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The Board |
| Transfer of Board's property etc. to Secretary of State. |
215. Schedule 23 makes provision for the transfer to the Secretary of State of property, rights and liabilities of the Board.
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| Winding down and abolition of Board. |
216. - (1) The Board shall give to the Authority any information, prepare any document and do any other thing which appears to the Authority appropriate for facilitating the carrying into effect of, or of any provision made under, sections 194, 195 and 215 and Schedules 17, 18 and 23.
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(2) The Secretary of State may-
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(a) by order made by statutory instrument reduce the membership of the Board to a chairman and one or more other persons appointed by the Secretary of State, and |
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(b) by notice in writing remove from office any member of the Board or vary the terms of his appointment. |
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(3) When, after consulting the Board, the Secretary of State considers that it is no longer necessary for the Board to continue to exist, he shall by order made by statutory instrument provide for its dissolution.
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(4) If a person ceases to hold office as chairman or a member of the Board by virtue of subsection (2)(b) or (3) before his term of office would otherwise have expired and the Secretary of State determines that there are special circumstances which make it right that the person should receive compensation-
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(a) if the person ceases to hold office by virtue of subsection (2)(b), the Board, and |
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(b) if the person ceases to hold office by virtue of subsection (3), the Secretary of State, |
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shall pay to the person such compensation as may be determined by the Secretary of State.
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(5) Where an order under subsection (3) provides for the Board to be dissolved with effect from a time which would not, apart from this subsection, be the end of its financial year, the financial year of the Board which is current at that time shall be deemed to end with its dissolution.
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(6) An order under subsection (3) which so provides may contain such provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate (including provision modifying the effect of any enactment) for the Board or the Authority-
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(a) to prepare accounts for the final financial year of the Board, and |
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(b) to make and lay before Parliament a report relating to the carrying out of the Board's functions during that financial year. |
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Miscellaneous |
| Passenger Transport Executives. |
217. - (1) Section 34 of the Railways Act 1993 (Passenger Transport Authorities and Executives: franchising) is amended as follows.
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(2) After subsection (8) insert-
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"(8A) The Authority shall not do anything under subsection (8) above if or to the extent that to do it would prevent or seriously hinder the Authority-
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(a) from complying with any directions given to it by the Secretary of State under section 184(5) of the Transport Act 2000 or from having regard to any guidance so given; |
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(b) from complying with any directions given to it by the Scottish Ministers under section 185 of that Act with which it must comply or from having regard to any guidance so given to which it must have regard; or |
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(c) from exercising any of its functions in a manner which is consistent with its financial framework. |
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(8B) The Authority need not do anything under subsection (8) above if or to the extent that to do it would have an adverse effect on the provision of services for the carriage of passengers or goods by railway (whether inside or outside the Passenger Transport Executive's passenger transport area).
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(8C) The Authority need not do anything under subsection (8) above if or to the extent that to do it would increase the amount of any expenditure of the Authority under agreements or other arrangements entered into (in accordance with a franchise agreement) with-
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(a) the franchise operator, |
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(c) any servant, agent or independent contractor of the franchise operator or franchisee." |
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(3) In subsection (17) (disputes between Authority and Passenger Transport Executives: directions by Secretary of State), for "with respect to the dispute" substitute "with respect to the proposal or franchise agreement".
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| Standards. |
218. - (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for the setting of standards to be complied with in relation to railway assets, railway vehicles or railway services.
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(2) The regulations may provide-
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(a) for standards to be set (and from time to time varied), or |
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(b) for compliance with standards to be monitored, |
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by persons specified in, or designated in accordance with, the regulations.
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(3) The regulations may authorise the setting of standards which involve obtaining the approval of any person.
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(4) The regulations may authorise the charging of fees in respect of-
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(a) the monitoring of compliance with standards, or |
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(b) the seeking of approvals in connection with standards. |
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(5) The regulations may impose requirements to provide information on persons who-
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(a) are required to comply with standards, or |
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(b) set, or monitor compliance with, standards, |
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and prohibit the giving of false information.
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(6) The regulations may create criminal offences in respect of failures to comply with requirements imposed by the regulations punishable on summary conviction with fines not exceeding-
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(a) level 5 on the standard scale, or |
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(b) such lower amount as may be prescribed. |
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(7) The regulations may make different provision for different cases and may (in particular) include provision-
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(a) authorising conditional or unconditional dispensation from requirements imposed by the regulations which would otherwise apply, or |
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(b) requiring compliance with requirements so imposed which would not otherwise apply, |
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in particular cases or descriptions of case.
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(8) The regulations may include such incidental, consequential, supplementary or transitional provisions or savings as the Secretary of State may consider appropriate, including (in particular) provision modifying any provision made by or under any other enactment.
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(9) The regulations shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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| Freight assistance by Scottish Ministers and Welsh Assembly. |
219. - (1) The Authority shall notify the Scottish Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales about any scheme in accordance with which it exercises its functions under section 188 for the purpose of securing the provision, improvement or development of-
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(a) services for the carriage of goods by railway, or |
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(b) facilities for or in connection with the carriage of goods by railway or the loading or unloading of goods carried or intended to be carried by railway, |
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and the criteria applied by it in exercising those functions for that purpose in accordance with the scheme.
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(2) The Scottish Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales may enter into agreements or other arrangements for the purpose of securing the provision, improvement or development in Scotland and Wales (respectively) of-
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(a) services for the carriage of goods by railway, and |
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(b) facilities for or in connection with the carriage of goods by railway or the loading or unloading of goods carried or intended to be carried by railway, |
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in accordance with any scheme notified to them under subsection (1) and applying the criteria so notified.
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(3) In this section-
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"facilities" includes track, rolling stock, depots, access roads and equipment for use in connection with the carriage, loading or unloading of goods, and |
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"railway" has its wider meaning. |
| Competition functions of Regulator. |
220. - (1) Section 67 of the Railways Act 1993 (functions of Regulator and Director General of Fair Trading) is amended as follows.
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(2) In subsection (3) (concurrent exercise by Regulator and Director of functions under Part I of Competition Act 1998 so far as relating to agreements etc. which relate to supply of railway services), for "railway services" substitute "services relating to railways".
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(3) After that subsection insert-
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"(3ZA) In subsection (3) above "services relating to railways" means-
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(b) the provision or maintenance of rolling stock; |
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(c) the development, maintenance or renewal of a network, station or light maintenance depot; and |
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(d) the development, provision or maintenance of information systems designed wholly or mainly for facilitating the provision of railway services. |
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(3ZB) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (3ZA) above; and an order under this subsection shall not be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing it has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament."
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| Pension guarantees. |
221. - (1) The Authority may give guarantees to the trustees of an occupational pension scheme if the Authority considers that it is desirable to do so for ensuring that the trustees of the scheme are, or will be, able to meet their liabilities to make payments (as they fall to be met) with respect to pension rights under the scheme of any person who was at any time-
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(a) employed by the Board or a wholly owned subsidiary of the Board, or |
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(b) a member of staff of the Regulator or Franchising Director. |
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(2) In subsection (1) "trustees", "occupational pension scheme" and "pension rights" have the same meanings as in Schedule 11 to the Railways Act 1993.
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| Stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax. |
222. - (1) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on-
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(a) any scheme under Part II of Schedule 14, Part III of Schedule 16, Schedule 18, paragraph 1 of Schedule 20 or Schedule 23, or |
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(b) any instrument or agreement which is certified to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue by the Secretary of State as made in pursuance of any such scheme. |
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(2) No such scheme, and no instrument or agreement which is certified as mentioned in subsection (1)(b), shall be taken to be duly stamped unless-
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(a) it has, in accordance with section 12 of the Stamp Act 1891, been stamped with a particular stamp denoting that it is not chargeable with that duty or that it is duly stamped, or |
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(b) it is stamped with the duty to which it would be liable, apart from this section. |
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(3) Section 12 of the Finance Act 1895 shall not operate to require-
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(a) the delivery to the Inland Revenue of a copy of this Act, or |
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(b) the payment of stamp duty under that section on any copy of this Act, |
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and shall not apply in relation to any instrument on which, by virtue of subsection (1), stamp duty is not chargeable.
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(4) An agreement to transfer chargeable securities, as defined in section 99 of the Finance Act 1986, to a person specified in sub-paragraph (2)(a) to (c) of paragraph 1 of Schedule 20 shall not give rise to a charge to stamp duty reserve tax if the agreement is made for the purposes of, or for purposes connected with, a scheme under that paragraph.
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| Abolition of requirements for Treasury approval. |
223. - (1) The Railways Act 1993 has effect subject to the following amendments.
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(2) In Schedule 1 (Regulator), in paragraph 1 (remuneration, pensions etc.), omit sub-paragraph (4) (Treasury approval of Secretary of State's determinations).
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(3) In Schedule 2 (rail users' consultative committees), in paragraph 2 (remuneration etc. of chairman), omit ", with the approval of the Treasury,".
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(4) In Schedule 3 (Central Rail Users' Consultative Committee), in paragraph 2 (remuneration etc. of chairman), omit ", with the approval of the Treasury,".
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