Fair Trading Act 1973

The Secretary of State shall appoint an officer to be known as the Director General of Fair Trading (in this Act referred to as " the Director ") for the purpose of performing the functions assigned or transferred to the Director by or under this Act.

An appointment of a person to hold office as the Director shall not be for a term exceeding five years; but previous appointment to that office shall not affect eligibility for re-appointment.

The Director may at any time resign his office as the Director by notice in writing addressed to the Secretary of State ; and the Secretary of State may remove any person from that once on the ground of incapacity or misbehaviour.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the Director shall hold and vacate office as such in accordance with the terms of his appointment.

The Director may appoint such staff as he may think fit, subject to the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service as to numbers and as to terms and conditions of service.

The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Director.

Without prejudice to any other functions assigned or transferred to him by or under this Act, it shall be the duty of the Director, so far as appears to him to be practicable from time to time,—

It shall also be the duty of the Director, so far as appears to him to be practicable from time to time, to keep under review the carrying on of commercial activities in the United Kingdom, and to collect information with respect to those activities, and the persons by whom they are carried on, with a view to his becoming aware of, and ascertaining the circumstances relating to, monopoly situations or uncompetitive practices.

It shall be the duty of the Director, where either he considers it expedient or he is requested by the Secretary of State to do so,—

It shall also be the duty of the Director to have regard to evidence becoming available to him with respect to any course of conduct on the part of a person carrying on a business which appears to be conduct detrimental to the interests of consumers in the United Kingdom and (in accordance with the provisions of Part III of this Act) to be regarded as unfair to them, with a view to considering what action (if any) he should take under Part III of this Act.

It shall be the duty of the Director to have regard to the needs of regional development and to the desirability of dispersing administrative offices from London in making decisions on the location of offices for his staff.

There shall be established an advisory committee to be called the Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (in this Act referred to as " the Advisory Committee ") for the purpose of performing the functions assigned to that Committee by Part II of this Act.

Subject to subsection (6) of this section, the Advisory Committee shall consist of not less than ten and not more than fifteen members, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State may appoint persons to the Advisory Committee either as full-time members or as part-time members.

Of the members of the Advisory Committee, the Secretary of State shall appoint one to be chairman and one to be deputy chairman of the Advisory Committee.

In appointing persons to be members of the Advisory Committee, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the need for securing that the Advisory Committee will include—

The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument increase the maximum number of members of the Advisory Committee to such number as he may think fit.

The provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Advisory Committee.

The Commission established under section 1 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act 1948 by the name of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission, and subsequently renamed the Monopolies Commission, shall as from the commencement of this Act be known as the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, and shall continue to exist by that name for the purpose of performing the functions assigned to that Commission (in this Act referred to as " the Commission ") by or under this Act.

There shall be not less than ten and (subject to the next following subsection) not more than twenty-five regular members of the Commission, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument increase the maximum number of regular members of the Commission to such number as he may think fit.

The provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Commission.

Without prejudice to any other functions assigned to the Commission by or under this Act, it shall be the duty of the Commission, subject to and in accordance with the following provisions of this Act, to investigate and report on any question which may be referred to the Commission under this Act—

It shall be the duty of the Director, for the purpose of assisting the Commission in carrying out an investigation on a reference made to them under this Act, to give to the Commission— and the Commission, for the purpose of carrying out any such investigation, shall take account of any information given to them for that purpose under this subsection.

In this Act " monopoly reference " means any reference to the Commission under this Act which falls within paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section; "merger reference" (subject to section 63 of this Act) means any reference to the Commission under this Act which falls within paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of that subsection; and " monopoly situation" (except in sections 6 to 8 of this Act) means circumstances in which, in accordance with the following provisions of this Part of this Act, a monopoly situation is for the purposes of this Act to be taken to exist in relation to any matters specified in section 6(1), section 7(1) or section 8 of this Act.

For the purposes of this Act a monopoly situation shall be taken to exist in relation to the supply of goods of any description in the following cases, that is to say, if—

The two or more persons referred to in subsection (1)(c) of this section, in relation to goods of any description, are any two or more persons (not being a group of interconnected bodies corporate) who whether voluntarily or not, and whether by agreement or not, so conduct their respective affairs as in any way to prevent, restrict or distort competition in connection with the production or supply of goods of that description, whether or not they themselves are affected by the competition and whether the competition is between persons interested as producers or suppliers or between persons interested as customers of producers or suppliers.

For the purposes of this Act a monopoly situation shall be taken to exist in relation to the supply of services of any description in the following cases, that is to say, if—

The two or more persons referred to in subsection (1)(c) of this section, in relation to services of any description, are any two or more persons (not being a group of interconnected bodies corporate) who whether voluntarily or not, and whether by agreement or not, so conduct their respective affairs as in any way to prevent, restrict or distort competition in connection with the supply of services of that description, whether or not they themselves are affected by the competition, and whether the competition is between persons interested as persons by whom, or as persons for whom, services are supplied.

In the application of this section for the purposes of a monopoly reference, the Commission, or the person or persons making the reference, may, to such extent as the Commission, or that person or those persons, think appropriate in the circumstances, treat services as supplied in the United Kingdom if the person supplying the services— and may do so whether or not those services would otherwise be regarded as supplied in the United Kingdom.

For the purposes of this Act a monopoly situation shall be taken to exist in relation to exports of goods of any description from the United Kingdom in the following cases, that is to say, if— and in those cases a monopoly situation shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to exist both in relation to exports of goods of that description from tile United Kingdom generally and in relation to exports of goods of that description from the United Kingdom to each market taken separately.

In relation to exports of goods of any description from the United Kingdom generally, a monopoly situation shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to exist if—

In relation to exports of goods of any description from the United Kingdom to any particular market, a monopoly situation shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to exist if—

For the purposes of a monopoly reference, other than a reference relating to exports of goods from the United Kingdom, the person or persons making the reference may, if it appears to him or them to be appropriate in the circumstances to do so, determine that consideration shall be limited to a part of the United Kingdom.

Where such a determination is made, then for the purposes of that monopoly reference the provisions of sections 6 and 7 of this Act, or such of those provisions as are applicable for those purposes, shall have effect as if, wherever those provisions refer to the United Kingdom, they referred to that part of the United Kingdom to which, in accordance with that determination, consideration is to be limited.

The preceding provisions of this section shall have effect subject to subsection (4) of section 50 of this Act in cases to which that subsection applies.

In the application of any of the provisions of sections 6 to 9 of this Act for the purposes of a monopoly reference, those provisions shall have effect subject to the following provisions of this section.

No account shall for those purposes be taken of any provisions of an agreement in so far as they are provisions by virtue of which it is an agreement to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies.

In relation to goods or services of any description which are the subject of different forms of supply— shall for those purposes be construed in whichever of the following ways the Commission, or the person or persons making the monopoly reference, think appropriate in all the circumstances, that is to say, as references to any of those forms of supply taken separately, to all those forms of supply taken together, or to any of those forms of supply taken in groups.

For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section the Commission, or the person or persons making the monopoly reference in question, may treat goods or services as being the subject of different forms of supply whenever the transactions in question differ as to their nature, their parties, their terms or their surrounding circumstances, and the difference is one which, in the opinion of the Commission, or the person or persons making the reference, ought for the purposes of that subsection to be treated as a material difference.

For the purposes of a monopoly reference made by the Director, subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall have effect subject to section 50(3) and (4) of this Act.

In determining, for the purposes of a monopoly reference, whether the proportion of one-quarter mentioned in any provision of section 6, section 7 or section 8 of this Act is fulfilled with respect to goods or services of any description, the Commission, or the person or persons making the reference, shall apply such criterion (whether it be value or cost or price or quantity or capacity or number of workers employed or some other criterion, of whatever nature) or such combination of criteria as may appear to them or him to be most suitable in all the circumstances.

The criteria for determining when goods or services can be treated, for the purposes of a monopoly reference, as goods or services of a separate description shall be such as the person or persons making the reference maythinkmost suitable in the circumstances.

In construing the provisions of section 7(3) and section 9 of this Act and the provisions of subsections (1) to (7) of this section, the purposes of a monopoly reference shall be taken to include the purpose of enabling the Director, or the Secretary of State or any other Minister, to determine in any particular circumstances— and references in those provisions to the person or persons making a monopoly reference shall be construed accordingly.

In this Act " complex monopoly situation " means circumstances in which, in accordance with the preceding provisions of this Act, a monopoly situation is for the purposes of this Act to be taken to exist in relation to the supply of goods or services of any description, or in relation to exports of goods of any description from the United Kingdom, by reason that the condition specified in paragraph (c) or in paragraph (d) of section 6(1) or of section 7(1) of this Act is fulfilled, or that the conditions specified in subsection (2) or in subsection (3) of section 8 of this Act are fulfilled.

Any reference in the preceding subsection to paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) of section 6(1) or of section 7(1) of this Act shall be construed as including a reference to that paragraph as modified by section 9(2) of this Act.

The Secretary of State may give general directions indicating considerations to which the Director should have particular regard in determining the order of priority in which—

The Secretary of State may also give general directions indicating—

The Secretary of State, on giving any directions under this section, shall arrange for those directions to be published in such manner as the Secretary of State thinks most suitable in the circumstances.

Where it appears to the Director that the person carrying on a business has in the course of that business persisted in a course of conduct which— the Director shall use his best endeavours, by communication with that person or otherwise, to obtain from him a satisfactory written assurance that he will refrain from continuing that course of conduct and from carrying on any similar course of conduct in the course of that business.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section a course of conduct shall be regarded as unfair to consumers if it consists of contraventions of one or more enactments which impose duties, prohibitions or restrictions enforceable by criminal proceedings, whether any such duty, prohibition or restriction is imposed in relation to consumers as such or not and whether the person carrying on the business has or has not been convicted of any offence in respect of any such contravention.

A course of conduct on the part of the person carrying on a business shall also be regarded for those purposes as unfair to consumers if it consists of things done, or omitted to be done, in the course of that business in breach of contract or in breach of a duty (other than a contractual duty) owed to any person by virtue of any enactment or rule of law and enforceable by civil proceedings, whether (in any such case) civil proceedings in respect of the breach of contract or breach of duty have been brought or not.

For the purpose of determining whether it appears to him that a person has persisted in such a course of conduct as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, the Director shall have regard to either or both of the following, that is to say—

For the purposes of section 11 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968, section 10 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968 or section 7 of the Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 (each of which relates to convictions as evidence in civil proceedings), proceedings under section 35 of this Act shall (without prejudice to the generality of the relevant definition) be taken to be civil proceedings within the meaning of the Act in question.

Where in any proceedings under section 35 of this Act the Director alleges such a breach of contract or breach of duty as is mentioned in section 34(3) of this Act, a judgment of any court given in civil proceedings, which includes a finding that the breach of contract or breach of duty in question was committed,—

For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section no account shall be taken of a judgment given in any civil proceedings if it has subsequently been reversed on appeal, or has been varied on appeal so as to negative the finding referred to in that subsection.

In subsection (1) of this section " the relevant definition " means section 18(1) of the Civil Evidence Act 1968, section 17(1) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968 or section 14(1) of the Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971, as the case may be.

Where in any proceedings before the Restrictive Practices Court under section 35 of this Act— the Court may make an order against the respondent under this section.

An order of the Court under this section shall (with such degree of particularity as appears to the Court to be sufficient for the purposes of the order) indicate the nature of the course of conduct to which the finding of the Court under subsection (1)(a) of this section relates, and shall direct the respondent—

Where in any proceedings under section 35 of this Act the Court makes such a finding as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section, and the respondent offers to give to the Court an undertaking either— the Court may, if it thinks fit, accept that undertaking instead of making an order under this section.

The provisions of this section shall have effect where it appears to the Director—

For the purposes of this section a person shall be taken to fulfil the relevant conditions in relation to a body corporate at any time if that person either—

If, in the circumstances specified in subsection (1) of this section,— the Director may bring proceedings against the accessory before the Restrictive Practices Court.

The assurance referred to in subsection (3) of this section is a satisfactory written assurance given by the accessory that he will refrain—

Proceedings may be brought against the accessory under this section whether or not any proceedings are brought under section 35 of this Act against the body corporate referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

Section 36 of this Act shall have effect in relation to proceedings under this section as it has effect in relation to proceedings under section 35 of this Act.

For the purposes of this section a person (whether being an individual or a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate) has a conrrolhng interest in a body corporate if (but only (f) that person can, directly or indirectly, determine the manner in which one-half of the votes which could be cast at a general meeting of the body corporate are to be cast on matters, and in circumstances, not of such a description as to bring into play any special voting rights or restrictions on voting rights.

Where in any proceedings brought against the accessory before the Restrictive Practices Court under section 38 of this Act— the Court may make an order against the accessory under this section.

An order of the Court under this section shall (with such degree of particularity as appears to the Court to be sufficient for the purposes of the order) indicate the nature of the course of conduct to which the finding of the Court under subsection (1)(a) of this section relates, and shall direct the accessory, in relation to the course of conduct so indicated, to refrain from acting in any of the ways mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (4) of section 38 of this Act.

Where in any proceedings under section 38 of this Act the Court makes such a finding as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section, and the accessory offers to give to the Court an undertaking either— the Court may, if it thinks fit, accept that undertaking instead of making an order under this section.

This section applies to any order made under section 37 or section 39 of this Act.

Where an order to which this section applies is made against a body corporate which is a member of a group of interconnected bodies corporate, the Restrictive Practices Court, on making the order, may direct that it shall be binding upon all members of the group as if each of them were the body corporate against which the order is made.

Where an order to which this section applies has been made against a body corporate, and at a time when that order is in force— the Restrictive Practices Court, on the application of the Director, may direct that the order shall thereafter be binding upon each member of the group as if it were the body corporate against which the order was made.

The power conferred by subsection (3) of this section shall be exercisable—

In any case where— the Director may, if he thinks fit, bring those proceedings in an appropriate alternative court instead of bringing them before the Restrictive Practices Court; and, in relation to any proceedings brought by virtue of this section, the appropriate alternative court in which they are brought shall have the like jurisdiction as the Restrictive Practices Court would have had if they had been brought in that Court.

The conditions referred to in the preceding subsection are—

For the purposes of this section, the following shall be appropriate alternative courts in relation to proceedings in respect of a course of conduct maintained in the course of a business, that is to say, the county court for any district (or, in Northern Ireland, any division) in which, or, in Scotland, any sheriff court within whose jurisdiction, that business is carried on.

In relation to any proceedings brought in an appropriate alternative court by virtue of this section, or to any order made in any such proceedings, any reference in section 37, in section 39 or section 40 of this Act to the Restrictive Practices Court shall be construed as a reference to the appropriate alternative court in which the proceedings are brought.

In this section " associated proceedings "—

Notwithstanding anything in any other enactment, an appeal, whether on a question of fact or on a question of law, shall he from any decision or order of any court in proceedings under Part III of this Act.

Any such appeal shall lie—

The paragraph set out in the next following subsection shall be inserted—

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Secretary of State, or the Secretary of State and any other Minister acting jointly, may at any time require the Commission to submit to him or them a report on the general effect on the public interest—

The Secretary of State, or the Secretary of State and any other Minister acting jointly, may also at any time require the Commission to submit to him or them a report on the desirability of action of any specified description for the purpose of remedying or preventing effects, adverse to the public interest, which result or might result from monopoly situations or from any such practices as are mentioned in the preceding subsection.

The matters to be taken into consideration by the Commission on any reference under this section shall not include any provisions of any agreement in so far as they are provisions by virtue of which it is an agreement to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies.

The Secretary of State, or the Secretary of State and any other Minister acting jointly, may at any time refer to the Commission the questions—

A reference under this section may refer those questions to the Commission either—

The Commission shall examine any questions referred to them under this section and shall report to the Minister or Ministers who referred them to the Commission.

For the purposes of their functions under subsection (3) of this section the Commission shall disregard anything which appears to them to have been done, or omitted to be done, in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1971.

In this section " restrictive labour practice" means any practice whereby restrictions or other requirements, not being restrictions or requirements relating exclusively to rates of remuneration, operate in relation to the employment of workers in any commercial activities in the United Kingdom or in relation to work done by any such workers, and are restrictions or requirements which—

The Advisory Committee, in carrying out an investigation on a reference to which section 17 of this Act applies, and the Commission, in carrying out an investigation on a reference made to them under this Act (whether it is a monopoly reference or a merger reference or a reference under Part VI of this Act),—

Subject to subsection (1) of this section, the Advisory Committee or the Commission may determine their own procedure for carrying out any investigation on a reference under this Act, and in particular may determine—

In determining their procedure under subsection (2) of this section, and, in the case of the Commission, in exercising any powers conferred on them by section 85 of this Act, the Advisory Committee or the Commission, as the case may be, shall act in accordance with any general directions which may from time to time be given to them by the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of any directions given by him under subsection (3) of this section.

In making any report under this Act the Advisory Committee or the Commission shall have regard to the need for excluding, so far as that is practicable,—

For the purposes of the law relating to defamation, absolute privilege shall attach to any report of the Advisory Committee or of the Commission under this Act.

Subject to the next following subsection, if— a member of the Advisory Committee or of the Commission, as the case may be, dissents from any conclusions contained in the report on the reference as being conclusions of the Committee or of the Commission, the report shall, if that member so desires, include a statement of his dissent and of his reasons for dissenting.

In relation to a report made by a group of members of the Commission in pursuance of paragraph 10 or paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 to this Act, subsection (3) of this section shall have effect subject to paragraph 14(1) of that Schedule.

The Minister or Ministers to whom any report of the Advisory Committee on a reference to which section 17 of this Act applies, or any report of the Commission under this Act, is made shall lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament, and shall arrange for the report to be published in such manner as appears to the Minister or Ministers to be appropriate.

If such a report is presented by command of Her Majesty to either House of Parliament otherwise than at or during the time of a sitting of that House, the presentation of the report shall for the purposes of this section be treated as the laying of a copy of it before that House by the Minister or Ministers to whom the report was made.

If it appears to the Minister or Ministers to whom any report of the Advisory Committee or of the Commission under this Act is made that the publication of any matter in the report would be against the public interest, the Minister or Ministers shall exclude that matter from the copies of the report as laid before Parliament and from the report as published under this section.

Any reference in this Act to a report of the Advisory Committee or of the Commission as laid before Parliament shall be construed as a reference to the report in the form in which copies of it are laid (or by virtue of subsection (2) of this section are treated as having been laid) before each House of Parliament under this section.

In determining for any purposes to which this section applies whether any particular matter operates, or may be expected to operate, against the public interest, the Commission shall take into account all matters which appear to them in the particular circumstances to be relevant and, among other things, shall have regard to the desirability—

This section applies to the purposes of any functions of the Commission under this Act other than functions to which section 59(3) of this Act applies.

For the purposes of any investigation on a reference made to them under this Act the Commission may, by notice in writing signed on their behalf by any of their members or by their secretary,—

For the purposes of any such investigation the Commission, or a member of the Commission nominated by them for that purpose, may take evidence on oath, and for that purpose may administer oaths.

No person shall be compelled for the purpose of any such investigation to give any evidence or produce any document which he could not be compelled to give or produce in civil proceedings before the court or, in complying with any requirement for the furnishing of information, to give any information which he could not be compelled to give in evidence in such proceedings.

No person shall be required, in obedience to a notice under subsection (1) of this section, to go more than ten miles from his place of residence unless the necessary expenses of his attendance are paid or tendered to him.

Any person who refuses or, without reasonable excuse, fails to do anything duly required of him by a notice under subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400.

Any person who— shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400 or, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.

If a person makes default in complying with a notice under subsection (1) of this section, the court may, on the application of the Secretary of State, make such order as the court thinks fit for requiring the default to be made good; and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application shall be borne by the person in default or by any officers of a company or other association who are responsible for its default.

In this section " the court "—

Subject to the next following subsection, a copy of every report of the Commission on a monopoly reference, or on a merger reference other than a newspaper merger reference, shall be transmitted by the Commission to the Director; and the Minister or Ministers to whom any such report is made shall take account of any advice given to him or them by the Director with respect to a report of which a copy is transmitted to the Director under this section.

The preceding subsection shall not apply to a report made on a monopoly reference, where the reference was made by a Minister or Ministers and (by virtue of any of the provisions of section 50 of this Act) could not have been made by the Director.

In this section "Minister" includes the Minister of Agriculture for Northern Ireland and the Minister of Commerce for Northern Ireland.

Where under section 83 of this Act the Secretary of State lays before Parliament a copy of a report of the Commission on a newspaper merger reference, then—

Where the persons to whom a report of the Commission is made under this Act include the Minister of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, that Minister shall lay a copy of the report before the Senate and House of Commons of Northern Ireland, and shall arrange for it to be published in Northern Ireland in such manner as appears to him to be appropriate.

If a report to which subsection (2) of this section applies is presented by command of the Governor of Northern Ireland to the Senate or House of Commons of Northern Ireland otherwise than at or during the time of a sitting of the Senate or of that House, as the case may be, the presentation of the report shall for the purposes of that subsection be treated as the laying of a copy of it before the Senate or that House as required by that subsection.

Where a report of the Commission on a monopoly reference, or on a merger reference other than a newspaper merger reference, as laid before Parliament,— and a copy of the report is transmitted to the Director under section 86 of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Director, if requested by the appropriate Minister or Ministers to do so, to consult the relevant parties with a view to obtaining from them undertakings to take action indicated in the request made to the Director as being action requisite, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister or Ministers, for the purpose of remedying or preventing the adverse effects specified in the report.

The Director shall report to the appropriate Minister or Ministers the outcome of his consultations under the preceding subsection; and if any undertaking is given by any of the relevant parties to take action indicated in the request made to the Director as mentioned in that subsection (in this section referred to as an " appropriate undertaking ") the Minister to whom the undertaking is given shall furnish particulars of it to the Director.

Where in his consultations under subsection (1) of this section the Director seeks to obtain an appropriate undertaking from any of the relevant parties, and either— the Director shall give such advice to the appropriate Minister or Ministers as he may think proper in the circumstances (including, if the Director thinks fit, advice with respect to the exercise by the appropriate Minister or Ministers of his or their powers under section 56 or section 73 of this Act, as the case may be).

Where the Director has made a report under subsection (2) of this section, and particulars of an undertaking given by any of the relevant parties have been furnished to the Director in accordance with that subsection, it shall be the duty of the Director—

Where, in consequence of a report of which a copy is transmitted to the Director under section 86 of this Act, an order is made under section 56 or section 73 of this Act in relation to any of the matters to which the report relates, it shall be the duty of the Director to keep under review the action (if any) taken in compliance with that order, and from time to time to consider whether, by reason of any change of circumstances, the order should be varied or should be superseded by a new order, and—

In this section " the relevant parties "— and, in relation to a report of the Commission, " the appropriate Minister or Ministers " means the Minister or Ministers to whom the report is made, " undertaking " means an undertaking given to that Minister or to one of those Ministers, as the case may be, and, in subsections (3) and (5) of this section, the references to section 73 of this Act shall be construed as including references to that section as applied by section 75(4) of this Act.

The provisions of this section shall have effect where— and in those provisions " the principal order " means the order which the Secretary of State makes, or has it under consideration to make, as mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection.

With a view to achieving the purpose for which any of the powers specified in Part II of that Schedule are, or are proposed to be, exercised by the principal order, the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument exercise any of the powers mentioned in the next following subsection.

An order under this section may—

This section applies to any order under section 56, section 73, section 74 or section 89 of this Act.

Any such order declaring anything to be unlawful may declare it to be unlawful either for all persons or for such persons as may be specified or described in the order.

Nothing in any such order shall have effect so as to apply to any person in relation to his conduct outside the United Kingdom unless that person is— but, in the case of a person falling within paragraph (a), paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of this subsection, any such order may extend to acts or omissions outside the United Kingdom.

An order to which this section applies may extend so as to prohibit the carrying out of agreements already in existence on the date on which the order is made.

Nothing in any order to which this section applies shall have effect so as to restrict the doing of anything for the purpose of restraining an infringement of a United Kingdom patent or so as to restrict any person as to the conditions which he attaches to a licence to do anything the doing of which would, but for the licence, be an infringement of a United Kingdom patent.

Nothing in any such order shall affect the conduct of a board established under a scheme made under the Agricultural Marketing Act 1958 or under the Agricultural Marketing Act (Northern Ireland) 1964.

An order to which this section applies may authorise the Minister making the order to give directions to a person specified in the directions, or to the holder for the time being of an office so specified in any company or association,— and may authorise that Minister to vary or revoke any directions so given.

No order to which section 90 of this Act applies and which exercises any of the powers specified in Part II of Schedule 8 to this Act, and no order varying or revoking any such order, shall be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament; and the provisions of Schedule 9 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the procedure to be followed before laying before Parliament a draft of any such order.

Before making any order under section 56 or section 73 of this Act other than any such order as is mentioned in the preceding subsection, the Minister proposing to make the order shall publish, in such manner as appears to him to be appropriate, a notice— and the Minister shall not make the order before the date specified in the notice in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subsection and shall consider any representations duly made to him in accordance with the notice before that date.

For the purpose of determining whether to make an order to which section 90 of this Act applies whereby any powers are to be exercised in relation to a company or association, or for the purpose of obtaining information on which to exercise by or under any such order any powers in relation to a company or association, the Secretary of State may appoint an inspector to investigate and report to him on any such matters falling within the next following subsection as are specified or described in the appointment.

The matters which may be so specified or described are any matters which, in the case of a company registered under the Companies Act 1948,—

For purposes connected with any investigation made by an inspector appointed under this section—

No criminal proceedings shall, by virtue of the making of an order to which section 90 of this Act applies, lie against any person on the grounds that he has committed, or aided, abetted, counselled or procured the commission of, or conspired or attempted to commit, or incited others to commit, any contravention of the order.

Nothing in the preceding subsection shall limit any right of any person to bring civil proceedings in respect of any contravention or apprehended contravention of any such order, and (without prejudice to the generality of the preceding words) compliance with any such order shall be enforceable by civil proceedings by the Crown for an injunction or interdict or for any other appropriate relief.

If any person makes default in complying with any directions given under section 90(7) of this Act, the court may, on the application of the Secretary of State, make an order requiring him to make good the default within a time specified in the order, or, if the directions related to anything to be done in the management or administration of a company or association, requiring the company or association or any officer of it to do so.

Any order of the court under subsection (3) of this section may provide that all the costs or expenses of or incidental to the application for the order shall be borne by any person in default or by any officers of a company or association who are responsible for its default.

In this section " the court"—

Subject to the transitional provisions having effect by virtue of section 139 of this Act, the functions of the Registrar of Restrictive Trading Agreements are hereby transferred to the Director,...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following subsection shall be added at the end of section 10 of the Act of 1956:—

The following subsection shall be added at the end of section 14 of the Act of 1956:—

Subsection (1) of section 31 of the Act of 1956 (which requires particulars of agreements relating to exports to be furnished to the Secretary of State) shall cease to have effect.

In subsection (3) of section 15 of the Act of 1956 (which in certain cases enables an order to be made for the attendance and examination on oath of an officer of a body corporate), after the words "director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate " there shall be inserted the words " or of any person who (not being such a director, manager, secretary or other officer) is employed by the body corporate and appears to the Court to be likely to have particular knowledge of any of the matters in respect of which the notice was given ".

After that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsections:—

and, where any of the parties to the agreement against whom the order is made is a member of a trade association, the order may include provisions for restraining the trade association, and any person acting on its behalf, from procuring or assisting any such party to do anything which would be a contravention of the order in its application to him

In section 7 of the Act of 1968 (consequences of failure to register), in subsection (3) (which enables the Restrictive Practices Court to make orders imposing certain restraints on parties to an agreement of which particulars have not been duly furnished), after the words " United Kingdom " there shall be inserted the words " any trade association of which any such person is a member or any person acting on behalf of such a trade association " . and for the word " him " there shall be substituted the words " that person or association " ; and after that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection:—.

The Secretary of State may by statutory instrument make an order in respect of a class of services described in the order (in this Act referred to, in relation to an order under this section, as " services brought under control by the order ") and direct by the order that, subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, the agreements to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies shall include agreements, whether made before or after the passing of this Act and whether before or after the making of the order, which—

A class of services described in an order under this section, as being the services brought under control by the order, may consist—

The matters which may be specified in such an order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section are any of the following, that is to say—

The Secretary of State may by statutory instrument make an order in respect of a class of services described in the order (in this Act referred to, in relation to an order under this section, as " services brought under control by the order ") and direct by the order that, subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, the agreements to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies shall include agreements, whether made before or after the passing of this Act and whether before or after the making of the order, which—

A class of services described in an order under this section, as being the services brought under control by the order may consist—

The matters which may be specified in such an order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of this section are any of the following, that is to say—

In relation to any order made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act, " designated services " in this Part of this Act means services of any class described in the order as being designated services.

Subject to the next following subsection, a class of services described in any such order as being designated services may consist wholly or partly of services brought under control by the order or wholly or partly of other services, and may be described so as to consist— and different classes of services may be so described in relation to different matters specified in the order for the purposes of section 107(1)(b) or section 108(1)(b) of this Act, as the case may be.

A class of services described in such an order as being designated services shall not include any of the services specified in Schedule 4 to this Act.

An order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act may limit the operation of the order to agreements fulfilling such conditions (in addition to those mentioned in section 107 or section 108, as the case may be) as may be specified in the order.

In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the preceding subsection, an order under section 108 of this Act may limit the operation of the order to agreements under which the provision for the furnishing of information (as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of that section) is provision of a kind specified in the order or provides for the furnishing of information of a kind so specified.

Subject to subsection (1) of this section— and it is immaterial for those purposes whether the parties accepting any restrictions, or the parties by whom any information is to be furnished, as the case may be, carry on the same class or different classes of business.

Where, at a time when an order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act (in this subsection referred to as " the earlier order") is in force, another order (in this subsection referred to as " the subsequent order ") is made under the same section, the subsequent order may provide that— the condition specified in subsection (1)(a) of section 107 or in subsection (1)(a) of section 108 of this Act, as the case may be, shall be treated as fulfilled in relation to an agreement if it is an agreement to which the parties are or include one person carrying on business in the United Kingdom in the supply of services brought under control by the earlier order and one person carrying on business within the United Kingdom in the supply of services brought under control by the subsequent order.

Subsection (4) of this section shall have effect without prejudice to any power to vary any order made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act.

In the following provisions of this Part of this Act " the relevant enactments ", in relation to an order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act, means the provisions of this Part of this Act (including whichever of those sections is applicable) as they have effect in relation to that order and the provisions of the Act of 1956 and of the Act of 1968 as applied in relation to that order by the following provisions of this Part of this Act.

No order shall be made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Before laying before Parliament a draft of any such order, the Secretary of State shall publish in such manner as he thinks appropriate a notice—

In settling the draft to be laid before Parliament the Secretary of State shall take into consideration any representations with respect to the proposed order which may be received by him within the period specified in the notice in accordance with subsection (2)(c) of this section.

For the purposes of any order made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act, and for the purposes of the operation of the relevant enactments in relation to any such order, subsections (2) to (5) of this section shall have effect in relation to any association (whether incorporated or not) if—

The relevant enactments shall have effect in relation to any agreement made by the association—

Where the order is one made under section 107 of this Act, and specific recommendations (whether express or implied) are made by or on behalf of the association to its members, or to any class of its members, as to the action to be taken or not to be taken by them in relation to any particular class of services in respect of any matters specified in the order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section, the relevant enactments shall have effect in relation to the agreement for the constitution of the association as if it contained a term by which each such member, and any person represented on the association by any such member, agreed to comply with those recommendations and with any subsequent recommendations made to them by or on behalf of the association as to the action to be taken by them in relation to the same class of services and in respect of the same matters.

Where the order is one made under section 108 of this Act, and specific recommendations (whether express or implied) are made by or on behalf of the association to its members, or to any class of its members, as to the furnishing of information in relation to any particular class of services in respect of any matters specified in the order for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section, the relevant enactments shall have effect in relation to the agreement for the constitution of the association as if it contained a term by which each such member, and any person represented on the association by any such member, agreed to comply with those recommendations and with any subsequent recommendations made to them by or on behalf of the association as to the furnishing of information in relation to the same class of services and in respect of the same matters.

Subsection (3) or subsection (4) of this section (where applicable) shall have effect in relation to the agreement for the constitution of an association notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in that agreement.

In relation to a society which is for the time being approved under section 6A of the Act of 1956, but which, in consequence of an order made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act, is a society to which the preceding provisions of this section would apply if it were not so approved, subsection (4) of that section (which confers power on the Secretary of State to withdraw any such approval) shall have effect as if in that subsection—

For the purposes of any order made under section 107 of this Act, and for the purposes of the operation of the relevant enactments in relation to any such order, an agreement which— shall be treated as an agreement under which restrictions are accepted by each of the parties in respect of those matters.

Without prejudice to the preceding subsection, an obligation on the part of any party to an agreement to make payments calculated by reference to the extent to which, or the scale on which,— if the payments are calculated, or calculated at an increased rate, in respect of an extent or scale exceeding an extent or scale specified in or ascertained in accordance with the agreement, shall, subject to the next following subsection, be treated for the purposes mentioned in the preceding subsection as a restriction in respect of the extent or scale of the designated services to be made available or supplied.

Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to any obligation on the part of any person to make payments to an association of which he is a member, if it is such an association as is mentioned in section 112(1) of this Act and the payments are to consist only of bona fide subscriptions for membership of the association.

The following provisions of this section shall have effect for the purpose of determining whether an agreement is one to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies by virtue of an order made under section 107 or section 108 of this Act.

Subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, no account shall for that purpose be taken of any term which relates exclusively to the services supplied in pursuance of the agreement in question.

Where the order referred to in subsection (1) of this section is an order under section 107 of this Act, and any of the restrictions accepted as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of that section are accepted as between two or more persons by whom designated services are to be supplied, or as between two or more persons for whom designated services are to be supplied, in pursuance of the agreement, subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to any term of the agreement which imposes those restrictions unless those restrictions are accepted in pursuance of a previous agreement in respect of which particulars have been registered under Part I of the Act of 1956 as applied by this Part of this Act.

Where the order referred to in subsection (1) of this section is an order made under section 108 of this Act, and the term referred to in subsection (2) of this section is a term by which provision is made for the furnishing of information as mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of that section by two or more persons by whom designated services are to be supplied, or by two or more persons for whom designated services are to be supplied, in pursuance of the agreement, subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to that term unless it was included in the agreement in pursuance of a previous agreement of which particulars have been registered under Part I of the Act of 1956 as applied by this Part of this Act.

For the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) of this section no account shall be taken of any term by which the parties or any of them agree to comply with or apply, in respect of making available, supplying or obtaining any designated services,—

For the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) of this section no account shall be taken of any restriction which affects or relates to any of the matters mentioned in section 7(4) of the Act of 1956 (which relates to employment and to terms and conditions of employment) or of any provision for or in relation to the furnishing of information with respect to any of those matters.

Subsection (1) of section 8 of the Act of 1956 (which relates to agreements expressly authorised by or under an enactment) and subsection (2) of that section (which relates to agreements constituting or forming part of a scheme certified under provisions of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 relating to schemes for rationalising industry) shall have effect in relation to any agreement notwithstanding any order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act.

Part I of the Act of 1956 shall not apply by virtue of any such order to an agreement to which there are no parties other than one person who agrees to supply services and another person for whom they are to be supplied, where neither of those persons is, in relation to that order, such an association as is mentioned in section 112(1) of this Act and, except in respect of the supply of services of the same description to, or obtaining services of the same description from, other persons,—

Subject to the next following subsection, Part I of the Act of 1956 shall not apply by virtue of any such order to any licence granted by the proprietor or any licensee of a patent or by a person who has applied for a patent, to any assignment of a patent or of the right to apply for a patent, or to any agreement for such a licence or assignment, if it is a licence, assignment or agreement under which—

No licence, assignment or agreement shall by virtue of subsection (3) of this section be precluded from being an agreement to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies if—

Part I of the Act of 1956 shall not apply by virtue of any order under section 107 of this Act to an agreement between two persons, neither of whom is such an association as is mentioned in section 112(1) of this Act, for the exchange of informa-. tion relating to techniques or processes to be applied in the provision of designated services where—

Part I of the Act of 1956 shall not apply by virtue of any such order to any agreement where—

Any reference in this section to restrictions accepted in respect of matters specified in an order under section 107 of this Act for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section, or to provision made for or in relation to the furnishing of information with respect to matters specified in an order under section 108 of this Act for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) of that section, shall be construed, in relation to any agreement, as not including anything of which, by virtue of section 114 of this Act, account cannot be taken for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1) of that section.

Subsections (2) to (4) of section 8A of the Act of 1956 shall have effect for the purposes of this section as they have effect for the purposes of that section.

In this section " property" means property of any description, whether movable or immovable.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, sections 9 to 23 of the Act of 1956 shall have effect in relation to agreements to which Part I of that Act applies by virtue of an order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act as they have effect in relation to agreements to which Part I of that Act applies apart from any such order.

For the purposes of the application of those sections in relation to an agreement to which Part I of that Act applies by virtue of such an order, such of those sections as are specified in the first column of Part I of Schedule 10 to this Act shall have effect subject to the modifications specified in relation to them in the second column of that Part of that Schedule.

For the purposes of the application of section 21 of that Act in relation to an agreement to which Part I of that Act applies by virtue of such an order, that section shall have effect subject to the following modifications, that is to say—

Sections 1 to 3 and sections 6 and 7 of the Act of 1968 shall have effect in relation to agreements to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies by virtue of an order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act, but, in the case of such of those sections as are specified in the first column of Part II of Schedule 10 to this Act, shall have effect in relation to such agreements subject to the modifications specified in relation to them in the second column of that Part of that Schedule.

In section 9 of the Act of 1968 any reference to particulars entered or filed in the register pursuant to Part I of the Act of 1956 shall be construed as including a reference to particulars so entered or filed pursuant to any provisions of Part I of the Act of 1956 as applied by subsection (1) of this section.

Any reference in this section to any provisions of the Act of 1956 shall be construed as including a reference to those provisions as applied by section 5(2) of the Act of 1968 (which relates to information agreements); and the modifications of section 21 of the Act of 1956 made by subsection (3) of this section shall be construed accordingly.

Where by virtue of subsection (2) or subsection (4) of this section any provisions of the Act of 1956 or of the Act of 1968 are to have effect subject to modifications specified in Schedule 10 to this Act for the purposes of their application to an agreement to which Part I of the Act of 1956 applies by virtue of an order under section 107 or section 108 of this Act—

In this Part of this Act, and in the modifications made by it, " services " does not include the application to goods of any process of manufacture or any services rendered to an employer under a contract of employment, but, with those exceptions, includes engagements (whether professional or other) which for gain or reward are undertaken and performed for any matter other than the production or supply of goods, and any reference to the supply of services or to supplying, obtaining or offering services or to making services available shall be construed accordingly.

In this Part of this Act and in the modifications made by it " business " includes a professional practice.

Subsection (3) of section' 6 (which relates to the meaning of " agreement" and " restriction ") and subsections (1) to (3) of section 36 (interpretation) of the Act of 1956 shall have effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act and of the modifications made by it.

For the purposes of this Part of this Act any two or more interconnected bodies corporate, or any two or more individuals carrying on business in partnership with each other, shall be treated as a single person.

In this section any reference to the modifications made by this Part of this Act is a reference to any provisions which by virtue of section 116 of this Act (whether they are provisions set out in that section or in Schedule 10 to this Act) are to be treated, for purposes mentioned in that section, as substituted for provisions of the Act of 1956 or of the Act of 1968.

This Part of this Act applies to any trading scheme if—

The matters referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section are—

The condition in this subsection is that—

The condition in this subsection is that goods or services, or both, are to be supplied by the promoter or any of the promoters to or for persons introduced to him or any of the other promoters (or an employee or agent of his or theirs) by participants.

For the purposes of this Part of this Act a prospect of a kind mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section shall be treated as being held out to a participant whether it is held out so as to confer on him a legally enforceable right or not.

This Part of this Act does not apply to any trading scheme—

The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument— and no such order, and no order varying or revoking any such order, shall be made under this subsection unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

For the purposes of subsection (6)(a), “relevant regulated activity” means— and paragraphs (a) to (g) must be read with section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, any relevant order under that section, and Schedule 2 to that Act.

In this Part of this Act— and any reference to the provision or supply of goods shall be construed as including a reference to the grant or transfer of a right or interest.

In this section any reference to the provision or supply of goods or services by a person shall be construed as including a reference to the provision or supply of goods or services under arrangements to which that person is a party.

Regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument may make provision with respect to the issue, circulation or distribution of any form of advertisement, prospectus, circular or notice which contains any informationcalculated to lead directly or indirectly to persons becoming participants in such a training scheme, and may prohibit any such advertisement, prospectus, circular or notice from being issued, circulated or distributed unless it complies with such requirements as to the matters to be included or not included in it as may be prescribed by the regulations.

Regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument may prohibit the promoter or any of the promoters of, or any participant in, a trading scheme to which this Part of this Act applies from— unless (in any such case) such requirements as are prescribed by the regulations are complied with.

Any requirements prescribed by regulations under subsection (2) of this section shall be such as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of preventing participants in trading schemes to which this Part of this Act applies from being unfairly treated; and, without prejudice to the generality of this subsection, any such requirements may include provisions—

Regulations made under subsection (2) of this section—

The power to make regulations under this section may be exercised so as to make different provision— or in relation to different descriptions of participants in such trading schemes.

Subject to the next following section, any person who issues, circulates or distributes, or causes another person to issue, circulate or distribute, an advertisement, prospectus, circular or noticein contravention of any regulations made under subsection (1) of section 119 of this Act shall be guilty of an offence.

Any person who contravenes any regulations made under subsection (2) of that section shall be guilty of an offence.

If any person who is a participant in a trading scheme to which this Part of this Act applies, or has applied or been invited to become a participant in such a trading scheme,— any person to whom or for whose benefit that payment is made shall be guilty of an offence.

If the promoter or any of the promoters of a trading scheme to which this Part of this Act applies, or any other person acting in accordance with such a trading scheme, by holding out to any person such a prospect as is mentioned in subsection (3)(b) of this section, attempts to induce him— the person attempting to induce him to make that payment shall be guilty of an offence.

In determining, for the purposes of subsection (3) or subsection (4) of this section, whether an inducement or attempt to induce is made by holding out such a prospect as is therein mentioned, it shall be sufficient if such a prospect constitutes or would constitute a substantial part of the inducement.

Where the person by whom an offence is committed under subsection (3) or subsection (4) of this section is not the sole promoter of the trading scheme in question, any other person who is the promoter or (as the case may be) one of the promoters of the trading scheme shall, subject to the next following section, also be guilty of that offence.

Nothing in subsections (3) to (6) of this section shall be construed as limiting the circumstances in which the commission of any act may constitute an offence under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section.

In this section any reference to the making of a payment to or for the benefit of a person shall be construed as including the making of a payment partly to or for the benefit of that person and partly to or for the benefit of one or more other persons.

Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (1) of section 120 of this Act in respect of an advertisement, it shall be a defence for him to prove that he is a person whose business it is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements, and that he received the advertisement for publication in the ordinary course of business and did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that its publication would amount to an offence under that subsection.

Where a person is charged with an offence by virtue of subsection (6) of section 120 of this Act, it shall be a defence for him to prove—

The provisions of sections 29 to 32 of this Act shall have effect for the purposes of this Part of this Act as if in those provisions—

For the purposes of the application to Northern Ireland of those provisions as applied by the preceding subsection—

With respect to any matter in respect of which the Director has any duties under section 2(1) of this Act, he may arrange for the publication, in such form and in such manner as he may consider appropriate, of such information and advice as it may appear to him to be expedient to give to consumers in the United Kingdom.

In arranging for the publication of any such information or advice, the Director shall have regard to the need for excluding, so far as that is practicable,—

Without prejudice to the exercise of his powers under subsection (1) of this section, it shall be the duty of the Director to encourage relevant associations to prepare, and to disseminate to their members, codes of practice for guidance in safeguarding and promoting the interests of consumers in the United Kingdom.

In this section " relevant association " means any association (whether incorporated or not) whose membership consists wholly or mainly of persons engaged in the production or supply of goods or in the supply of services or of persons employed by or representing persons so engaged and whose objects or activities include the promotion of the interests of persons so engaged.

The Director shall, as soon as practicable after the end of the year 1974 and of each subsequent calendar year, make to the Secretary of State a report on his activities, and the activities of the Advisory Committee and of the Commission, during that year.

Every such report shall include a general survey of developments, during the year to which it relates, in respect of matters falling within the scope of the Director's duties under any enactment (including any enactment contained in this Act, other than this section).

The Secretary of State shall lay a copy of every report made by the Director under subsection (1) of this section before each House of Parliament, and shall arrange for every such report to be published in such manner as he may consider appropriate.

The Director may also prepare such other reports as appear to him to be expedient with respect to such matters as are mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, and may arrange for any such report to be published in such manner as he may consider appropriate.

In making any report under this Act the Director shall have regard to the need for excluding, so far as that is practicable, any such matter as is specified in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 124(2) of this Act.

For the purposes of this section any period between the commencement of this Act and the end of the year 1973 shall be treated as included in the year 1974.

No prosecution for an offence under this Act shall be commenced after the expiration of three years from the commission of the offence or one year from its discovery by the prosecutor, whichever is the earlier.

Notwithstanding anything in section 127(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, a magistrates’ court may try an information for an offence under this Act if the information was laid within twelve months from the commission of the offence.

Notwithstanding anything in section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, summary proceedings in Scotland for an offence under this Act may be commenced within twelve months from the commission of the offence, and subsection (3) of the said section 136 shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as it applies for the purposes of that section.

In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, for the references in subsection (2) to section 127(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 and to the trial and laying of an information there shall be substituted respectively references to Article 19(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and to the hearing and determination and making of a complaint and as if in that subsection for the words “an offence under this Act” there were substituted the words “an offence under section 30(1) ... of this Act”.

Where a local weights and measures authority in England or Wales proposes to institute proceedings for an offence under section 23 of this Act, or for an offence under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, other than an offence under section 28(5) or section 29 of that Act, it shall, as between the authority and the Director, be the duty of the authority to give to the Director notice of the intended proceedings, together with a summary of the facts on which the charges are to be founded, and to postpone institution of the proceedings until either—

In relation to offences under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, the preceding subsection shall have effect subject to the transitional provisions having effect by virtue of section 139 of this Act.

Where in any criminal proceedings a person is convicted of an offence by or before a court in the United Kingdom, or a judgment is given against a person in civil proceedings in any such court, and it appears to the court— the court may make arrangements for that purpose notwithstanding that the proceedings have been finally disposed of by the court.

In this section " judgment" includes any order or decree, and any reference to the giving of a judgment shall be construed accordingly.

Where an offence under ... ... ... section 93B or Part XI of this Act, which has been committed by a body corporate, 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 any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) of this section shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

Subject to subsections (2) to (4) of this section, no information with respect to any particular business which has been obtained under or by virtue of the provisions (other than Part II) of this Act or under or by virtue of the Act of 1956 or the Act of 1968 shall, so long as that business continues to be carried on, be disclosed without the consent of the person for the time being carrying on that business.

The preceding subsection does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made—

Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made for the purposes of any proceedings before the Restrictive Practices Court or of any other legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, under this Act, the Act of 1956 or the Act of 1968.

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed—

Any person who discloses any information in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

In this section references to this Act shall be construed as including references to any enactment repealed by this Act.

Any statutory instrument whereby any order is made under any of the preceding provisions of this Act, other than a provision which requires a draft of the order to be laid before Parliament before making the order, or whereby any regulations are made under this Act, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any power conferred by any provision of this Act to make an order by statutory instrument shall include power to revoke or vary the order by a subsequent order made under that provision.

The Secretary of State shall pay all remuneration, allowances or other sums payable under this Act to or in respect of persons who are or have been members of the Advisory Committee . . ., and shall defray—

There shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament—

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In this Act—