Employment and Training Act 1973

1 Establishment of the Commission and Agencies

(1) There shall be three bodies corporate, to be called the Manpower Services Commission, the Employment Service Agency and the Training Services Agency, each of which shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall be constituted in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2) The said Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as " the Commission ") shall consist of ten persons appointed by the Secretary of State to be members of the Commission, of whom the members specified in each of the following paragraphs shall be appointed by him after consultation with such of the organisations mentioned in that paragraph as he considers appropriate, that is to say—

(a) as to three members, organisations representing employers;

(b) as to three other members, organisations representing employees;

(c) as to two other members, organisations representing local authorities; and

(d) as to one other member, organisations concerned with education (excluding organisations mentioned in the preceding paragraph).

(3) The Secretary of State shall appoint as the chairman of the Commission the member about whose appointment no consultation is required by virtue of the preceding subsection and may appoint one of the other members as the deputy chairman of the Commission.

(4) The said Agencies (hereafter in this Act referred to jointly as " the Agencies ") shall each consist of three persons of whom one shall be appointed by the Commission with the approval of the Secretary of State to be the director of the Agency in question and the others shall be appointed by the Commission after consultation with the said director.

(5) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Commission and the Agencies.

(6) The Secretary of State may with the consent of the Treasury, at any time during the period of five years beginning with the day when subsection (1) of this section comes into force, by order transfer to and vest in the Commission or either of the Agencies—

(a) any interest of the Crown or a government department in land which in the opinion of the Secretary of State is occupied by him or the Commission or either of the Agencies for a purpose connected with the functions of any of those bodies ; and

(b) any rights and liabilities to which the Crown or a government department is entitled or subject in connection with such an interest;

but nothing in section 12 of the [1895 c. 16.] Finance Act 1895 (which requires certain Acts and certain instruments relating to the vesting of property by virtue of an Act to be stamped as conveyances on sale) shall apply to this Act or an order made in pursuance of this subsection, and stamp duty shall not be payable on such an order.

(7) It is hereby declared that the Commission and the Agencies are not to be regarded as servants or, subject to subsection (2)(a) of the following section, as agents of the Crown or as enjoying any status, privilege or immunity of the Crown or, subject to the preceding subsection, as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local, and that their property is not to be regarded as property of or held on behalf of the Crown; but nothing in this Act shall be construed as derogating from any privilege, immunity or exemption of the Crown in relation to any matter as respects which the Commission or either of the Agencies acts as agent of the Crown by virtue of the said subsection (2)(a).