Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977

7 Formulation of the Corporations' policies and plans and conduct of their operations

(1) It shall be the duty of each Corporation, after consulting any relevant trade union, to formulate in each year other than that in which it is constituted a corporate plan relating to the conduct, during such period beginning in that year as the Corporation considers appropriate, of the operations of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries and dealing, subject to subsection (2) below, with the following matters, namely,—

(a) capital investment,

(b) research and development,

(c) employment of persons,

(d) forecasts of income and expenditure on profit and loss account and of payments and receipts of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries,

(e) such other matters as the Corporation considers appropriate, and

(f) such other matters as the Secretary of State may for the purposes of this subsection specify in writing to the Corporation,

and, in formulating its corporate plan in each year and in determining the period to which the plan is to relate, and in the general conduct of the operations of the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries in each year, the Corporation shall act on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Secretary of State.

(2) If the Secretary of State gives a direction to either Corporation to that effect, the plan formulated by the Corporation in any year under subsection (1) above need not deal with such of the matters falling within paragraphs (a) to (d) of that subsection as may be specified in the direction.

(3) If the estimated cost to British Aerospace and its wholly owned subsidiaries of the development of any aircraft or guided weapon exceeds such amount as may for the time being be notified to British Aerospace by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this subsection, British Aerospace shall secure that neither it nor any of its wholly owned subsidiaries undertake, or participate with others in the undertaking of, that development except with the consent of the Secretary of State.

(4) In this section

• “estimated cost” does not include any cost which British Aerospace or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries expects to be reimbursed under the terms of a contract, and

• “year ” means the period of 12 months beginning on 1st January.