(1)Notwithstanding anything in any enactment (including an enactment contained in a subordinate instrument), the Secretary of State may by order close any designated institution and wind-up the governing body of such institution.
(2)An order under subsection (1) above may include provision—
(a)for the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of the institution to transfer to and vest in—
(i)the Secretary of State; or
(ii)such other person as may be specified in the order;
(b)for the transfer of the staff of the institution to such other institution in Scotland as the Secretary of State may prescribe, being an institution providing any form of higher education;
(c)for the payment by the Secretary of State of any expenses incurred in the closure and winding-up;
(d)imposing on the governing body of the institution such additional powers and duties in relation to the closure and winding-up as the Secretary of State considers appropriate;
(e)for the appointment of a person to administer the closure and winding-up, and a person so appointed shall have such powers and duties as appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient for such purposes and as are specified in the order;
(f)of such incidental, supplementary, transitional or ancillary nature as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the closure and winding-up.
(3)Any property transferred by virtue of an order under subsection (1) above shall remain subject to any trust or condition (whether contained in a scheme made or approved under Part VI of the 1980 Act or otherwise) to which it was subject immediately before such transfer.
(4)An order under this section may amend, vary, repeal or revoke the provisions of—
(a)any regulations made under section 77 of the 1980 Act relating to a designated institution as regards which the order has been made; and
(b)any enactment (including an enactment contained in a subordinate instrument), any scheme, articles of association, trust deed or other instrument relating to the institution,
to the extent that any such provision appears to the Secretary of State to be inconsistent with the order.
(5)An order under subsection (1) above shall not be made unless the Secretary of State has consulted—
(a)the Council; and
(b)the governing body of the institution proposed to be closed.
(6)When the winding-up of the governing body of an institution under this section is completed the Secretary of State shall by order dissolve the governing body of that institution.
(7)In this section references to the closure of a designated institution include references to the institution being merged with one or more other designated institutions; and different provision may be made under this section as regards different institutions to be merged with one another.