(1)In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say:—
" accounting year " means the period beginning with the appointed day and ending with 31st March next following or any subsequent period of twelve months beginning with the end of a previous accounting year ;
" banker " includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not, who carry on the business of banking ;
" the British Islands " means the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands ;
" cash on delivery service " means a service whereby the Post Office or a foreign administration collects or secures the collection of a sum of money on the delivery of anything consigned for conveyance by post and remits it to the sender thereof;
" foreign administration " means a postal administration other than the Post Office;
" harbour ", except in relation to Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, has the same meaning as in the [1964 c. 40.] Harbours Act 1964, in relation to Northern Ireland, means any harbour, whether natural or artificial, and any port, haven or estuary, and includes a dock and a wharf, quay, pier, jetty or other place at which seagoing ships (including hovercraft) can ship or unship goods or embark or disembark passengers and, in relation to the Isle of Man, has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Harbours (Isle of Man) Act 1961 (of Tynwald);
" harbour authority ", except in relation to Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, has the same meaning as in the Harbours Act 1964, in relation to Northern Ireland, means any person in whom are vested, by any statutory provision, the powers or duties of improving, maintaining or managing a harbour and, in relation to the Isle of Man, means the Isle of Man Harbour Board;
" hovercraft " has the same meaning as in the [1968 c. 59.] Hovercraft Act 1968 ;
" land " includes any interest in land and any right over land;
" local authority ".—
in relation to England and Wales, means the council of a county, county borough or county district, the Greater London Council, the council of a London borough or the Common Council of the City of London;
in relation to Scotland, means a county council or a town council;
in relation to Northern Ireland, means the council of a county, county borough or county district or a joint board constituted under the Public Health Acts (Northern Ireland) 1878 to 1966 or section 7(1) of the [1945 c. 17 (N.I.).] Water Supplies and Sewerage Act (Northern Ireland) 1945;
" mail-bag " includes any container in which articles are enclosed by the Post Office or a foreign administration for the purpose of the conveyance thereof by post;
" national health service authority "—
in relation to England and Wales, means a regional hospital board, board of governors of a teaching hospital or hospital management committee established under Part II of the [1946 c. 81.] National Health Service Act 1946 or an executive council established under section 31 of that Act;
in relation to Scotland, means a regional hospital board or board of management established under Part II of the [1947 c. 27.] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 or an executive council established under section 32 of that Act;
in relation to Northern Ireland, means the Northern Ireland General Health Services Board, the Northern Ireland Hospitals Authority, a hospital management committee established under Part III of the [1948 c. 3 (N.I.).] Health Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1948 or a special care management committee established under Part I of the [1961 c. 15 (N.I.).] Mental Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1961;
" statutory provision ", except in relation to Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, has the same meaning as in section 57(1) of the [1964 c. 40.] Harbours Act 1964, in relation to Northern Ireland, has the same meaning as in section 1(f) of the [1954 c. 33 (N.I.).] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 and, in relation to the Isle of Man, means an Act of Tynwald.
(2)Any reference in this Part of this Act to a subsidiary shall be construed in accordance with section 154 of the [1948 c. 38.] Companies Act 1948 and any reference therein to a wholly owned subsidiary shall be construed in accordance with section 150(4) of that Act.
(3)Any reference in this Part of this Act to data processing shall be construed as including a reference to the storage and retrieval of information.
(4)Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be taken to restrict the construction of references to the Post Office's business so as to exclude the performance of services which, by virtue of section 7(1)(d) of this Act, it has power to perform.