Employment and Training Act 1973

5 (1) For subsection (1) of section 4 of the Act there shall be substituted the following subsection—

(1) For the purpose of encouraging adequate training in the industry an industrial training board may, in accordance with an order made by the Minister (hereafter in this Act referred to as " a levy order "), impose a levy on employers in the industry except so far as they are exempted from the levy by the industrial training order, the levy order or an exemption certificate.

(2) In section 4(2) of the Act, after the words " to proposals" there shall be inserted the words " in respect of a levy which have been ".

(3) In section 4 of the Act, after subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(2A) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the Minister to make a levy order in a case in which he considers it inexpedient to make one ; and the Minister shall not make a levy order in pursuance of any proposals under the said section 7 unless—

(a) he is satisfied that proposals published by the relevant board in pursuance of section 4A of this Act provide for exemption certificates relating to the levy (other than levy payable by virtue of subsection (1B) of the said section 7) in such cases as he considers appropriate ;

(b) such of the proposals under the said section 7 as were made in pursuance of subsection (1A)(a) of that section and are approved by the Commission provide for the exemption from the levy of employers who, in view of the small number of their employees, ought in his opinion to be exempted from it;

(c) he is satisfied that such of the proposals under the said section 7 as were made in pursuance of subsection (1B) of that section are necessary as mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection and are shown, by evidence furnished by the board which made the proposals, to be considered necessary as mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection; and

(d) the amount which, disregarding any exemptions, he estimates would if the order were made be payable by virtue of it by any employer in the industry either—

(i) does not exceed an amount which the Minister estimates is equal to one per cent, of the aggregate of the emoluments and payments intended to be disbursed as emoluments which are paid and payable, by that employer to or in respect of persons employed in the industry, in respect of the period specified in the proposals as the period which is relevant for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, or

(ii) does exceed the amount mentioned in the preceding sub-paragraph but is considered by him to be appropriate in the circumstances ;

and a levy order made in a case falling within paragraph (d)(ii) of this subsection shall state that it is made in such a case.

(4) In section 4(3) of the Act, before the word " contain " there shall be inserted the words " provide for payments by way of levy to accrue due from day to day over a period specified in the order and may " and before the word " become " there shall be inserted the words " (whether or not any period over which that amount accrues due has expired) ".

(5) At the end of section 4(4) of the Act there shall be inserted the words " unless the instrument contains only an order which includes a statement that it is made in a case falling within subsection (2A)(d)(ii) of this section, and no levy order which includes such a statement shall be made unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament ".