Nuclear Industry (Finance) Act 1977

1 Government guarantee of companies’ borrowing, etc. E+W+S+N.I.

(1) The Secretary of State may guarantee repayment of any loan made to British Nuclear Fuels Limited (“B.N.F.L.”) or The Radiochemical Centre Limited (“T.R.C.L.”); and the guarantee may extend to the payment of loan interest and any other payments falling to be made by the company concerned to the lender or the lender’s order in connection with the loan or its repayment.

(2) If B.N.F.L. enter into agreements requiring them to perform services for which they are to receive payment or part payment in advance, and the agreements provide for the advances to be repaid in specified circumstances, the Secretary of State may guarantee the repayment and also any payment of interest on sums advanced for which B.N.F.L. may be liable under the agreements.

(3) The Treasury’s consent is required for any guarantee to be given by the Secretary of State under this section; and immediately after giving it the Secretary of State shall lay before each House of Parliament a statement showing the extent and character of the guarantee, and the circumstances in which it came to be given.

(4) If any amount is paid by the Secretary of State in fulfilment of a guarantee given under this section, the company concerned shall as from the date of the payment be indebted to him in that amount, with interest (for so long as the debt remains unpaid) at such rate as the Treasury may specify from time to time.

(5) For so long as there remains outstanding any indebtedness of a company to the Secretary of State under subsection (4), he shall from time to time as the Treasury may request (and in any case not less often than once in each financial year) lay before each House of Parliament a statement—

(a) showing the amount of the indebtedness and the circumstances in which it arose; and

(b) defining (with Treasury approval) his intentions with regard to requiring its repayment.

(6) Any sums required for fulfilling a guarantee given under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament; and any sums received by the Secretary of State as repayment of a company’s indebtedness under subsection (4), or by way of interest on such indebtedness, shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.