HC Deb 04 April 1989 vol 150 cc87-9

Amendments made: No. 92, in page 306, line 11, at end insert— '(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for any liability which is—

  1. (a) saved by virtue of this paragraph; and
  2. (b) transferred in accordance with a scheme under Schedule 2 to this Act to a successor company,
to be transferred, at a time when that company is wholly owned by the Crown, to that company's nominated holding company.'.

No. 93, in page 306, line 18, at end insert—

'(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such transitional provisions and savings as he considers appropriate in relation to so much of any provision having effect immediately before the transfer date by or under any enactment as provides for or relates to the payment by a water authority of pensions, allowances or gratuities to or in respect of persons who have been—

  1. (a) officers or employees of any person whose activities at any time before the transfer date appear to the Secretary of State to have consisted in, or to have been connected with, the carrying out of any function which is transferred by this Act or which corresponds to any such function or to any other function under this Act; or
  2. (b) chairmen or members of any body whose activities at any such time so appear to the Secretary of State.

(3)Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph

(2) above or to any transfer in accordance with a scheme under Schedule 2 to this Act of any liability saved by regulations under that sub-paragraph such regulations may—

  1. (a) subject to sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) below, impose requirements on the Authority, on any successor company or on the nominated holding company of any successor company;
  2. (b) modify any such provision as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) above;
  3. (c) in the case of regulations made after the transfer date, require provision contained in the regulations to be treated as if it came into force on that date.

(4) No requirement shall be imposed on any company by any regulations under sub-paragraph (2) above made after the company has ceased to be wholly owned by the Crown; but a company's ceasing to be wholly owned by the Crown shall not affect any requirement imposed on it by any regulations under that sub-paragraph made before the company ceased to be so wholly owned.

(5) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to pay the Authority out of money provided by Parliament all such sums as the Authority may require for fulfilling requirements imposed on it by regulations under sub-paragraph (2) above.

(6) The reference in sub-paragraph (2) above to the payment of pensions, allowances or gratuities includes a reference to the payment of compensation for loss of office or of any such compensation as is payable to or in respect of an officer or employee for any other reason.'

No. 22, in page 310, line 37, leave out from beginning to 'in' in line 39 and insert— '(4) On and after the transfer date subsection (6A) of section 70 of this Act shall apply, as it applies in relation to the sums mentioned in that subsection,'.

No. 60, in page 319, line 20, at end insert '; and no licence may be granted by virtue of this paragraph in relation to any waters to which section 131 of the 1963 Act applies (waters owned or managed by the British Waterways Board) unless—

  1. (a) the application for the licence was accompanied by the prescribed evidence that notice of the application was served on the British Waterways Board; and
  2. (b) the Authority has considered any representations or objections made by that Board within the period of twenty-eight days beginning with the day on which the application was made or such longer period as the Authority may allow.'.

No. 77, in page 320, line 24, after 'sections', insert 'and Part II of the said Act of 1965'.

No. 30, in page 321, line 40, at end insert— '. The repeal by this Act of the Drought Act 1976 shall not affect—

  1. (a) any order under that Act which is in force immediately before the transfer date;
  2. (b) any power to make an order under that Act on an application (whether made before, on or after that date) of which notice was given before that date; or
  3. (c) the operation of the provisions of that Act in relation to any such order or application;
but, in relation to any time on or after that date, that Act and anything done under it shall have effect by virtue of this paragraph as if references to a water authority were references to the successor company of that water authority.'.

No. 7, in page 323, line 25, at end insert— '(4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing so much of any order under section 28(3) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 or of any licence under Part I of Schedule 3 to that Act as—

  1. (a) is in force immediately before the transfer date; and
  2. (b) has the effect for the purposes of section 6 of that Act (prohibition on placing and use of unauthorised fixed engines) of authorising the placing or use of any fixed engine,
from continuing to have that effect on and after that date.'.

No. 87, in page 327, line 33 at end insert—

'Transitory provision relating to rating

.—(1) In relation to the period beginning with the transfer date and ending with 31st March 1990, the provisions of section 31 of and Schedule 4 to the General Rate Act 1967 (valuation of water hereditaments) shall have effect—

  1. (a) as if references in those provisions to any statutory water undertakers or to their undertaking included references to a water undertaker or to the undertaking of a water undertaker;
  2. (b) as if the successor company of a water authority were the same person in law as the water company; and
  3. (c) as if any hereditament which—
    1. (i) is occupied on and after that date by the Authority; and
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    2. (ii) was occupied, immediately before that date, by a water authority for the purposes of their functions with respect to the supply of water,
were a water hereditament occupied by that water authority's successor company for the purposes of the company's functions (as a water undertaker) with respect to the supply of water.

(2) Where any hereditament allocated to the Authority by a scheme under Schedule 2 to this Act will fall on and after the transfer date to be treated for the purposes of the provisions mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above as occupied by a successor company, that scheme may require the Authority to make payments to the successor company, of such amounts and at such time as may be determined in accordance with the scheme, by way of contributions in respect of any liability of the successor company in consequence of those provisions.

(3) In relation to the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above, section 43 of the said Act of 1967 (exemption of property of certain authorities) shall have effect, subject to that sub-paragraph, as if the references in that section to a water authority and to a drainage authority included references, respectively, to the Authority and to an internal drainage board. '.—[Mr. Ridley.]

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