18Residual payments grant
(1)The Secretary of State may, with the approval of the Treasury, make payments by way of grant (“residual payments grant”) to—
(a)the Corporation, or
(b)any successor company which is for the time being wholly owned by the Crown,
with a view to reducing or eliminating any amount falling to be shown in any accounts of the Corporation or that company as a deficit on its cash flow for any accounting period.
(2)The payment of residual payments grant may be made by advancing sums during any accounting period in anticipation of what it appears will be the deficit on cash flow for that period.
(3)Residual payments grant shall not be paid to any person in respect of any deficit which appears to the Secretary of State to be attributable to any failure of the Corporation to be paid, or to apply for, any amount which could have been paid, or would have been payable, to the Corporation by way of any payment or grant mentioned in subsection (2) of section 17 above.
(4)Where payments by way of residual payments grant have been made to the Corporation or any successor company and it appears to the Secretary of State that, after those payments have been taken into account in relation to the accounting period in respect of which they are made, there is a surplus on its cash flow for that accounting period or for any subsequent accounting period, an amount equal to whichever is the smaller of—
(a)so much of the aggregate amount of payments made by way of grant under this section to the Corporation or, as the case may be, that company as has not already been repaid under this subsection, and
(b)the amount of the surplus,
shall be paid by the Corporation or, as the case may be, that company to the Secretary of State.
(5)Any sums falling to be paid to the Secretary of State under subsection (4) above shall bear interest at such rate as the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, determine.
(6)No amount shall fall to be paid to the Secretary of State under subsection (4) or (5) above in respect of any surplus on the cash flow of any successor company for any accounting period ending after the company has ceased to be wholly owned by the Crown; but a successor company which ceases to be wholly owned by the Crown shall be deemed to be required to produce accounts for the purposes of this section for the period between the end of its previous accounting period and the time when it ceases to be wholly owned by the Crown.
(7)Any sums required by the Secretary of State for making any grant under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament; and any sums received by the Secretary of State by virtue of subsections (4) and (5) above shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
(8)Subject to subsection (6) above, in this section “accounting period”, in relation to the Corporation or any successor company, means any period for which the Corporation or that company is required by or under any enactment to produce accounts.