Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988

Part III Finance

13 Navigation charges

(1) The Authority shall so manage its affairs that, taking one year with another, the charges which it makes—

(a) in the discharge of its functions under Part II of this Act; and

(b) under section 26 of the [1964 c. 40.] Harbours Act 1964 (ship, passenger and goods dues);

are, when taken together, at least equal to the expenses which, after allowing for any other income attributable to its functions under Part II of this Act or accruing to it in respect of moorings, it incurs in the discharge of those functions.

(2) Expenditure—

(a) not properly attributable to its revenue account; or

(b) incurred by the Authority wholly or mainly in connection with conserving the natural beauty of any area;

shall not be taken into account for the purposes of subsection (1) above.

(3) Before determining the level of any charges of a kind mentioned in subsection (1) above, the Authority shall consult the Navigation Committee.

(4) No charges shall be taken or recovered by the Authority in respect of anything (including any farm animal) which—

(a) is carried on any waterway within the navigation area by the owner of land which abuts such a waterway; and

(b) is for use in connection with any agricultural activity carried out on other land which he owns and which also abuts that waterway, another such waterway or any part of the Haven.

14 Authority’s power to make levies on participating authorities

(1) The Authority may, in respect of each financial year beginning after it is established, make levies on each of the participating authorities—

(a) to meet that part of the Authority’s estimated expenditure in that financial year for which provision is not otherwise made;

(b) to enable it to discharge in that financial year any liabilities for the discharge of which provision is not otherwise made; and

(c) to meet contingencies, and provide an adequate working balance, during that financial year.

(2) In determining any amount to be raised for any financial year by way of levy under this section, the Authority shall not be required to treat any reserve which is maintained by it as available to be applied by it during that year.

(3) In determining the amount which it requires to raise by way of levy under this section for any financial year, the Authority shall determine the aggregate amount which it so requires to raise.

(4) Norfolk County Council shall contribute 30 per cent. of that aggregate amount and the seven other participating authorities shall each contribute 10 per cent.

(5) Where—

(a) the area which constitutes the Broads for the purposes of this Act is varied by an order made under Schedule 2 to this Act; or

(b) the constitution of the Authority is varied by an order made under section 7 of this Act;

the Secretary of State may by order vary the proportions mentioned in subsection (4) above in such manner as he considers appropriate in consequence of the order mentioned in paragraph (a) or (as the case may be) (b) above.

(6) The Authority shall, before 30th November in every year, notify each of the participating authorities of its proposals in relation to the levy for the following financial year.

(7) In determining the aggregate amount to be raised for any financial year by way of levy under this section, the Authority shall have regard to any representations made to it by a participating authority in respect of the proposals notified under subsection (6) above in relation to that year.

(8) A levy under this section on any participating authority shall be made by issuing the authority with a demand stating—

(a) the date or dates on or before which a payment or payments in respect of the levy are required to be made; and

(b) the amount of that payment or each of those payments.

(9) Any such demand must be issued, or information as to the amount to be subsequently demanded must be given, to a participating authority before 15th February in the year in which the financial year to which the demand relates begins.

(10) No resolution of the Authority relating to the amount to be levied under this section, in respect of any financial year, shall be valid unless at least nine of the members of the Authority who voted in favour of the resolution were appointed as such members by one or other of the participating authorities.

(11) The following enactments—

(a) subsections (8) and (9) of section 12 of the [1967 c. 9.] General Rate Act 1967 (liability for interest where amount due under a precept is unpaid); and

(b) section 15 of that Act (power to secure payments of precept);

shall apply to a levy made by the Authority, and to the Authority, as they apply to a precept issued by a precepting authority, and to such an authority, but with the omission in subsection (1) of section 15 of the words “the rating authority have refused or through wilful neglect or wilful default failed to raise that amount by a rate, or that, having raised the amount by a rate”.

(12) The Authority may make a levy under this section for any financial year in substitution for a levy previously made by it for that year; and subsections (4) to (6) of section 3 of the [1982 c. 32.] Local Government Finance Act 1982 (substituted rates and precepts) shall apply to a substituted levy as they apply to a substituted precept.

(13) Subsection (7) above shall not apply to a substituted levy.

(14) For the purposes of any other enactment (including in particular section 34 of the [1875 c. 83.] Local Loans Act 1875 and section 101(6) of the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972) any sum levied under this section shall be treated as money to be raised out of a rate.

15 Grants from Secretary of State

(1) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, make grants to the Authority for such purposes, and on such terms and conditions, as he thinks fit.

(2) Before determining the amount of any grant which he proposes to make to the Authority under this section, or the purpose for which it is to be made, the Secretary of State shall consult the Countryside Commission.

16 Borrowing powers of Authority

(1) The Authority may borrow temporarily, by way of overdraft or otherwise, such sums as it may require—

(a) for the purpose of defraying expenses properly chargeable to revenue, pending the receipt by it of revenues which arise in respect of the period of account to which the expenses are chargeable and which are taken into account in its estimates for that period; or

(b) for the purpose of defraying, pending the raising of money under subsection (2) below, expenses intended to be defrayed by means of that money.

(2) The Authority may borrow money, otherwise than by way of a temporary loan—

(a) for any purpose or class of purpose approved for the purposes of this subsection by the Secretary of State; and

(b) in accordance with any conditions subject to which that approval is given.

(3) Where the Authority borrows under subsection (2) above, it may raise the sum borrowed—

(a) by mortgage;

(b) by an agreement entered into with the Public Works Loan Commissioners under section 2 of the [1965 c. 63.] Public Works Loans Act 1965; or

(c) by any other means approved by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Treasury.

(4) Where the Authority borrows money under subsection (1)(b) above and subsequently raises under subsection (2) above the loan in respect of which the temporary borrowing was made, the loan shall, to the extent of the sum borrowed temporarily, be treated for the purposes of the provisions applied by subsection (5) below as having been borrowed at the time of the temporary borrowing.

(5) The following provisions of Schedule 13 to the [1972 c. 70.] Local Government Act 1972 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply in relation to borrowing by the Authority under subsection (2) above as they apply in relation to borrowing by local authorities—

(a) paragraph 4 (power of Secretary of State to make regulations governing forms of security etc.);

(b) paragraph 7 (accounting);

(c) paragraph 11 (priority as between loans);

(d) paragraph 12 (joint borrowing);

(e) paragraph 16 (creation of funds); and

(f) paragraph 20 (lender not required to enquire into legality of loan).

17 Accounts and auditing

(1) The Authority shall make arrangements for the proper administration of its financial affairs and shall secure that one of its officers has responsibility for the administration of those affairs.

(2) The Authority shall keep a fund, to be known as the general fund.

(3) All receipts of the Authority shall be carried to, and all liabilities falling to be discharged by the Authority shall be discharged out of, the general fund.

(4) The Authority shall keep an account of all receipts carried to, and payments made out of, the general fund.

(5) The Authority shall keep—

(a) an account, to be known as the navigation revenue account, of all income accruing to it in respect of its functions under Part II of this Act, by way of ship, passenger and goods dues under section 26 of the [1964 c. 40.] Harbours Act 1964 and in respect of moorings, and of all expenditure incurred by it in respect of those matters; and

(b) an account, to be known as the general revenue account, of all income and expenditure which it is not required to account for separately.

(6) No expenditure incurred by the Authority wholly or mainly in connection with conserving the natural beauty of any area shall be treated as expenditure to which subsection (5)(a) above applies.

(7) Any deficit in the navigation revenue account shall be made up by contributions from the general revenue account.

(8) No surplus in the navigation revenue account shall be applied otherwise than in connection with the discharge of the Authority’s functions under Part II of this Act or the repayment of contributions made under subsection (7) above.

(9) Any payment made to the Authority by way of grant under this Act shall be credited to the general revenue account.

(10) The following paragraph shall be inserted in section 12(2) of the [1982 c. 32.] Local Government Finance Act 1982 (accounts subject to audit)—

“(ff) the Broads Authority;”.

(11) Without prejudice to any provision of regulations made under section 23 of the Act of 1982 (regulations as to accounts), the Authority shall send a copy of every statement of accounts prepared in accordance with those regulations, together with a copy of any auditor’s report on the accounts in question, to the Secretary of State and to each of the other appointing authorities.

(12) In section 36 of the Act of 1982 (interpretation) the following subsection shall be added at the end—

“(3) In the application of Part III of this Act in relation to the Broads Authority—

(a) any reference to a local government elector shall be construed as a reference to a local government elector for the area of any participating authority (as defined by section 25 of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988); and

(b) the Broads Authority and the Navigation Committee (as so defined) shall each be taken to be a local authority for the purposes of sections 19 and 20.”