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A
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Bill
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To
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Make provision
in connection with the provision of financial assistance to, or
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the acquisition of any securities of
or any part of the undertaking or assets of,
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British Energy p.l.c. or any of its
subsidiaries; to provide for the repeal of Part
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2 of the Electricity Act 1989; to amend
Schedule 12 to that Act and to make
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provision for undertakings to make grants
under that Schedule to be
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disregarded for tax purposes.
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Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and
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consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present
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Parliament assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:—
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1
Expenditure relating to British Energy p.l.c.
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(1) There
may be paid out of money provided by Parliament any expenditure which
the
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Secretary
of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, incur with a view to
or in
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connection
with—
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(a) the
provision by the Secretary of State of financial assistance to a British
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Energy
company;
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(b) the
acquisition by the Secretary of State or his nominee or by a Crown company
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of—
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(i) any
securities of a British Energy company; or
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(ii) any
part of the undertaking or assets of a British Energy company; or
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(c) the
carrying on of any undertaking acquired as mentioned in paragraph (b)(ii)
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or
any undertaking using assets so acquired.
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(2)
In this section—
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“British
Energy company” means British Energy p.l.c. or a company
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which
either is or immediately before the passing of this Act was a
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subsidiary
of British Energy p.l.c. (within the meaning of the
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Companies
Act 1985);
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“Crown
company” means a company which is wholly owned by the
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Crown;
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“financial
assistance” includes assistance by way of grant or loan, by
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entering
into a guarantee or by any other means (whether the assistance
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is
given in pursuance of an agreement or otherwise); and
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“securities”
includes shares or stock, debentures or debenture stock,
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bonds
and other securities of a company (whether or not constituting a
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charge
on the assets of the company).
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(3) A
company is wholly owned by the Crown for the purposes of this section
at
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any time when none of the issued shares
in the company is held otherwise
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than—
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(a) by
the Secretary of State or a nominee of his; or
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(b) by
a company which is itself wholly owned by the Crown.
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2 Removal
of restrictions on capacity to acquire certain securities
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(1) Sections
72 and 74 of the Electricity Act 1989 (c. 29) (which relate to the
capacity
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of the Secretary of State and the Treasury
to acquire securities of the successor
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companies) are repealed.
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The
repeal of section 72(1) does not affect the capacity of the Secretary
of State
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or the Treasury, apart from any enactment,
to acquire (or to acquire rights to
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subscribe for) securities of any company.
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(2) The
Secretary of State may by order repeal to any extent any of the other
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provisions of Part 2 of the Electricity
Act 1989 (reorganisation of the electricity
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industry).
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(3) Such
an order may make consequential, transitional or saving provision
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(including provision modifying the
Electricity Act 1989 or any other Act).
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(4) The
power to make such an order is exercisable by statutory instrument subject
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to annulment in pursuance of a resolution
of either House of Parliament.
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3 Amendment
of Schedule 12 to the Electricity Act 1989
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(1) Schedule
12 to the Electricity Act 1989 (nuclear liabilities: financial assistance)
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is amended as follows.
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(2) Paragraph
4 (financial limit on grants, loans and guarantees under that Schedule)
and,
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in
paragraphs 1(1) and (2), 2(1) and 3(1), the words “Subject to paragraph
4 below”
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are
repealed.
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(3) In
paragraph 1(1) (grants by the Secretary of State)—
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(a) for
“towards” there is substituted “for the purpose of meeting”;
and
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(b) after
“person” there is inserted “(whether or not the same
person as the person
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to
whom the grant is made)”.
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(4) In
paragraph 2(1) (loans by the Secretary of State) for “towards”
there is substituted
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“for
the purpose of meeting”.
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4 Undertakings
to make grants under Schedule 12 to be disregarded for tax
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purposes
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(1) Where—
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(a) the
Secretary of State undertakes to make a grant under paragraph 1(1)
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of Schedule 12 to the Electricity Act
1989 in respect of qualifying
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expenditure incurred or to be incurred
by any company, and
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(b) in
accordance with generally accepted accounting practice the
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company—
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(i) recognises
the value of the undertaking in its balance sheet, and
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(ii) recognises
a corresponding credit in its profit and loss account,
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no
amount shall be brought into account in respect of that credit in computing
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the profits of the company for tax
purposes.
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(2) This
does not affect the amount (if any) to be brought into account in
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computing the profits of the company
for tax purposes as a result of any
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subsequent adjustment of—
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(a) the
amount or estimated amount of the qualifying expenditure to
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which the undertaking relates, or
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(b) the
value of the undertaking.
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(3) This
section does not apply if the undertaking is given after 31st March 2008
or
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such later date, not later than 31st
March 2011, as may be specified by the
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Treasury by order made by statutory
instrument.
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No
such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before and
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approved by a resolution of the House
of Commons.
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(4) In
this section—
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“qualifying
expenditure” has same meaning as in Schedule 12 to the
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Electricity
Act 1989 (c. 29); and
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“for
tax purposes” means for the purposes of corporation tax.
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5 Short
title and extent
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(1) This
Act may be cited as the Electricity (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003.
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(2) This
Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.
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