Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

119 Voluntary combination of local authorities.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any two or more local authorities may combine for any purpose in which they are jointly interested (including, without prejudice to the foregoing generality, for the purpose of conducting and managing their business and the employment of officers) and that on such terms and conditions as may be agreed between them.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, any agreement made for the purposes of any such combination may without prejudice to any other arrangement provide—

(a) for the appointment of a joint committee of the authorities concerned consisting of such number of members as is specified in the agreement and for the delegation to the joint committee of any function relating to the purpose for which the combination has effect; or

(b) for the joint exercise in any other manner by the authorities concerned of any function of the authorities; or

(c) for one of the authorities concerned furnishing to or on behalf of the other authorities concerned any service for which the combination has effect on the terms and conditions specified or provided for in the agreement, and such agreement may provide that, notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other enactment or any statutory order, representatives of the other authorities may be appointed members of any committee or sub-committee of the authority mrrushing the service.

(3) The expenses of any joint committee appointed under the agreement or of any combination of authorities under this section shall be defrayed by the authorities concerned in the proportions specified or provided for in the agreement, and the proportion of the expenses falling to be defrayed by any authority shall be defrayed by that authority in like manner as the expenses would have been defrayed had the service been provided by that authority.

(4) The Minister concerned on the application of all the local authorities concerned may by order constitute a joint committee under this section a body corporate by such name as may be determined by the order, and such joint committee shall have perpetual succession and a common seal.

(5) Where under an enactment or statutory order the sanction of a Minister is required to any combination into which local authorities may if they think fit enter, the provisions of this section shall apply in the case of such combination so far as not inconsistent with the provisions of any such enactment or statutory order, but the sanction of the Minister shall be required to the combination.

(6) Nothing in this section shall authorise a combination of local authorities for any of the purposes of the [22 & 23 Geo. 5. c. 49.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1932, the [8 & 9 Geo. 6. c. 33.] Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1945, the [9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 42.] Water (Scotland) Act, 1946, the Police (Scotland) Act, 1946, the [10 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 41.] National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947, or the Fire Services Act, 1947.

(7) For the purposes of this section any statutory authority, commissioners or trustees to which section two hundred and seventy of this Act applies shall also be deemed to be a local authority.