which is the date of transfer in relation to the parent company.

In any case where, after the date of transfer of the parent company, the former subsidiary comes into public ownership by virtue of section 26 above, nothing in subsection (3) above shall affect the operation of subsection (1) above in relation to a transaction entered into by the former subsidiary after the date of transfer of the parent company but before the date of transfer of the former subsidiary.

An approval given under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above may be given subject to conditions, including conditions enabling the Corporation concerned to require the transfer, surrender or grant of rights in respect of the works, or property in question to the Corporation or to a company which comes into public ownership.

In any case where— subsection (1) above, with the omission of paragraph (b), shall apply as if the property or rights had been transferred or granted as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection.

Any person on whom a Schedule 4 notice has been served may, within the period of 3 months beginning on the date of service of that notice, serve a notice on the Corporation concerned contending that the circumstances stated in the Schedule 4 notice as having appeared to the Secretary of State in accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above do not exist or, where the Schedule 4 notice was served by virtue of subsection (6) above, that any one or more of the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) of that subsection is or are not fulfilled, and the notice shall set out the grounds of that contention.

Where a notice is served on a Corporation under subsection (7) above, and neither that notice nor the Schedule 4 notice is withdrawn, the question whether the circumstances referred to in that subsection exist or whether the condition or conditions referred to in that subsection is or are fulfilled shall be determined by arbitration under this Act; and on any such arbitration the arbitration tribunal shall, if they are satisfied that the contention of the person who served the notice under that subsection is correct, revoke the Schedule 4 notice, but shall otherwise confirm it.

Where a Schedule 4 notice is served and is not withdrawn or revoked, Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect.

In relation to an excluded company or a company which on the relevant date is a subsidiary of an excluded company, references in this section and Schedule 4 to this Act to the date of transfer shall be construed as references to the relevant vesting date.

Subject to subsection (2) below, this section applies where any company which comes into public ownership has, after the safeguarding date and before the date of transfer,— and in the following provisions of this section the transactions specified in paragraphs (a) to (g) above are, subject to subsection (2) below, referred to as “material transactions ”.

For the purposes of this section a transaction is not a material transaction if it has been approved in writing by the Secretary of State for those purposes, either generally or specially, and whether before or after the date of the transaction.

An approval given by the Secretary of State under subsection (2) above may specify as a condition of the approval such of the conditions (if any) falling within subsection (4) below as is appropriate to the transaction to which the approval relates, but the Secretary of State shall not give an approval subject to any such condition unless he is satisfied that, after not less than 14 days notice in writing, a meeting has been held of the holders for the time being of the securities which would be affected by the condition and that a majority in number representing three-fourths in value of those holders who are present and voting either in person or by proxy at the meeting have agreed to the condition.

The conditions referred to in subsection (3) above are—

The relevant Corporation may, in the case of any company which comes into public ownership, at any time within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer, make an application to the arbitration tribunal in respect of any transaction which in the opinion of the Corporation is a material transaction and, subject to subsection (6) below,— shall, unless the tribunal otherwise direct, be made parties to the application.

In the case of any transaction entered into in pursuance of a resolution of the directors of a company, no person who was not a director at the time when the resolution authorising or recommending the transaction was passed shall, by reason of his directorship, be made a party to an application under subsection (5) above relating to that transaction.

If the arbitration tribunal are satisfied that a transaction in respect of which an application under subsection (5) above is made is a material transaction, they shall determine the extent of the net loss resulting to the Corporation from the transaction and shall make such orders against any of the parties to the application as they think just, having regard to the extent to which those parties were respectively responsible for the transaction or benefited from it and all the circumstances of the case, for the payment by them to the Corporation of sums sufficient to enable the net loss, or such part thereof as the tribunal think just, to be made good or met.

For the purposes of this section, a transaction is not an onerous transaction if—

At any time within the period of 9 months beginning on the date of transfer, the relevant Corporation may make an application to the arbitration tribunal in respect of any onerous transaction entered into by a company on or after the day after the safeguarding date; and all parties to the transaction and, subject to subsection (4) below, all persons who were directors of the company at the time when the transaction was entered into shall, unless the tribunal otherwise direct, be made parties to the application.

Where an application under subsection (3) above relates to a transaction entered into in pursuance of a resolution of the directors of the company concerned, no person who was not a director at the time when the resolution authorising or recommending the transaction was passed shall, by reason of his directorship, be made a party to the application.

If, in the case of an onerous transaction which consists of the making or variation of an agreement or lease, the agreement or lease remains, in whole or in part, unperformed or unexpired on the date of transfer, the company shall, if so directed by the relevant Corporation, by notice in writing given to the other parties to the agreement or lease at any time within the period of 6 months beginning on the date of transfer, disclaim the agreement or lease.

In this Act a notice under subsection (5) above is referred to as a “notice of disclaimer ”.

Where a company gives a notice of disclaimer, any of the other parties to the agreement or lease concerned may, within the period of 2 months beginning on the date on which the notice is served, refer to arbitration under this Act the question whether or not the agreement or lease ought to be disclaimed under this section, and the relevant Corporation, as well as the company concerned, shall be made a party to the arbitration.

If, on an application under subsection (3) or a reference under subsection (7) above, the arbitration tribunal are themselves satisfied, having regard to all relevant factors, that the transaction concerned—

Where the arbitration tribunal make a determination of a net loss under subsection (8)(i) above, they shall make such orders against any of the parties to the application concerned as they think just, having regard to the extent to which those parties were respectively responsible for the transaction or benefited from it and all the circumstances of the case, for the payment by them to the relevant Corporation of sums sufficient to enable the net loss, or such part thereof as the tribunal think just, to be made good or met.

If on a reference under subsection (7) above the arbitration tribunal do not confirm the notice of disclaimer, they shall revoke it.

Where a notice of disclaimer is given with respect to an agreement or lease and that notice is not revoked by the arbitration tribunal, the agreement shall be deemed to be frustrated or, as the case may be, the lease shall be deemed to be surrendered, on the date on which the notice of disclaimer becomes final, and for that reason the parties thereto shall be deemed to be discharged from the further performance of their obligations under the agreement or lease.

Where an agreement is deemed to be frustrated by virtue of subsection (1) above, neither— shall apply to that agreement.

Where, on a reference to the arbitration tribunal under section 31(7) above, the notice of disclaimer is confirmed, the arbitration tribunal shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine claims arising under the agreement or lease in question with respect to the period before the frustration or surrender and, in the case of an agreement, any claims arising as a result of its frustration, and the tribunal may, in the case of a lease, on the application of either party thereto, make such modifications (if any) of the provisions of the lease relating to repairing obligations or any other provisions taking effect on or within a limited time before the determination of the lease as the tribunal think just.

For the purposes of this section, a notice of disclaimer which is not revoked shall be deemed to become final on the following date, that is to say,—

Where it appears to the arbitration tribunal that a transaction in respect of which an application is made under section 30 or section 31 above is or may be one of a group of inter-connected transactions which ought to be treated for the purposes of that section as a single transaction, they may order such additional persons as they think fit, being parties to any transaction comprised in the group, to be made parties to the application, and, if the tribunal are satisfied that the whole or part of the group of transactions ought to be treated as a single transaction for the purposes of that section, they may give a direction to that effect, and that section shall have effect accordingly.

The serving of a Schedule 4 notice in relation to any property or rights shall not prejudice the taking of proceedings under either of the sections referred to in subsection (1) above with respect to any transaction relating to that property or those rights, and any such proceedings and any proceedings pursuant to the notice may, if the arbitration tribunal think fit, be heard together, and any sums ordered by the tribunal in the proceedings under either of those sections to be paid by any person may, if the tribunal think fit, be set off against any compensation payable to that person in the proceedings pursuant to the notice.

Where— the approval shall have effect for the purposes of or in relation to that provision in like manner as if it had been given after the passing of this Act.

Where the Secretary of State has given an undertaking in writing before the passing of this Act with respect to the use of any powers to be conferred by any provision of this Part of this Act, and the undertaking sufficiently identifies the provision in question, the undertaking shall have effect in relation to that provision in like manner as if it had been given after the passing of this Act.

Compensation for the vesting in a Corporation by virtue of this Part of this Act of the securities of any company shall be satisfied by the issue of government stock, that is to say, stock the principal whereof and the interest whereon shall be charged on the National Loans Fund with recourse to the Consolidated Fund; and in this Part of this Act government stock issued by way of compensation in accordance with this section is referred to as “compensation stock ”.

No compensation shall be payable in respect of securities which, immediately before they become vested in a Corporation by virtue of this Part of this Act, are held by or on behalf of the Crown.

Subject to section 30(4) above, and to subsection (4) below, the amount of compensation due to any person in respect of any securities of a company which are held by him immediately before the date of transfer of that company shall be an amount equal to the base value of those securities less any deduction which is appropriate in his case by virtue of section 39 below.

Where— the amount of compensation due to any person in respect of the securities of the company which are held by him immediately before its date of transfer shall be the reduced amount.

Where compensation stock falls to be issued in satisfaction of an amount of compensation due to any person, the amount of stock so issued shall be such as, in the opinion of the Treasury, is equal on the date of issue to that amount of compensation, regard being had (in estimating the value of the compensation stock so issued) to the market value of other government securities at or about that date.

In this section—

If no stockholders' representative's notice is served, the reduced amount is the amount specified in paragraph (a) of the definition in subsection (6) above.

If any question arises as to— it shall be settled by agreement between the Secretary of State and the stockholders' representative or, in default of such agreement, by arbitration under this Act.

Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing the provisions of this section.

Subject to subsections (6) to (8) below, compensation shall not be payable in respect of the vesting of any class of securities of a company in a Corporation before such date (in this Part of this Act referred to as “the conversion date ”) as may be specified in relation to that class of securities in an order made by the Secretary of State.

An order of the Secretary of State under subsection (1) above may not specify as the conversion date for any class of a company's securities a date earlier than the date of transfer of that company.

The date specified in such an order as the conversion date for the equity share capital of a company or for rights which are treated as securities by virtue of section 21(6) above (and in respect of which a deduction may accordingly fall to be made under section 39(8)(b) below) shall be the first convenient date which falls after the relevant conditions have been fulfilled in relation to the company.

The relevant conditions referred to in subsection (3) above are—

Except in a case to which subsection (3) above applies, the date specified as the conversion date for any class of a company's securities shall be the first convenient date which falls after the date on which the base value of the securities of that class has been determined in accordance with the following provisions of this Part of this Act.

At any time on or after the date of transfer of a company such sum may be paid on account of compensation in respect of the vesting of its securities as the Secretary of State thinks fit, with the approval of the Treasury, notwithstanding that the total amount of the compensation payable is not yet ascertained.

A payment under subsection (6) above may be made on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Treasury, thinks fit.

Subsections (1), (2) and (9) of section 35 above shall apply for the purposes of subsection (6) above ; and subsection (5) of that section shall apply for the purposes of subsection (6) above with the substitution of the words “to be paid on account ” for the word “due ”.

In the case of securities of any class that were listed : in the Stock Exchange Daily Official List on each of the relevant; days, the base value of securities of that class for the purposes of section 35 above shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be deemed to be the average of the mean of the quotations for securities of that class appearing in that List on each of the relevant days, such addition, if any, being made to the average as is necessary to make it a complete multiple of one halfpenny.

Where, in the case of securities of any class whose base value would, apart from this subsection, fall to be ascertained under subsection (1) above, there has been, at any time after the last of the relevant days, a fresh issue of securities of that class, the base value of every security of that class for the purposes of section 35 above shall (subject to subsection (3) below) instead of being ascertained under subsection (1) above, be deemed to be the average of the base values of all the securities of that class calculated on the basis that—

Where, at any time after the last of the relevant days, any securities whose base value would, apart from this subsection, fall to be ascertained under subsection (1) or (2) above have been converted into securities of a different nominal value—

If all the securities of any issue were originally disposed of to a person who did not become the registered holder of those securities, the price of each of the securities shall, for the purposes of subsection (2) above, be deemed to be either— whichever is the lower.

If any question arises under the preceding provisions of this section as to the base value of any securities, it shall be settled by agreement between the Secretary of State and the stockholders' representative or, in default of such agreement, by arbitration under this Act.

Calculations for the purposes of this section are to be completed correct to five places of decimals.

In this section— and for the purposes of subsection (1) above, an alteration effected, after the last of the relevant days, in rights attaching to securities shall not be taken to have changed them into different securities.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, the base value for the purposes of section 35 above of any securities of a class which were issued on or before the last of the relevant days but were not listed in the Stock Exchange Daily Official List on each of those days shall be such as may be determined by agreement between the Secretary of State and the stockholders' representative or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by arbitration under this Act to be the base value which the securities would have had under section 37 above if they had been listed in the Stock Exchange Daily Official List on all of the relevant days.

Subsections (2), (3), (4) and (6) of section 37 above shall have effect in relation to securities to which subsection (1) above applies as they have effect in relation to securities to which subsection (1) of that section applies.

The arbitration tribunal, in determining the base value that any securities would have had if they had been listed as mentioned in subsection (1) above, shall have regard to all relevant factors.

Where securities of a class were issued on or after the first of the relevant days and before the end of the last of the relevant days, the base value of those securities and of all other securities of that class issued before the first of the relevant days shall be determined in accordance with subsection (1) above on the assumption that the securities were issued and the consideration therefor was given immediately before the first of the relevant days.

For the purposes of determining in accordance with subsection (1) above the base value of securities of any company, it shall be assumed that the assets of that company were not subject to any charge on any of the relevant days.

If on any of the relevant days— one of the relevant factors to which the arbitration tribunal shall have regard in determining the base value of the company's securities in accordance with subsection (1) above shall be the quotation of the shares referred to in paragraph (c) above.

If, by virtue of section 20 above, any property, rights or liabilities become vested in a company on the date of transfer, then, for the purpose of determining the base value of any securities of the company in accordance with subsection (1) above, it shall be assumed that, immediately before each of the relevant days, there were vested in the company such property, rights or liabilities as on that day corresponded to the property, rights or liabilities which become so vested and as would have satisfied a vesting condition for the purposes of the said section 20.

In any case where— then, in determining the base value of the company's securities in accordance with subsection (1) above, it shall be assumed that the sum referred to in paragraph (a) above had never been paid to the company.

Without prejudice to subsection (8) above, in determining, in accordance with subsection (1) above, the base value which securities of any company would have had under section 37 above, no account shall be taken of any prospects which, on or before any relevant day, the company might have had of receiving financial assistance from any Minister of the Crown, other than—

Subject to subsection (11) below, where securities of a new class have been issued after the last of the relevant days, the base value of the securities of that class for the purpose of section 35 above shall be deemed to be the price at which they were issued or, if they were issued free, shall be deemed to be nil; and—

Expressions to which a meaning is assigned by subsection (7) of section 37 above have the same meanings in this section.

Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section, a deduction shall be made from the amount of the compensation which would otherwise be due to any person under section 35 above in respect of the vesting in a Corporation of any securities of an acquired company—

The conditions referred to in subsection (1) above are—

The fulfilment with respect to a wholly owned subsidiary of an acquired company of a condition specified in paragraph (c) or (d) of subsection (2) above shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) above as its fulfilment with respect to the acquired company itself.

For the purposes of this section, the relevant hypothesis is that—

This subsection applies where, within the period beginning on 28th February 1974 and ending— whichever is the earlier, there has been repayment of any sum the right to repayment of which, if the sum had not been repaid, would, following the service of such a notice, have been treated as a security or part of a security under section 21(6) above.

In any case where, by virtue of the preceding provisions of this section, a deduction falls to be made as mentioned in subsection (1) above, that deduction (in the following provisions of this section referred to, in relation to the securities of the company concerned, as “the appropriate deduction ”) shall be the aggregate of,—

No deduction shall be made by virtue of this section from the compensation otherwise due to any person in respect of a security unless— and securities in respect of which a deduction falls to be so made are in the following provisions of this section referred to as “equities ”.

Subject to subsection (10) below, the appropriate deduction for a company's securities, as calculated under subsection (6) above, shall be apportioned among all the persons who, immediately before the date of transfer, held equities of the company so that the amount of the appropriate deduction which is apportioned to any such person bears to the total amount of the appropriate deduction the same proportion as the base value for the purposes of section 35 above of the equities so held by him bears to the aggregate of the base values for those purposes of all the company's equities.

Where, apart from this subsection, the amount of the appropriate deduction apportioned to any person under subsection (9) above in respect of equities held by him immediately before the date of transfer of the company concerned would otherwise exceed the base value of those equities for the purposes of section 35 above, the amount so apportioned to him shall be reduced to an amount equal to that base value (but without affecting the amount of the appropriate deduction so apportioned to any other person).

Compensation stock shall bear such rate of interest and be subject to such conditions as to repayment, redemption and other matters as the Treasury may determine.

The Treasury may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision as to the issue of compensation stock by the Bank of England.

Regulations under subsection (2) above may contain such incidental or supplementary provisions as the Treasury consider appropriate.

The Corporation in which any securities become vested shall be liable to indemnify the Bank of England against any loss suffered by them arising out of, or in connection with, the issue of compensation stock in respect of the vesting of those securities.

Any expenses incurred in connection with the issue or repayment of compensation stock shall be charged on and issued out of the National Loans Fund.

References in the preceding provisions of this section to compensation stock include references to stock issued by way of compensation in accordance with paragraph 5 of Schedule 4 to this Act.

In the case of every company whose securities are to vest in either Corporation by virtue of this Part of this Act, there shall be appointed an individual (in this Act referred to as " the stockholders' representative ") to represent the interests of holders of securities of that company in connection with the determination of the base value of those securities under the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act.

The provisions of Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the office of stockholders' representative and meetings of the holders of securities whose interests are represented by a stockholders' representative and matters incidental thereto.

References in this section and Schedule 6 to this Act to securities do not include securities of a company which, immediately before the date of transfer, are held by or on behalf of the Crown.

The Secretary of State shall pay, out of money provided by Parliament, to a stockholders' representative such remuneration (whether by salary or fees) and such allowances, and such expenses incurred by him in the exercise of his functions, as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service ; and any sums paid by the Secretary of State under this section shall, on demand, be repaid to him by the Corporation in which vest the securities to which his functions relate.

Any sums repaid to the Secretary of State under subsection (4) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Where a stockholders' representative is appointed for a company, then— shall make available to the stockholders' representative such facilities for the examination of and the making of extracts from or copies of books, accounts and documents of the company or person, and such services of employees of that company or of any such person, as he may reasonably request for the purposes of his duties or, in the event of any question arising between the stockholders' representative and the company or person whether any request is reasonable, as may be directed by the Secretary of State.

For the purpose of determining— there shall be established a tribunal called the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Arbitration Tribunal (in this Act referred to as “the arbitration tribunal ”).

The arbitration tribunal shall be a court of record and shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed.

The arbitration tribunal shall, as the Lord Chancellor may direct, either sit as a single tribunal or sit in two or more divisions and, subject to subsection (4) below, shall, for the hearing of any proceedings, consist of—

In its application to proceedings which, by virtue of this Act, are to be treated as Scottish proceedings, subsection (3) above shall have effect with the substitution, for paragraph (a) thereof, of the following paragraph:—.

The members of the arbitration tribunal shall hold office for such period as may be determined at the time of their respective appointments and shall be eligible for re-appointment but, notwithstanding that the period for which a member was appointed has not expired,—

If any member of the arbitration tribunal becomes, by reason of illness or other infirmity, temporarily incapable of performing the duties of his office, his appointor shall appoint some other fit person to discharge his duties for any period not exceeding 6 months at one time, and the person so appointed shall during that period have the same powers as the person in whose place he was appointed.

The provisions of Schedule 7 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the proceedings of the arbitration tribunal and matters relating thereto.

In this section “appointor ”, in relation to a member of the arbitration tribunal, means—

The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Arbitration Tribunal

In Part I of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971 (tribunals under direct supervision of Council on Tribunals) after the entry the first column of which reads “Agriculture” there shall be inserted the following entry:—.

Where any such question, dispute or matter as is referred to in section 42(1) above arises out of or in connection with the vesting of the securities or of any property, rights or liabilities of any company or in connection with the recovery of assets of any company or in connection with any transactions of any company and either— is situated in Scotland, then, subject to subsection (3) below, the proceedings before the tribunal in respect of the question, dispute or matter shall be treated as Scottish proceedings.

If, at any stage in any proceedings before the arbitration tribunal which would not otherwise fall to be treated as Scottish proceedings, the tribunal are satisfied that, by reason of the fact that questions of Scottish law arise, or for any other reason, the proceedings ought thereafter to be treated as Scottish proceedings, the tribunal may order that they shall thereafter be so treated and the provisions of this Act shall have effect accordingly.

If, at any stage in any proceedings before the arbitration tribunal which would otherwise be treated as Scottish proceedings, the tribunal are satisfied that, by reason of the fact that questions of English law arise or for any other reason, the proceedings ought not to be treated as Scottish proceedings, they may make an order that the proceedings shall thereafter not be treated as Scottish proceedings and the provisions of this Act shall have effect accordingly.

The arbitration tribunal may appoint such staff as they consider necessary for assisting them in the proper execution of their duties.

There shall be paid to the members of the arbitration tribunal such remuneration (whether by way of salaries or fees) and such allowances as the Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, determine.

There shall be paid to any staff appointed under subsection (1) above and any person to whom proceedings are referred by the arbitration tribunal under paragraph 13 of Schedule 7 to this Act for inquiry and report such remuneration (whether by way of salary or fees) and such allowances as the arbitration tribunal may determine.

Any such remuneration and allowances as are referred to above and any other expenses of the arbitration tribunal shall be defrayed in the first instance by the Secretary of State out of money provided by Parliament, but the amounts from time to time so paid by the Secretary of State shall be repaid to him on demand by such one of the Corporations as he may determine or, where he considers it appropriate in the case of any amount, by the two Corporations in such proportions as he may determine.

Any sums repaid to the Secretary of State under subsection (4) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

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.

No payments may be made under this section unless—

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.

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.

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.

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.

Subject to subsection (2) below, in carrying out his duty under section 1(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1949 of organising, carrying out and encouraging measures for the designing, development and production of civil aircraft, the Secretary of State shall not, on and after the aircraft industry vesting date, make or agree to make any payment to British Aerospace or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries except in the exercise of his powers under this Act.

Nothing in subsection (1) above shall apply to a payment to a company if the terms have been settled between the Secretary of State and the company before the aircraft industry vesting date.

Subsections (3) to (6) below shall have effect where a person engaged in shipbuilding, other than— makes to the Secretary of State a written complaint that a practice employed by British Shipbuilders or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries in relation to that or those activities is unfair to the complainant for a reason specified in the complaint.

Subsections (3) to (6) below shall also have effect where a person engaged in shiprepairing, other than— makes to the Secretary of State a written complaint that a practice employed by British Shipbuilders or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries in relation to the provision of shiprepairing services is unfair to the complainant for a reason specified in the complaint. In this subsection “shiprepairing ” includes refitting, converting or maintaining ships, and “the provision of shiprepairing services ” has a corresponding meaning.

The Secretary of State shall forthwith after receiving the complaint send a copy of it to British Shipbuilders and, after such period for consideration of, and comment upon, the complaint by British Shipbuilders as the Secretary of State thinks reasonable has elapsed, shall send to the complainant a statement of any comments made by British Shipbuilders on the complaint and, if he is of opinion— shall afford the complainant and the Corporation an opportunity of making representations in relation to the matter to a person appointed by the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State shall consider the report of the person appointed under subsection (3) above and, if it appears to him that the practice complained of is unfair to the complainant, shall give British Shipbuilders such directions as appear to him to be requisite to secure the removal of the ground on which it is unfair.

The Secretary of State shall furnish the complainant with a statement of any such directions.

When a complainant avails himself of the right to make representations conferred by subsection (3) above, the Secretary of State shall furnish the complainant and British Shipbuilders each with a copy of the report of the person appointed under that subsection, and a statement of the conclusions reached by the Secretary of State on considering the report.

In carrying out their respective functions, British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders shall each have full regard to the need to consult, and wherever possible co-ordinate their activities with those of, any company incorporated in Northern Ireland which is engaged in one or more of the relevant activities and at any general meeting of which the Crown is entitled to exercise or to control the exercise of at least one third of the voting power.

In subsection (1) above “relevant activities” means—

Each Corporation may, in the case of such of the persons who are or have been employed by the Corporation or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries as it may determine,— as it may determine.

A scheme under subsection (1) above may provide that, subject to subsection (3) below, where a person participating in the scheme as an employee of a Corporation or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries becomes a member of that Corporation, his service as a member shall be treated for the purposes of the scheme as if it were service as an employee.

To the extent that a scheme under subsection (1) above provides that any description of benefit may, or may in particular circumstances, be conferred on a person only on the request or with the consent of a Corporation, the scheme may not make the provision referred to in subsection (2) above unless it also provides that, except with the approval of the Secretary of State and the Minister for the Civil Service, no such request or consent shall be made or given in the case of a benefit for or in respect of a member of the Corporation.

Subject to subsection (6) below, the Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, make, in relation to any pension scheme not made under subsection (1) above (in this section referred to as an “existing scheme ”) which provides for pensions to or in respect of persons who are or have been employed by a company which becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of either Corporation, such provision as appears to him to be expedient in consequence of its having become such a subsidiary

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) above, regulations under that subsection may make provision—

Nothing in subsection (4) or (5) above shall authorise the making of provision for the diversion of any pension fund to purposes other than the payment of pensions to or in respect of persons to whom subsection (1) above applies.

Subject to subsection (8) below, regulations under subsection (4) above shall be so framed as to secure that persons having pension rights under an existing scheme, whether such persons as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section or not, are not placed in any worse position by reason of the regulations.

Regulations under subsection (4) above may make exceptional provisions to meet cases in which, in connection with any provision made by this Act or in anticipation of the making of any such provision, pension rights have been created otherwise than in the ordinary course.

Regulations under subsection (4) above shall not be invalid by reason that in fact they fail to secure the result referred to in subsection (7) above but, if the Secretary of State is satisfied that they have failed to secure it, or it is so determined as hereinafter mentioned, the Secretary of State shall as soon as possible make the necessary amending regulations.

Any question whether or not the result referred to in subsection (7) above has been secured by regulations under subsection (4) above, including any question whether it has been secured by amending regulations under that subsection made in pursuance of subsection (9) above, shall be referred to and deter-mined by a tribunal established under section 12 of the Industrial Training Act 1964 or, as the case may require, section 13 of the Industrial Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1964.

Regulations under subsection (4) above may be made so as to have effect from a date prior to the making thereof, so, however, that so much of any regulations as provide that any provision thereof is to have effect from a date prior to the making thereof shall not place any person other than a Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiary in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only as from the date of the making thereof.

Where, by reason of any provision in regulations made under subsection (4) above, other than a provision expressed to be made to meet a case such as is mentioned in subsection (8) above, loss is suffered by any person who is liable to make contributions or to pay pensions under an existing scheme (other than a wholly owned subsidiary of the relevant Corporation) the relevant Corporation shall pay compensation to that person in respect of the loss, and the amount thereof shall, in default of agreement between the Corporation and that person, be determined by arbitration under this Act.

In subsection (12) above “the relevant Corporation ” means the Corporation which is the holding company of the company for or in respect of whose employees or former employees the existing scheme provides pensions.

The power to make regulations under subsection (4) above includes power to provide by those regulations—

References in this section to employment by a wholly owned subsidiary of a Corporation include references—

The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument require the relevant Corporation to pay, in such cases and to such extent as may be determined by or under the regulations, compensation to or in respect of those employees of any company which comes into public ownership who suffer loss of employment, or loss or diminution of emoluments or pension rights, in consequence of the company coming into public ownership.

Different regulations may be made under subsection (1) above in relation to different classes of persons, and any such regulations may be so framed as to have effect as from a date prior to the making thereof, so, however, that so much of any regulations as provides that any provision thereof is to have effect from a date earlier than the making thereof shall not place any person other than a Corporation or its wholly owned subsidiary in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only as from the date of the making thereof.

Regulations under subsection (1) above—

In this section “emoluments” includes any allowances, privileges or benefits, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice.

A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Subject to subsection (4) below, it shall be the duty of every person to whom this subsection applies—

Subsection (1) above shall apply to the following persons, namely,— but shall not apply to a company after it has come into public ownership.

Where it appears to a person authorised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) above that any books of account, records or documents which a person is under a duty to produce by virtue of subsection (1) above are in the possession of another person (in this subsection referred to as “the transferee ”) who does not fall within subsection (2) above, the person so authorised may (on production if so required of a duly authenticated document showing his authority) require the transferee to produce those books, records or documents and to permit him to inspect and copy them.

Subsection (1) above shall cease to have effect on the expiry of the period of 2 years beginning on the relevant vesting date.

A person who— shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400; and a person convicted of an offence under subsection (5)(a) above shall, if the default in respect of which he is so convicted is continued without reasonable excuse after the conviction, be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable in respect of that offence, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £40 for each day on which the default is so continued.

Where an offence under subsection (5) above which has been committed by a body corporate or a Scottish firm is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or firm, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate or, as the case may be, the firm, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against accordingly.

No information obtained under section 51 above shall be disclosed except—

If a disclosure is made by a person in contravention of subsection (1) above, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

If any sum required by any judgment or order to be paid by a company which at the time of the judgment or order is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Corporation or has at any time since the cause of action arose been such a subsidiary is not paid by the company within the period of 14 days beginning on the date on which execution becomes leviable to enforce the judgment or order, the Corporation shall be liable to pay that sum and that judgment or order shall be enforceable against the Corporation accordingly.

Where any such sum as is referred to in subsection (1) above is required to be paid in respect of a liability arising under a contract made by the company concerned, the cause of action shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have arisen at the time when the contract was made.

When a company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of a Corporation, any person to whom this subsection applies and who is liable in respect of any debt or liability of the company under a contract of guarantee or indemnity made before the company became such a subsidiary shall cease to be so liable.

The persons to whom subsection (3) above applies are persons who, immediately before the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation,—

The assets of an acquired company or of any wholly-owned subsidiary of such a company shall be released, upon the date of transfer of that company, from all charges to which they are subject immediately before that date.

Subsection (6) above shall not have effect—

This section shall have effect in relation to any notice or other document required or authorised by or under this Act to be given to or served on any person.

Any such document may be given to or served on the person in question—

Any such document may—

For the purposes of this section and section 26 of the Interpretation Act 1889 (service of documents by post) in its application to this section, the proper address of any person to or on whom a document is to be given or served shall be his last known address, except that— and for the purposes of this subsection the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom shall be their principal office within the United Kingdom.

If the person to be given or served with any document mentioned in subsection (1) above has specified an address within the United Kingdom other than his proper address within the meaning of subsection (4) above as the one at which he or someone on his behalf will accept documents of the same description as that document, that address shall also be treated for the purposes of this section and section 26 of the Interpretation Act 1889 as his proper address.

If the name or address of any person having an interest in premises to or on whom any document mentioned in subsection (1) above is to be given or served cannot after reasonable enquiry be ascertained, the document may be given or served—

In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires,—

For the purposes of this Act, in relation to land in England, Wales or Northern Ireland,—

For the purposes of this Act, in relation to land in Scotland,—

Any reference in this Act to a company which comes into public ownership is a reference to an acquired company or a company which, on the date of transfer of an acquired company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of that company ; and any reference to a company coming into public ownership shall be construed accordingly.

Subject to section 27(7)(b) of this Act, in relation to a company which comes into public ownership, any reference in this Act to the date of transfer is a reference—

For the purposes of this Act—

For the purposes of this Act the securities of a company to which the same rights attach shall be deemed to constitute a class of securities, and the date of issue of any securities shall be deemed to be the date on which a resolution allotting those securities is passed.

For the purposes of this Act a person controls a company or other body corporate if he is entitled to exercise or to control the exercise of at least one third of the voting power at any general meeting of that body corporate.

This Act may be cited as the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977.

This Act extends to Northern Ireland.