House of Commons portcullis
House of Commons
Session 2010 - 11
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Postal Services Bill


Postal Services Bill
Part 4 — Special administration regime

51

 

“company” means—

(a)   

a company registered under the Companies Act 2006, or

(b)   

an unregistered company,

“the court”, in relation to a company, means the court having jurisdiction

to wind up the company,

5

“foreign company” means a company incorporated outside the United

Kingdom,

“objective of the postal administration” is to be read in accordance with

section 67,

“postal administration order” has the meaning given by section 66(1),

10

“postal administration rules” means rules made under section 411 of the

1986 Act as a result of section 71 above,

“postal administrator” has the meaning given by section 66(2) and is to be

read in accordance with subsection (3) below,

“Scottish firm” means a firm constituted under the law of Scotland,

15

“UK affairs, business and property”, in relation to a company, means—

(a)   

its affairs and business so far as carried on in the United

Kingdom, and

(b)   

its property in the United Kingdom, and

“unregistered company” means a company that is not registered under

20

the Companies Act 2006.

(2)   

Any expression which is used in this Part and in Part 3 has the same meaning

in this Part as in that Part.

(3)   

In this Part references to the postal administrator of a company—

(a)   

include a person appointed under paragraph 91 or 103 of Schedule B1

25

to the 1986 Act, as applied by Part 1 of Schedule 10 to this Act, to be the

postal administrator of the company, and

(b)   

if two or more persons are appointed as the postal administrator of the

company, are to be read in accordance with the provision made under

section 70(5).

30

(4)   

References in this Part to a person qualified to act as an insolvency practitioner

in relation to a company are to be read in accordance with Part 13 of the 1986

Act, but as if references in that Part to a company included a company

registered under the Companies Act 2006 in Northern Ireland.

(5)   

For the purposes of this Part an application made to the court is outstanding if

35

it—

(a)   

has not yet been granted or dismissed, and

(b)   

has not been withdrawn.

(6)   

An application is not to be taken as having been dismissed if an appeal against

the dismissal of the application, or a subsequent appeal, is pending.

40

(7)   

An appeal is to be treated as pending for this purpose if—

(a)   

an appeal has been brought and has not been determined or

withdrawn,

(b)   

an application for permission to appeal has been made but has not been

determined or withdrawn, or

45

(c)   

no appeal has been brought and the period for bringing one is still

running.

 
 

Postal Services Bill
Part 4 — Special administration regime

52

 

(8)   

References in this Part to Schedule B1 to the 1986 Act, or to a provision of that

Schedule (except the references in subsection (2) above), are to that Schedule or

that provision without the modifications made by Part 1 of Schedule 10 to this

Act.

84      

Partnerships

5

(1)   

The Lord Chancellor may, by order made with the concurrence of the Secretary

of State and the Lord Chief Justice, apply (with or without modifications) any

provision of this Part in relation to partnerships.

(2)   

An order under subsection (1) is subject to negative resolution procedure.

(3)   

Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to Scottish firms.

10

(4)   

The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in

section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise the function of

the Lord Chief Justice under subsection (1).

(5)   

The Secretary of State may by order apply (with or without modifications) any

provision of this Part in relation to Scottish firms.

15

(6)   

An order under subsection (5) is subject to negative resolution procedure.

85      

Northern Ireland

(1)   

This section makes provision about the application of this Part to Northern

Ireland.

(2)   

Any reference to any provision of the 1986 Act is to have effect as a reference

20

to the corresponding provision of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order

1989.

(3)   

Section 83(4) is to have effect as if the reference to Northern Ireland were to

England and Wales or Scotland.

(4)   

Section 84 is to have effect as if—

25

(a)   

in subsection (1)—

(i)   

the reference to the Secretary of State were to the Department of

Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and

(ii)   

the reference to the Lord Chief Justice were to the Lord Chief

Justice of Northern Ireland, and

30

(b)   

for subsection (4) there were substituted—

“(4)   

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland may nominate—

(a)   

the holder of one of the offices listed in Schedule 1 to the

Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, or

(b)   

a Lord Justice of Appeal (as defined in section 88 of that

35

Act),

   

to exercise the function of the Lord Chief Justice of Northern

Ireland under subsection (1).”

86      

Review of Part 4

(1)   

As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the review period, the

40

Secretary of State must—

 
 

Postal Services Bill
Part 5 — General

53

 

(a)   

carry out a review of the provisions of this Part, and

(b)   

set out the conclusions of the review in a report.

(2)   

The report must, in particular—

(a)   

set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system

established by those provisions,

5

(b)   

assess the extent to which those objectives have been achieved, and

(c)   

assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the

extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposed less

regulation.

(3)   

The review period is the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the

10

provisions of this Part come generally into force.

(4)   

The Secretary of State must lay the report before Parliament.

Part 5

General

87      

Orders and regulations made by Ministers of Crown

15

(1)   

This section applies to orders and regulations under this Act made by the

Secretary of State, the Treasury or the Lord Chancellor.

(2)   

Any order or regulations may—

(a)   

contain incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional,

transitory or saving provision, and

20

(b)   

make different provision for different cases or circumstances or for

different areas.

(3)   

Any order or regulations are to be made by statutory instrument.

(4)   

Where any order or regulations are subject to “affirmative resolution

procedure” the order or regulations may not be made unless a draft of the

25

statutory instrument containing the order or regulations has been laid before,

and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(5)   

Where any order is subject to “approval after being made”, the order—

(a)   

must be laid before Parliament after being made, and

(b)   

ceases to have effect at the end of the period of 28 days beginning with

30

the day on which it was made unless, during that period, it is approved

by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(6)   

In reckoning the period of 28 days no account is to be taken of any time—

(a)   

during which Parliament is dissolved or adjourned, or

(b)   

during which both Houses are adjourned for more than 4 days.

35

(7)   

The order ceasing to have effect does not affect—

(a)   

anything previously done under it, or

(b)   

the making of a new order.

(8)   

Where any order or regulations are subject to “negative resolution procedure”

the statutory instrument containing the order or regulations is subject to

40

annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

 
 

Postal Services Bill
Part 5 — General

54

 

(9)   

Any provision that may be made by any order or regulations subject to

negative resolution procedure may be included in an order or regulations

subject to affirmative resolution procedure (in which case negative resolution

procedure does not apply to the order or regulations).

88      

Minor definitions

5

In this Act—

“enactment” includes—

(a)   

an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the

meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978,

(b)   

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an

10

Act of the Scottish Parliament,

(c)   

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under,

Northern Ireland legislation, and

(d)   

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, a

Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales, and

15

“OFCOM” means the Office of Communications.

89      

Minor and consequential amendments

(1)   

Schedule 12 contains minor and consequential amendments (including

repeals).

(2)   

In that Schedule—

20

Part 1 makes provision in relation to the Postal Services Act 2000,

Part 2 makes provision in relation to the Communications Act 2003, and

Part 3 makes provision in relation to other enactments.

(3)   

The Secretary of State or the Treasury may by order make such other provision

amending, repealing, revoking or otherwise modifying any enactment as they

25

consider necessary or expedient in consequence of any provision made by this

Act.

(4)   

An order under subsection (3) is subject to negative resolution procedure.

90      

Financial provisions

There is to be paid out of money provided by Parliament

30

(a)   

any expenditure incurred by a Minister of the Crown or the Postal Services

Commission by virtue of this Act, and

(b)   

any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act

out of money so provided.

91      

Short title, commencement and extent

35

(1)   

This Act may be cited as the Postal Services Act 2011.

(2)   

The following provisions of this Act come into force on the day on which this

Act is passed—

(a)   

section 41 and Schedule 4 (recovery of administrative charges incurred

by OFCOM),

40

(b)   

section 64 and Schedule 9 (transitional provisions for Part 3) and the

provisions mentioned in that Schedule (to the extent provided),

 
 

Postal Services Bill
Part 5 — General

55

 

(c)   

sections 87 and 88,

(d)   

section 89(3) and (4),

(e)   

section 90,

(f)   

this section, and

(g)   

any other provisions of this Act so far as necessary for the purposes of

5

any of the provisions mentioned above.

(3)   

The remaining provisions of this Act come into force on such day as the

Secretary of State may by order appoint (and different days may be appointed

for different purposes).

(4)   

The Secretary of State may by order make such transitional provision and

10

savings as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient in connection

with the commencement of any provision made by this Act.

(5)   

Any amendment or repeal made by this Act has the same extent as the

enactment to which it relates.

(6)   

Subject to that, this Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern

15

Ireland.

 
 

 
previous section contents continue
 
House of Commons home page Houses of Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries

© Parliamentary copyright 2010
Revised 13 October 2010