Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968

58 Power of Secretary of State to reduce, suspend, discontinue or transfer particular Exchequer contributions

(1) The Secretary of State may, in any of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3) of this section, reduce the amount of any Exchequer contributions, being Exchequer contributions falling to be made under any of the enactments specified in Schedule 6 to this Act in respect of a particular subsidised unit, or suspend or discontinue the payment of such Exchequer contributions or part thereof, as he thinks just in those circumstances.

(2) Where such Exchequer contributions fall to be made to a local authority in respect of a subsidised unit in relation to which an annual grant is payable by the authority to a development corporation or a housing association, then, if the amount of the Exchequer contributions is reduced or the payment of the Exchequer contributions or part thereof is suspended or discontinued under this section, the authority may reduce the annual grant to a corresponding or any less extent or suspend the payment thereof, or of a corresponding part thereof, for a corresponding period or discontinue the payment thereof, or of a corresponding part thereof, as the case may be.

(3) The circumstances referred to in subsection (1) of this section are—

(a) that the Exchequer contributions fall to be made to a local authority and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the authority have failed to discharge any of their duties under the Housing (Scotland) Acts 1950 to 1965 or the principal Act or this Act or that they have failed to exercise any power mentioned therein in any case where any such power ought to have been exercised;

(b) that the subsidised unit was provided by a development corporation or a housing association in pursuance of authorised arrangements made with a local authority or special arrangements made with the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the development corporation or housing association have made default in giving effect to the terms of any such arrangements;

(c) that the Exchequer contributions fall to be made subject to any conditions and the Secretary of State is satisfied that any of those conditions has not been complied with;

(d) that the subsidised unit has been converted, demolished or destroyed;

(e) that the subsidised unit is not fit to be used or has ceased to be used for the purpose for which it was intended;

(f) that the subsidised unit has been sold or has been leased for a stipulated duration exceeding twelve months;

(g) that the subsidised unit has been transferred, whether by sale or otherwise.

(4) Where the Secretary of State's power under subsection (1) of this section to discontinue the payment of the whole or part of any Exchequer contributions falling to be made to a recipient authority in respect of a particular subsidised unit becomes exercisable in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (f) or paragraph (g) of subsection (3) of this section and the subsidised unit has become vested in or has been leased to another recipient authority, then, if the Secretary of State exercises that power he may make to that other authority Exchequer contributions of the like amount as he would otherwise have made to the first-mentioned authority if the conditions (if any) subject to which the first-mentioned Exchequer contributions fell to be made had been complied with.

(5) In this section—

• " the subsidised unit " means the house, hostel or other land in respect of which Exchequer contributions fall to be made, whether they fall to be made in respect of it or its site or in respect of land comprising it or in respect of the cost of any houses, or of the acquisition of any land, comprising it;

and the provisions of section 12 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of sections 1 to 10 of this Act, except that references in this section to special arrangements made by a housing association with the Secretary of State shall include also references to arrangements which the Secretary of State may have made with a housing association for the provision of houses with a view to their approval under any Act passed before the [1967 c. 20.] Housing (Financial Provisions, &c.) (Scotland) Act 1967.