Food Act 1984

68 Research and education

(1) The appropriate Minister, after consultation with the Company and with any body which in that Minister's opinion is substantially representative of growers of home-grown beet—

(a) shall prepare for each year a programme for carrying out research and education in matters affecting the growing of home-grown beet; and

(b) may by order provide for carrying any such programme into effect.

(2) Any such programme for any year shall contain an estimate of the amount of the expenditure to be incurred in carrying it out; and any order made for carrying such a programme into effect shall, in particular, provide—

(a) for assessing the contributions towards defraying such expenditure to be made by the Company and by every grower of home-grown beet who delivers beet to the Company in that year; and

(b) for the collection of such contributions and the recovery of unpaid contributions by the appropriate Minister.

(3) All contributions paid in accordance with an order under subsection (1) shall be paid into a research and education fund.

(4) All expenditure certified by the appropriate Minister to have been properly incurred in carrying out any programme prepared under this section (including expenditure incurred by him or on his behalf) shall be defrayed out of the fund mentioned in subsection (3).

(5) That fund shall be under the Minister's control; and an account showing the revenue and expenditure of the fund for any year shall, not later than 30th November in the year following that to which it relates, be transmitted by the Minister to the Comptroller and Auditor General, who shall examine and certify the account and lay copies of it, together with his report on it, before Parliament.

(6) In this section—

• " the appropriate Minister "—

  (a)

  in relation to a programme or order extending to the whole of Great Britain, means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly,

  (b)

  in relation to a programme or order extending only to England and Wales, means the Minister and the Secretary of State, acting jointly,

  (c)

  in relation to a programme or order extending only to Scotland, means the Secretary of State;

• " the Company " means British Sugar, public limited company;

• " financial year of the Company" means the 12 months beginning with 1st April;

• " home-grown beet" means sugar beet grown in Great Britain;

• " year " means a financial year of the Company.