Transport (London) Act 1969

19 Transfer or extinguishment of London Board's debts to Minister and power to make deficit grants to Board

(1) On the vesting date—

(a) there shall be extinguished—

(i) the commencing capital debt of the London Board under section 39 of the Act of 1962 ; and

(ii) the liability of the London Board in respect of the principal of all sums lent to that Board by the Minister under section 20 of that Act;

(b) the Council shall assume a debt due to the Minister (hereafter in this section referred to as the Council's " transferred capital debt") on such terms as may be imposed by the Minister under subsection (3) of this section;

(c) the Executive shall assume a debt due to the Council (hereafter in this section referred to as the Executive's " commencing capital debt") of an amount equal to the Council's transferred capital debt on the terms described in subsection (7) of this section; and

(d) the commencing capital debt of the Bus Company under Schedule 2 to the Act of 1968 shall be increased in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) The amount of the Council's transferred capital debt and of the increase of the Bus Company's commencing capital debt taken together shall be equal to one-tenth of the aggregate amount extinguished under subsection (1)(a) of this section; and the respective amounts of that debt and that increase shall be equal to such proportions respectively of the amount of that one-tenth as the Minister may by order prescribe having regard to the manner in which the property, rights and liabilities of the London Board to which section 16 of this Act applies are divided under that section between the Executive and the designated company.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the rate of interest payable on the transferred capital debt of the Council, the time when the principal is to be paid off and the other terms of the debt shall be such as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury from time to time direct; and—

(a) any sums received by the Minister by way of interest on, or repayment of, that debt shall be paid into the National Loans Fund ; and

(b) in section 44(1) of the Act of 1968 (which requires an account by the Minister of the receipt and disposal of certain sums) at the end there shall be added the following paragraph:—

“(c) any sums which, being received by the Minister by way of interest on, or the repayment of, the transferred capital debt of the Greater London Council under section 19 of the Transport (London) Act 1969, are required by subsection (3)(a) of that section to be paid by the Minister into the National Loans Fund.”

(4) For the purposes of any period between the vesting date and the date of the making of the order under subsection (2) of this section the Minister may estimate what the transferred capital debt of the Council and the increase in the commencing capital debt of the Bus Company are likely to be and require the Council and the Bus Company to make to him provisional payments by way of interest on the appropriate estimated amount; and those provisional payments shall be on account of the payments of interest becoming due—

(a) in the case of the Council, under subsection (3) of this section;

(b) in the case of the Bus Company, under section 39(6) of the Act of 1962 as applied by paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1968.

(5) The Minister may from time to time, but not later than the expiration of the period of five years beginning with the vesting date, by order vary the amounts prescribed under subsection (2) of this section where that appears to him expedient to take account of any adjustments in pursuance of provisions of this Act in the property, rights and liabilities of the London Board transferred respectively to the Executive and to the designated company, and any such order may contain such transitional provisions as appear to the Minister expedient to take account of any interest underpaid or overpaid on the transferred capital debt of the Council or, as the case may be, on the commencing capital debt of the Bus Company.

(6) The Minister's power to make an order under subsection (2) or (5) of this section shall be subject to the approval of the Treasury; and any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament.

(7) In the case of the commencing capital debt of the Executive, the rate of interest payable, the time when the principal is to be paid off, and the other terms of that debt, shall be the same (subject to the necessary adaptations) as those for the time being applicable under subsection (3) of this section in the case of the transferred capital debt of the Council; and—

(a) if any variation is made by an order under subsection (5) of this section in the transferred capital debt of the Council, the like variation shall be made in the commencing capital debt of the Executive and the Council may by directions to the Executive make such transitional provision as appears to the Council expedient to take account of any interest underpaid or overpaid on the commencing capital debt of the Executive;

(b) for the purposes of the period referred to in subsection (4) of this section the Council may require the Executive to make to them provisional payments of the like amount as are required to be made by the Council to the Minister and those provisional payments shall be on account of the payments of interest becoming due under this subsection.

(8) The Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, make grants to the London Board or, after the vesting date, to the Executive to meet any deficit arising on the revenue account of the London Board in respect of the period beginning with 1st January 1969 and ending with the vesting date.