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(a) in relation to particular descriptions of best value authority or | |
particular best value authorities; | |
(b) in relation to the provision of a particular kind of service by— | |
(i) all best value authorities, | |
(ii) particular best value authorities, or | 5 |
(iii) particular descriptions of best value authority. | |
(2) The power under subsection (1) includes power to disapply for a particular | |
period. | |
95 Power to trade in function-related activities through a company | |
(1) The appropriate person may by order— | 10 |
(a) authorise best value authorities to do for a commercial purpose | |
anything which they are authorised to do for the purpose of carrying | |
on any of their ordinary functions, and | |
(b) make provision about the persons in relation to whom authority under | |
paragraph (a) is exercisable. | 15 |
(2) No order under this section may authorise a best value authority— | |
(a) to do in relation to a person anything which it is required to do in | |
relation to him under its ordinary functions, or | |
(b) to do in relation to a person anything which it is authorised, apart from | |
this section, to do in relation to him for a commercial purpose. | 20 |
(3) An order under this section may be made in relation to— | |
(a) all best value authorities, particular best value authorities or particular | |
descriptions of best value authority; | |
(b) all things authorised to be done for the purpose of carrying on a | |
particular function, particular things authorised to be done for that | 25 |
purpose or particular descriptions of thing authorised to be so done. | |
(4) Power conferred by an order under this section shall only be exercisable | |
through a company within the meaning of Part 5 of the Local Government and | |
Housing Act 1989 (companies in which local authorities have interests). | |
(5) A best value authority on which power is conferred by an order under this | 30 |
section shall be treated as a local authority for the purposes of Part 5 of the | |
Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42) if it would not otherwise be | |
such an authority, but only in relation to a body corporate through which it | |
exercises, or proposes to exercise, the power conferred by the order. | |
(6) In its application by virtue of subsection (5), section 70(1) of the Local | 35 |
Government and Housing Act 1989 (power to make provision about what a | |
company under the control, or subject to the influence of, a local authority | |
does) shall only apply in relation to the doing for a commercial purpose of the | |
thing to which the order under this section relates. | |
(7) In this section— | 40 |
“best value authority” does not include— | |
(a) a police authority established under section 3 of the Police Act | |
1996 (c. 16), | |
(b) the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a | |
police authority, | 45 |
(c) the Metropolitan Police Authority, or | |
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(d) the London Development Agency; | |
“ordinary functions”, in relation to a best value authority, means | |
functions of the authority which are not functions under this section. | |
96 Regulation of trading powers | |
(1) The appropriate person may by order impose conditions in relation to the | 5 |
exercise by a best value authority of— | |
(a) a power to do anything for a commercial purpose, or | |
(b) a power to do anything for such a purpose through a company. | |
(2) In exercising such a power as is mentioned in subsection (1), a best value | |
authority shall have regard to such guidance as the appropriate person may | 10 |
issue. | |
(3) An order under this section may be made in relation to— | |
(a) all best value authorities, | |
(b) particular best value authorities, or | |
(c) particular descriptions of best value authority. | 15 |
(4) In this section, “best value authority” does not include— | |
(a) a police authority established under section 3 of the Police Act 1996 | |
(c. 16), | |
(b) the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a police | |
authority, | 20 |
(c) the Metropolitan Police Authority, or | |
(d) the London Development Agency. | |
(5) In subsection (1)(b), “company” has the same meaning as in Part 5 of the Local | |
Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42). | |
97 Power to modify enactments in connection with charging or trading | 25 |
(1) If it appears to the Secretary of State that an enactment (whenever passed or | |
made) prevents or obstructs best value authorities— | |
(a) charging by agreement for the provision of a discretionary service, or | |
(b) doing for a commercial purpose anything which they are authorised to | |
do for the purpose of carrying on any of their ordinary functions, | 30 |
he may by order amend, repeal, revoke or disapply the enactment. | |
(2) The Secretary of State may by order amend, repeal, revoke or disapply an | |
enactment, other than section 93, which makes in relation to a best value | |
authority provision for, or in connection with, power to charge for the | |
provision of a discretionary service. | 35 |
(3) The power under subsection (1) or (2) to amend or disapply an enactment | |
includes power to amend or disapply an enactment for a particular period. | |
(4) An order under this section may be made in relation to— | |
(a) all best value authorities, | |
(b) particular best value authorities, or | 40 |
(c) particular descriptions of best value authority. | |
(5) An order under subsection (1)(b) may be made in relation to— | |
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(a) all things authorised to be done for the purpose of carrying on a | |
particular function, | |
(b) particular things authorised to be done for that purpose, or | |
(c) particular descriptions of thing authorised to be so done. | |
(6) An order under subsection (1)(b) may not be used to authorise a best value | 5 |
authority to do in relation to a person anything which it is required to do in | |
relation to him under its ordinary functions. | |
(7) In exercising the power under subsection (1) or (2), the Secretary of State— | |
(a) must not make any provision which has effect in relation to Wales | |
unless he has consulted the National Assembly for Wales, and | 10 |
(b) must not make any provision in relation to legislation made by the | |
National Assembly for Wales without the consent of the Assembly. | |
(8) The National Assembly for Wales may submit proposals to the Secretary of | |
State that the power under subsection (1) or (2) should be exercised in relation | |
to Wales in accordance with those proposals. | 15 |
(9) Subject to subsection (10), no order shall be made under this section unless a | |
draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each | |
House of Parliament. | |
(10) An order under this section which is made only for the purpose of amending | |
an earlier order under this section— | 20 |
(a) so as to extend the earlier order, or any provision of the earlier order, to | |
a particular authority or to authorities of a particular description, or | |
(b) so that the earlier order, or any provision of the earlier order, ceases to | |
apply to a particular authority or to authorities of a particular | |
description, | 25 |
shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of | |
Parliament. | |
(11) In this section— | |
“discretionary service”, in relation to a best value authority, means a | |
service which the authority is authorised, but not required, to provide; | 30 |
“enactment” includes an enactment comprised in subrordinate legislation | |
(within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30)); | |
“ordinary functions”, in relation to a best value authority, means | |
functions of the authority which are not functions under section 95. | |
98 Procedure for orders under section 97 | 35 |
(1) Before making an order under section 97, the Secretary of State shall consult— | |
(a) such best value authorities as appear to him to be likely to be affected | |
by his proposals, and | |
(b) such other persons as appear to him to be representative of interests | |
likely to be so affected. | 40 |
(2) If following consultation under subsection (1) and, where the proposals relate | |
to best value authorities in Wales, consultation under subsection (7)(a) of | |
section 97, the Secretary of State proposes to make an order under that section, | |
he shall lay before each House of Parliament a document which— | |
(a) explains his proposals, | 45 |
(b) sets them out in the form of a draft order, | |
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(c) gives details of consultation under subsection (1), and | |
(d) where the proposals relate to best value authorities in Wales, sets out | |
the views of the National Assembly for Wales. | |
(3) Where a document relating to proposals is laid before Parliament under | |
subsection (2), no draft of an order under section 97 to give effect to the | 5 |
proposals (with or without modification) shall be laid before Parliament until | |
after the expiry of the period of sixty days beginning with the day on which the | |
document was laid. | |
(4) In calculating the period mentioned in subsection (3), no account shall be taken | |
of any time during which — | 10 |
(a) Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, or | |
(b) either House is adjourned for more than four days. | |
(5) In preparing a draft order under section 97 the Secretary of State shall consider | |
any representations made during the period mentioned in subsection (3) | |
(6) A draft order laid before Parliament in accordance with section 97(9) must be | 15 |
accompanied by a statement of the Secretary of State giving details of— | |
(a) any representations considered in accordance with subsection (5), and | |
(b) any changes made to the proposals contained in the document laid | |
before Parliament under subsection (2). | |
(7) Nothing in this section applies to an order under section 97 which is made only | 20 |
for the purpose mentioned in section 97(10). | |
Performance categories | |
99 Categorisation of English local authorities by reference to performance | |
(1) The Audit Commission must from time to time produce a report on its findings | |
in relation to the performance of English local authorities in exercising their | 25 |
functions. | |
(2) A report under subsection (1) must (in particular) categorise each English local | |
authority to which the report relates according to how the authority has | |
performed in exercising its functions. | |
(3) As regards each report produced under subsection (1), the Audit | 30 |
Commission— | |
(a) must send a copy of the report to the Secretary of State, and | |
(b) must publish the report. | |
(4) Where the Secretary of State receives a report produced under subsection (1), | |
he may by order make provision categorising the English local authorities to | 35 |
which the report relates in accordance with their categorisation in the report. | |
(5) In making an order under subsection (4), the Secretary of State may depart | |
from the categorisation in the report only for the purpose of correcting any | |
clerical or typographical error in the report notified to him by the Audit | |
Commission. | 40 |
(6) An order under subsection (4) may provide for the categorisation for which it | |
provides to have effect— | |
(a) from such time as may be specified by the order; | |
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(b) only for such period as may be specified by the order. | |
(7) In this section— | |
“the Audit Commission” means the Audit Commission for Local | |
Authorities and the National Health Service in England and Wales; | |
“English local authority” means— | 5 |
(a) a county council in England, | |
(b) a district council, | |
(c) a London borough council, | |
(d) the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a | |
local authority, or | 10 |
(e) the Council of the Isles of Scilly. | |
100 Exercise of powers by reference to authorities’ performance categories | |
(1) The powers mentioned in subsection (2) may (in particular) be exercised for | |
making provision in relation to a description of authority framed by reference | |
to English local authorities that from time to time are, by reason of an order | 15 |
under section 99(4), of a particular category. | |
(2) Those powers are the powers— | |
(a) to make orders under section 70 of the Local Government and Housing | |
Act 1989 (c. 42); | |
(b) to make orders under sections 4 to 6, 16 and 19 of the Local Government | 20 |
Act 1999 (c. 27); | |
(c) to make orders under sections 3, 5 and 6 of the Local Government Act | |
2000 (c. 22); | |
(d) to make orders under section 1 of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (c. 6); | |
(e) to make orders under sections 95 to 97 of this Act; | 25 |
(f) to make regulations under section 116 of this Act. | |
(3) Schedule 3 (which amends certain of the provisions conferring, or governing | |
the exercise of, those powers and does so for purposes of their exercise in | |
relation to authorities, whether or not English local authorities, to which they | |
apply) has effect. | 30 |
(4) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (2) for the purpose of | |
adding a reference to a power to make provision by order or regulations that | |
is exercisable in relation to all or any English local authorities (whether or not | |
also exercisable in relation to any other person or body). | |
(5) The Secretary of State may, for the purpose mentioned in subsection (6), by | 35 |
order make provision amending the enactments conferring, or governing the | |
exercise of, a power added by an order under subsection (4) to those mentioned | |
in subsection (2). | |
(6) That purpose is enabling the power, so far as exercisable in relation to English | |
local authorities, to be exercised— | 40 |
(a) in relation to— | |
(i) all the English local authorities in relation to which it is | |
exercisable, | |
(ii) particular English local authorities, or | |
(iii) particular descriptions of English local authority; | 45 |
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(b) differently in relation to different English local authorities or | |
descriptions of English local authority. | |
(7) An order under subsection (4) or (5) 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. | 5 |
(8) In this section “English local authority” has the meaning given by section 99(7). | |
Contracting-out | |
101 Staff transfer matters: general | |
(1) In exercising a power to contract with a person for the provision of services, a | |
best value authority must— | 10 |
(a) deal with matters affecting— | |
(i) who will be the employer of existing staff if a contract is entered | |
into and carried out, or | |
(ii) what will be the terms and conditions of employment of | |
existing staff, or the arrangements for their pensions, if their | 15 |
employer changes as a result of a contract being entered into | |
and carried out, | |
in accordance with directions given to it by the appropriate person; | |
(b) have regard to guidance issued to it by the appropriate person on | |
matters relating to the employment or pensions of existing staff. | 20 |
(2) In subsection (1), references to existing staff, in relation to a contract for the | |
provision of services, are to staff who before the contract is carried out are | |
engaged in the provision of any of the services. | |
(3) Where the provision of any services under a contract with a best value | |
authority for their provision is to cease in circumstances where they are to be | 25 |
provided instead by members of the authority’s staff, the authority shall | |
comply with directions given to it by the appropriate person for the purpose of | |
requiring it to offer employment to staff who, before the services cease to be | |
provided under the contract, are engaged in the provision of any of the | |
services. | 30 |
(4) The duties under Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1999 (c. 27) (best value) | |
of a best value authority have effect subject to subsections (1) and (3). | |
(5) Directions given, or guidance issued, for the purposes of subsection (1) or (3)— | |
(a) may be addressed to— | |
(i) all best value authorities, or | 35 |
(ii) authorities of a particular description; | |
(b) may be different for different cases or authorities. | |
(6) For the purposes of this section, the Secretary of State is the “appropriate | |
person” in relation to a best value authority in Wales that is— | |
(a) a police authority established under section 3 of the Police Act 1996 | 40 |
(c. 16), or | |
(b) a fire authority constituted by a combination scheme. | |
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