Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

House of Commons

Session 2005 - 06
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 7 — Inland Waterways
26

Part 7
Inland Waterways
65
Inland Waterways Advisory Council
The body established by section 110 of the Transport Act 1968 (c. 73) and
known as the Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council is to be known
5
instead as the Inland Waterways Advisory Council.
66
Constitution of Council
For section 110 of the 1968 Act substitute—
“110
  The Inland Waterways Advisory Council
(1)
There is to be a body known as the Inland Waterways Advisory
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Council (“the Council”).
(2)
The Council is to consist of a chairman and not less than 12 other
members.
(3)
The chairman is to be appointed by the Secretary of State after
consulting the Scottish Ministers.
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(4)
Two of the members are to be appointed by the Scottish Ministers after
consulting the Secretary of State.
(5)
In making those appointments, the Scottish Ministers must have regard
to the desirability of appointing persons who appear to them to have
specialist knowledge of Scotland.
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(6)
The other members of the Council are to be appointed by the Secretary
of State.
(7)
The members must include persons who appear to the person making
the appointment to have wide knowledge of, and interest in, inland
waterways.”
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67
Term of office, procedure etc.
After section 110 of the 1968 Act insert—
“110A
  Term of office, procedure etc.
(1)
The members of the Council—
(a)
hold and vacate office in accordance with their terms of
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appointment, and
(b)
on ceasing to hold office, are eligible for reappointment;

but a member may at any time resign his office by notice in writing to
the Secretary of State or (as the case may be) the Scottish Ministers.
(2)
The Council—
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(a)
may, with the approval of the Secretary of State and after
consulting the Scottish Ministers, appoint such regional
committees as they think fit, and
(b)
may appoint such other committees as they think fit.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 7 — Inland Waterways
27

(3)
The Council may determine the procedure (including quorum) of the
Council or any committee.
(4)
The Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers may pay the members of the
Council—
(a)
travelling and other expenses;
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(b)
allowances for loss of remunerative time.
(5)
The Secretary of State may pay the chairman such remuneration as the
Secretary of State may determine.
(6)
If the chairman receives such remuneration he is not to be paid any
allowance under subsection (4) for loss of remunerative time.
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(7)
The Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers must pay the Council—
(a)
in respect of each financial year, and
(b)
in proportions agreed by the Secretary of State and the Scottish
Ministers,

the amount that the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers agree is
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required for the performance during that year of the functions of the Council.
(8)
“Financial year” means—
(a)
the period beginning with the date on which this section comes
into force and ending with the next 31st March, and
(b)
each subsequent period of 12 months ending with 31st March.”
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68
Functions of Council: England and Wales
After section 110A of the 1968 Act insert—
“110B
  Functions of Council: England and Wales
(1)
The Council—
(a)
shall provide the Secretary of State and navigation authorities
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with such advice as appears to the Council appropriate about
matters relevant to inland waterways in England and Wales,
and
(b)
may provide any other interested person with such advice.
(2)
“Navigation authority” means any person who has a duty or power
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under any enactment to work, maintain, conserve, improve or control
any canal or other inland navigation, navigable river, estuary, harbour
or dock.
(3)
“Interested person”, in relation to any matter, means a person
appearing to the Council to have a sufficient interest in the matter.”
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69
Functions of Council: Scotland
After section 110B of the 1968 Act insert—
“110C
  Functions of Council: Scotland
(1)
The Council—
(a)
shall provide the Scottish Ministers and the Waterways Board
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with such advice as appears to the Council appropriate about
matters relevant to inland waterways in Scotland—

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 8 — Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 1 — Agreements with designated bodies etc.
28

(i)
which are owned or managed by the Waterways Board,
or
(ii)
in respect of which the Waterways Board is providing
technical advice or assistance, and
(b)
may provide any other interested person with such advice.
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(2)
“Interested person”, in relation to any matter, means a person
appearing to the Council to have a sufficient interest in the matter.”
Part 8
Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 1
10
Agreements with designated bodies etc.
Powers to enter into agreements
70
Agreement between a Minister and designated body
(1)
A Minister of the Crown may enter into an agreement with a designated body
authorising that body to perform an eligible function of the Minister—
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(a)
wholly or to a specified extent;
(b)
generally or in specified cases or areas;
(c)
unconditionally or subject to specified conditions.
(2)
An agreement under this section—
(a)
may be cancelled by the Minister at any time, and
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(b)
does not prevent the Minister from performing a function to which the
agreement relates.
(3)
“Designated body” means a body listed in Schedule 7.
(4)
The Secretary of State may by order amend Schedule 7 so as to—
(a)
add a body to the list, or
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(b)
remove a body from it.
(5)
The power to make an order under this section is exercisable by statutory
instrument.
(6)
A statutory instrument containing an order under this section is subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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71
Agreement between the Secretary of State and non-designated body
(1)
The Secretary of State may enter into an agreement with a non-designated
body authorising that body to perform an eligible DEFRA function—
(a)
wholly or to a specified extent;
(b)
generally or in specified cases or areas;
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(c)
unconditionally or subject to specified conditions.
(2)
An agreement under this section—
(a)
may be cancelled by the Secretary of State at any time, and

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 8 — Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 1 — Agreements with designated bodies etc.
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(b)
does not prevent the Secretary of State from performing a function to
which the agreement relates.
(3)
“Non-designated body” means a body which is not listed in Schedule 7.
(4)
“DEFRA function” means a function which, immediately before the agreement
is entered into, falls to be performed by the Department for Environment, Food
5
and Rural Affairs.
(5)
A certificate issued by the Secretary of State that a function falls to be
performed as mentioned in subsection (4) is conclusive evidence of that fact.
72
Agreement between designated body and another body
(1)
A designated body (“A”) may, with the approval of the relevant Minister, enter
10
into an agreement with a designated or non-designated body (“B”) authorising
B to perform an eligible function of A—
(a)
wholly or to a specified extent;
(b)
generally or in specified cases or areas;
(c)
unconditionally or subject to specified conditions.
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(2)
The Minister’s approval may be given—
(a)
in relation to a particular agreement or in relation to a description of
agreements;
(b)
unconditionally or subject to specified conditions.
(3)
Subject to subsection (5), the relevant Minister—
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(a)
must review an agreement under this section no later than the end of
the period of 5 years beginning with the date on which the agreement
was entered into or was last reviewed by the relevant Minister, and
(b)
if it appears appropriate to do so in the light of the review, may cancel
the agreement.
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(4)
Subject to subsection (5), an agreement under this section may not be varied
except—
(a)
by agreement between A and B, and
(b)
with the approval of the relevant Minister.
(5)
An approval given under subsection (1) may provide that subsection (3) or (4)
30
does not apply (or that both of them do not apply).
(6)
“The relevant Minister” means—
(a)
if the agreement is between designated bodies, the Secretary of State;
(b)
if the agreement is between a designated body and a non-designated
body for whom another Minister of the Crown has responsibility, the
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Secretary of State and that Minister acting jointly.
(7)
A Minister of the Crown has responsibility for a non-designated body if any
members of the body are appointed by him.
73
Eligible functions
(1)
This section applies in relation to any power under this Chapter under which
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a person (“A”) may authorise another (“B”) to perform an eligible function (or
an eligible DEFRA function) of A.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 8 — Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 1 — Agreements with designated bodies etc.
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(2)
Any reference to a function is—
(a)
to a function that is exercisable in relation to England only, or
(b)
to so much of a function as is exercisable in relation to England.
(3)
A function is eligible if—
(a)
A thinks that it would be appropriate, having regard to B’s existing
5
purposes, for B to perform the function, and
(b)
it is not a reserved function.
(4)
The reserved functions are—
(a)
any power of a Minister of the Crown to make appointments, give
guidance or directions or lay reports or accounts;
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(b)
any power to make subordinate legislation;
(c)
any power to fix fees or charges other than a power prescribed for the
purposes of this section by an order made by the Secretary of State;
(d)
any function of an accounting officer in his capacity as such;
(e)
except in relation to an agreement authorising a public body to perform
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functions—
(i)
any power to enter, inspect, take samples or seize anything, and
(ii)
any other power exercisable in connection with suspected
offences.
(5)
The fact that a function is conferred by this Act or by or under an Act passed
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after the passing of this Act does not prevent it from being an eligible function.
(6)
The power to make an order under subsection (4)(c) is exercisable by statutory
instrument.
(7)
A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (4)(c) is subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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74
Maximum duration of agreement
The maximum period for which an agreement under this Chapter may
authorise a body to perform a function of another person is 20 years.
Supplementary provisions
75
Powers of bodies authorised to perform functions
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(1)
A designated body which is authorised under this Chapter to perform a
function is to be treated as having power to carry out the function if doing so
is compatible with the purposes for which the designated body was
established.
(2)
A body which is authorised to perform a function under an agreement under
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this Chapter may, if the agreement provides for the powers in this subsection
to apply—
(a)
authorise a committee, sub-committee, member or employee of the
body to carry out the function on its behalf;
(b)
where the body is a local authority operating executive arrangements,
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authorise the function to be carried out by the executive;
(c)
form a body corporate and authorise that body to carry out the function
on its behalf.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 8 — Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 2 — Powers to reform agricultural etc. bodies
31

(3)
“Executive arrangements” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Local
Government Act 2000 (c. 22).
76
Supplementary provisions with respect to agreements
(1)
In this section “agreement” means an agreement under this Chapter.
(2)
An agreement, and any approval given by the relevant Minister under section
5
72, must be in writing.
(3)
The Secretary of State must arrange for a copy of an agreement to be published
in a way that the Secretary of State thinks is suitable for bringing it to the
attention of persons likely to be affected by it.
(4)
An agreement may provide for payments to be made in respect of the
10
performance of a function to which the agreement relates.
(5)
No power of a Minister of the Crown under any enactment to give directions
to a statutory body extends to giving a direction—
(a)
requiring it to enter into an agreement;
(b)
prohibiting it from entering into an agreement;
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(c)
requiring it to include, or prohibiting it from including, particular
terms;
(d)
requiring it to negotiate, or prohibiting it from negotiating, a variation
or termination of an agreement.
(6)
Schedule 15 to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (c. 40)
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(restrictions on disclosure of information) applies in relation to an
authorisation by a designated body under this Chapter as it applies in relation
to an authorisation under section 69 of that Act by an office-holder.
77
Interpretation
In this Chapter—
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“designated body” has the meaning given in section 70(3);
“Minister of the Crown” has the same meaning as in the Ministers of the
Crown Act 1975 (c. 26);
“non-designated body” has the meaning given in section 71(3);
“subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation
30
Act 1978 (c. 30).
Chapter 2
Powers to reform agricultural etc. bodies
Power to create boards
78
Power to establish boards
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(1)
The appropriate authority may by order—
(a)
establish a body for a purpose or purposes falling within section 79, and
(b)
assign to it a function or functions falling within section 80.

Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill
Part 8 — Flexible administrative arrangements
Chapter 2 — Powers to reform agricultural etc. bodies
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(2)
The order must specify the area or areas in relation to which assigned functions
are exercisable.
(3)
The areas which may be specified under subsection (2) are—
(a)
England or an area in England;
(b)
Wales or an area in Wales;
5
(c)
Scotland or an area in Scotland;
(d)
Northern Ireland or an area in Northern Ireland;
(e)
any combination of any of the areas mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d).
(4)
In this Chapter—
“the appropriate authority” has the meaning given by section 87;
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“board” means a body established by an order under this section;
“section 78 order” means an order under this section.
(5)
A board is to be known by a name specified in the order.
(6)
Schedule 8 contains provisions about the constitution of boards and related
matters.
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79
Permissible purposes of boards
(1)
The purposes referred to in section 78(1)(a) are—
(a)
increasing efficiency or productivity in an agricultural or related
industry;
(b)
improving marketing in an agricultural or related industry;
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(c)
improving or developing services that an agricultural or related
industry provides or could provide to the community;
(d)
improving the ways in which an agricultural or related industry
contributes to sustainable development.
(2)
A section 78 order must specify—
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(a)
the purpose or purposes for which the board is established, and
(b)
the industry to which the order relates.
(3)
For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), it does not matter whether the specified
industry is regarded for any other purpose as—
(a)
an industry,
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(b)
a group of industries, or
(c)
a sector or sectors of an industry.
(4)
“Agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy
farming and livestock breeding and keeping, and the use of land as grazing
land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds.
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(5)
“Related industry” means an industry which is concerned with the production,
processing, manufacture, marketing or distribution of—
(a)
anything (including any creature alive or dead) produced in the course
of agriculture, and
(b)
any product which is derived to any substantial extent from anything
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so produced.
(6)
“Services” includes environmental and educational services.