Railways Act 1993

136 Grants and subsidies. E+W+S

(1) The Secretary of State [F1 and the Scottish Ministers shall each] be the competent authority of Great Britain in relation to the railways financial status regulations.

(2) The Secretary of State[F2 , the Scottish Ministers and, to the extent specified in subsection (2A) below, the National Assembly for Wales shall each be] the competent authority of Great Britain, in relation to persons who operate services for the carriage of goods by railway, for the purposes of the public service obligations regulations.

[F3 (2A) For the purposes of subsection (2) above the National Assembly for Wales shall only be the competent authority in relation to services for the carriage of goods by railway which are operated within Wales.]

[F4 (2B) Subsections (2) and (2A) cease to have effect on 3rd December 2012.]

(3) The following persons, that is to say—

(a) the Secretary of State,

[F5 (aa) the Scottish Ministers,

(ab) to the extent specified in subsection (3A) below, [F6 the Welsh Ministers],]

(b) F7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) to the extent specified in subsection (4) below, every Passenger Transport Executive, and

(d) to the extent specified in subsection (5) below—

(i) every non-metropolitan county or district council in England or in Wales and every [F8 council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994] in Scotland, and

(ii) every London borough council and the Common Council of the City of London,

shall each be the competent authority of Great Britain in relation to passenger service operators for the purposes of the public service obligations regulations.

[F9 (3A) For the purposes of subsection (3) above [F10 the Welsh Ministers] shall only be the competent authority in relation to services for the carriage of passengers by railway which—

(a) are Welsh services (within the meaning of the Railways Act 2005); or

(b) are provided under a franchise agreement to which [F11 the Welsh Ministers are] a party.]

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) above, a Passenger Transport Executive shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services [F12 which the Executive provide, or secure are provided, in exercise of their powers under section 10(1) of the Transport Act 1968 or section 13 of the Railways Act 2005].

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3) above—

(a) a council falling within paragraph (d)(i) of that subsection shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services whose provision the council secures under section 63 of the M1 Transport Act 1985 (passenger transport in areas other than [F13 integrated transport areas and] passenger transport areas); and

(b) a council falling within paragraph (d)(ii) of that subsection shall only be the competent authority in relation to those railway passenger services in respect of which the council enters into and carries out agreements under [F14 section 177 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999] (provision of extra transport services in London).

(6) The Secretary of State F15 ... [F16 may] F15 ... , as competent authority by virtue of subsection (3) above, give directions to any passenger service operator imposing on him obligations with respect to the provision or operation of railway passenger services.

(7) It shall fall to the Secretary of State F17 . . . to make any payments of compensation which are required to be made to a passenger service operator by any provision of the public service obligations regulations in respect of any obligations imposed on that operator by directions under subsection (6) above, and the Secretary of State F17 . . . may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of those regulations, determine the manner of calculating, and the conditions applicable to, those payments.

(8) The power of giving directions under subsection (6) above shall be so exercised that the aggregate amount of any compensation payable under the public service obligations regulations, for periods ending after 1st April 1992, in respect of all obligations imposed by directions under that subsection shall not exceed £3,000 million or such greater sum not exceeding £5,000 million as the Secretary of State may by order specify.

(9) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (8) above shall not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

(10) Without prejudice to any right which the Secretary of State F17 . . . may have under this Act to bring civil proceedings in respect of any contravention or apprehended contravention of any directions under subsection (6) above, the obligations imposed by any such directions shall not give rise to any form of duty or liability enforceable against a passenger service operator by proceedings before any court to which the passenger service operator would not otherwise be subject.

(11) In this section—

• [F18 “the public service obligations regulations” means the Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023;]

• “the railways financial status regulations” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1192/69 on common rules with respect to the financial status of railway undertakings.

(12) Expressions used in this section and in Part I above have the same meaning in this section as they have in that Part.

(13) Section 3 of the M2 Railways Act 1974 (which is superseded by this section) shall cease to have effect.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 136(1) substituted (8.6.2005) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(1); S.I. 2005/1444, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F2 Words in s. 136(2) substituted (8.6.2005) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(2); S.I. 2005/1444, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F3 S. 136(2A)inserted (8.6.2005) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(3); S.I. 2005/1444 {art. 2(1)}, Sch. 1

F4 S. 136(2B) inserted (18.3.2010) by The Railways (Public Service Obligations) Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/402), regs. 1, 2(2)

F5 S. 136(3)(aa)(ab) inserted (8.6.2005) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(4); S.I. 2005/1444, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

F6 Words in s. 136(3)(ab) substituted (13.6.2018) by The Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (Railways) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/631), art. 1(2)(b)(viii), Sch. para. 30(2)

F7 S.136(3)(c) repealed (1.12.2006) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 59, 60, Sch. 13 Pt. 1 (with s. 14(4)(5), Sch. 11 para. 11(2)); S.I. 2006/2911, art. 2, Sch. (subject to the transitional and saving provisions in arts. 3-7)

F8 Words in s. 136(3)(d)(i) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1994 c. 39, s. 180(1), Sch. 13 para. 184(2); S.I. 1996/323, art. 4(1)(c)

F9 S. 136(3A) inserted (8.6.2005) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(5); S.I. 2005/1444 {art. 2(1)}, Sch. 1

F10 Words in s. 136(3A) substituted (13.6.2018) by The Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (Railways) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/631), art. 1(2)(b)(viii), Sch. para. 30(3)(a)

F11 Words in s. 136(3A)(b) substituted (13.6.2018) by The Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) (Railways) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/631), art. 1(2)(b)(viii), Sch. para. 30(3)(b)

F12 Words substituted (24.7.2005 for E.W. and otherwise prosp.) for s. 136(4)(a)(b) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 54, 60, Sch. 11 para. 14(6)(7); S.I. 2005/1909, art. 2, Sch.

F13 Words in s. 136(5)(a) inserted (E.W.) (9.2.2009) by Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26), s. 134(4), Sch. 4 para. 58(3); S.I. 2009/107, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 1

F14 Words in s. 136(5)(b) substituted (15.7.2003) by The Transport for London (Consequential Provisions) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1615), art. 2, Sch. 1 para. 19

F15 Words in s. 136(6) repealed (1.12.2006) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 59, 60, Sch. 13 Pt. 1 (with s. 14(4)(5), Sch. 11 para. 11(2)); S.I. 2006/2911, art. 2, Sch. (subject to the transitional and saving provisions in arts. 3-7)

F16 Words in s. 136(6) substituted (1.2.2001) by 2000 c. 38, s. 215, Sch. 16 para. 51(3); S.I. 2001/57, art. 3(1), Sch. 2 Pt. I (subject to savings and transitional provisions in Sch. 2 Pt. II) (which S.I. was amended by S.I. 2001/115)

F17 Words in s. 136(7)(10) repealed (1.12.2006) by Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), ss. 59, 60, Sch. 13 Pt. 1 (with s. 14(4)(5), Sch. 11 para. 11(2)); S.I. 2006/2911, art. 2, Sch. (subject to the transitional and saving provisions in arts. 3-7)

F18 Words in s. 136(11) substituted (25.12.2023) by The Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1369), reg. 1(1), Sch. 3 para. 1(2) (with reg. 28)

Marginal Citations

M1 1985 c. 67.

M2 1974 c. 48.