Docks and Harbours Act 1966

41 Transfer of the Boards' debts to other harbour authorities

(1) Where a harbour revision order or harbour reorganisation scheme provides for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities of one of the Boards (hereafter in this section referred to as " the Board ") to some other authority or body (hereafter in this section referred to as " the new authority "), the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct that the new authority shall assume, as from the date of the transfer, a debt to him of an amount determined under the next following subsection.

(2) The amount of the said debt—

(a) shall be determined by the Minister ; and

(b) shall be equal to so much of the amounts outstanding of the Board's commencing capital debt, as determined under section 39 of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962, and of the principal of any loan made to the Board by the Minister under section 20 of that Act as the Minister may think proper having regard to the property, rights and liabilities transferred from the Board by the order or scheme.

(3) Where the Minister gives a direction under this section for the assumption of a debt by a new authority, the commencing capital debt of the Board under section 39 of the said Act of 1962 and the principal of any loan made to the Board by the Minister under section 20 of that Act shall be deemed to have been reduced, as from the date of the transfer of the property, rights and liabilities to which the order or scheme relates, by amounts equal in the aggregate to the amount of the debt assumed by the new authority.

(4) A direction under subsection (1) of this section may include such provision as the Minister thinks appropriate for making consequential alterations of the Board's obligations with respect to its commencing capital debt or any such loan as aforesaid or such provision as could be included in a direction under section 39(6) or, as the case may be, section 20(2) of the said Act of 1962 (terms of repayment and the like) or provisions of both descriptions.

(5) Subject to subsection (7) of this section, the rate of interest payable on the debt so assumed by the new authority, the time when the principal is to be paid off and the other terms of the debt shall be such as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury from time to time direct.

(6) The Minister may require a new authority by whom a debt is so assumed to give such security for the debt as he may require, and the new authority may give such security.

(7) The Minister may, before giving any direction under this section for the assumption of a debt by a new authority, estimate the amount of the debt to be assumed by the authority and require the authority to make him, on dates specified in the requirement, provisional repayments of the principal of the debt and provisional payments by way of interest on the estimated amount of the debt; and the liability of the Board to make payments of principal or interest under sections 39(6) or 20(2) of the [1962 c. 46.] Transport Act 1962 shall be reduced on those respective dates by amounts equal respectively to the amounts of the payments on those dates.

(8) Provisional payments under the last foregoing subsection shall be on account of the repayments of the principal and payments of interest under subsection (5) of this section; and directions under this section may impose such requirements on the Board and the new authority as appear to the Minister expedient for the purpose of making adjustments of sums underpaid or overpaid by way of principal or interest.

(9) Any sums received by the Minister by way of repayment of, or interest on, the debt assumed by the new authority under this section shall be paid into the Exchequer and shall be issued out of the Consolidated Fund at such times as the Treasury may direct and be applied by the Treasury as follows, that is to say—

(a) so much thereof as represents principal shall be applied in redeeming or paying off debt of such description as the Treasury thinks fit;

(b) so much thereof as represents interest shall be applied towards meeting such part of the annual charges for the national debt as represents interest.

(10) The Minister shall, as respects each financial year, prepare in such form and manner as the Treasury may direct an account of any debt assumed by a new authority under this section and of the sums to be paid into the Exchequer under the last foregoing subsection and of the disposal by him of any sum so paid, and send it to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of November following that year; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on the account and lay copies of it, together with his report, before each House of Parliament.