The Research Councils (Transfer of Property etc.) Order 1994

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Research Councils (Transfer of Property etc.) Order 1994 and shall come into force on 1st April 1994.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“AFRC” means the Agricultural and Food Research Council;

“BBSRC” means the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council;

“SERC” means the Science and Engineering Research Council;

“EPSRC” means the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council;

“PPARC” means the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council;

“NERC” means the Natural Environment Research Council;

“ESRC” means the Economic and Social Research Council;

“Polaris House Site” means the land and buildings situate at North Star Avenue, Swindon in the County of Wiltshire;

“PPARC team” means those persons currently employed by the SERC and designated on or before 31st March 1994 for assignment to the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council;

“BBSRC team” means those persons currently employed by the SERC and designated on or before 31st March 1994 for assignment to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council;

“NERC team” means those persons currently employed by the SERC and designated on or before 31st March 1994 for assignment to the Natural Environment Research Council;

“the Royal Observatories” means the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh;

“the final working balance” means the balance at 31st March 1994 as shown in the audited accounts of the SERC.

General transfer of property, rights, liabilities and obligations from the AFRC

3.—(1) Subject to any provision which is otherwise made by this Order, all land and rights or liabilities in relation to such land held acquired or incurred by the AFRC, including the interest of the AFRC in the Polaris House Site, shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

(2) Where by virtue of this Order any hereditament comprising land is transferred from the AFRC to the BBSRC any property in or on the land including any movable property shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

(3) Subject to any provision of this Order, all rights and liabilities arising in relation to any contract for goods or services to be provided by or to the AFRC shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this Article and of Article 4, all rights and liabilities arising in relation to any activities of the AFRC as a Research Council including any liability for a guarantee, indemnity or financial assistance by way of grant or otherwise shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

(5) Paragraph (4) applies to a liability imposed by or under any statutory provision as it applies to a liability which is undertaken voluntarily.

Transfer of obligations under contracts of employment

4.—(1) All rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or relating to any contract of employment whereby any person is employed by the AFRC before the coming into force of this Order shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Article, all rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or relating to any contract of employment whereby any person is employed by the SERC before the coming into force of this Order shall be transferred to the EPSRC.

(3) All rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or relating to any contract of employment referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article shall be transferred to—

(a) the PPARC in the case of any person assigned to the “PPARC team”,

(b) the BBSRC in the case of any person assigned to the “BBSRC team”,

(c) the NERC in the case of any person assigned to the “NERC team”.

(4) All rights, powers, duties and liabilities accruing or arising under the AFRC Superannuation Scheme and the SERC Principal Superannuation Scheme shall be transferred to the BBSRC.

Amendment of the Science and Technology Act 1965

5.—(1) Where any person transferred by virtue of this Order to the employment of EPSRC or PPARC is a person who, by virtue of paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 3 to the Science and Technology Act 1965 (application of Atomic Energy Authority pension scheme to persons employed for the purposes of research into nuclear science), is included immediately before the transfer in the persons for whom a scheme may be maintained under paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 1 to the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954—

(a) that person shall continue to be so included in respect of his employment with the EPSRC or the PPARC; and

(b) any scheme which is so maintained shall have effect after that transfer as regards that person as if the employment to which he is transferred were a continuation of the employment in respect of which he fell to be so included before the transfer.

(2) The EPSRC and the PPARC shall each pay to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (in addition to any sums required to be paid in consequence of the transfer by virtue of this Order of any liability under paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 3 to the Science and Technology Act 1965) such sums in respect of

(a) any payments falling by virtue of paragraph (1) above to be made by the Authority to or in respect of a person transferred to the employment of EPSRC or, as the case may be, PPARC, and

(b) the accruing liability for any such payments, as may be agreed between the Council in question and the Authority or as may, in default of agreement, be determined by the Treasury.

General transfer of property, rights, liabilities and obligations from the SERC

6.—(1) Subject to any provision which is otherwise made by this Order, all land and rights or liabilities in relation to such land held acquired or incurred by the SERC shall be transferred to the EPSRC.

(2) All that land, and any immovable property on the land, which forms the interest of the SERC in the Polaris House Site shall be transferred to the EPSRC.

(3) Subject to any provision of this Order, all rights and liabilities arising in relation to any contract for goods or services to be provided by or to the SERC shall be transferred to the EPSRC.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this Order all rights and liabilities arising in relation to any activities of the SERC as a Research Council (except those referred to in paragraph (5) of this Article) and including any liability for a guarantee, indemnity or financial assistance by way of grant or otherwise shall be transferred to the EPSRC.

(5) All rights and liabilities arising in relation to any civil proceedings and concerning the activities of the SERC as a Research Council in the fields of astronomy and planetary science or the work of the Royal Observatories shall be transferred to the PPARC.

(6) Paragraphs (4) and (5) apply to a liability imposed by or under any statutory provision as they apply to a liability which is undertaken voluntarily.

(7) The monies constituting the final working balance of the SERC shall be transferred to the EPSRC, the PPARC, the BBSRC and the NERC in the proportions of 69.5%, 18.0%, 10.5% and 2.0% respectively.

Specific transfers of land, rights and liabilities from the SERC

7.  Subject to the provisions of this Order all land including any property in or on the land held and used by the SERC together with rights or liabilities in relation to such land acquired or incurred by the SERC and which is specified in—

(1) Part I of Schedule 1;

(2) Parts II, III and IV of Schedule 1;

(3) Schedule 2;

shall, in the case of paragraph (1), be transferred to the PPARC and in the case of paragraph (2), shall be so transferred subject to any requirement of the law of the place where the land is situate, and in the case of paragraph (3) shall be transferred to the NERC.

Specific transfers of equipment and other movable property from the SERC

8.  Subject to the provisions of this Order movable property and equipment including any vehicle owned, held or used by the SERC on the date of the coming into force of this Order and which is specified in—

(1) Part I of Schedule 3, Part I of Schedule 18, and Schedule 19;

(2) Parts II, III, IV and V of Schedule 3, and Part II of Schedule 18;

shall, in the case of paragraph (1), be transferred to the PPARC and in the case of paragraph (2), shall be so transferred subject to any requirement of the law of the place where such equipment is to be found.

Specific transfers of rights and liabilities from the SERC

9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Order all rights and liabilities arising in relation to any contract for goods or services to be provided by or to the SERC shall be transferred to—

(a) the PPARC if specified in Schedule 4;

(b) the BBSRC if specified in Schedule 5;

(c) the NERC if specified in Schedule 6.

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, all rights and liabilities in relation to any contract for goods or services to be provided by or to the Royal Observatories shall be transferred to the PPARC.

(3) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, all rights and liabilities in relation to any contract for goods or services to be provided by or to the SERC shall be transferred to—

(a) the PPARC if the number of the contract ends with “XP”;

(b) the NERC if the number of the contract ends with “XN”;

(c) the BBSRC if the number of the contract ends with “XB”.

Specific transfers of grants, studentships and fellowships from the SERC

10.  Subject to the provisions of this Order all rights and liabilities of the SERC arising in relation to the award of research grants, studentships and fellowships shall be transferred to—

(a) the PPARC if specified in Schedule 7, 11 or 15;

(b) the BBSRC if specified in Schedule 8, 12 or 16;

(c) the NERC if specified in Schedule 9, 13 or 17;

(d) the ESRC if specified in Schedule 10 or 14.