Supplementary provisions
Section 19: Particular powers
92.Subsection (3) of this section provides for various cases where the body being authorised to carry out a function under an agreement is already involved with the function in some way. It may, for example, be a consultee or it may be required to give its consent to the exercise of the function or it may already exercise the function jointly with the body delegating the function. This section provides that an agreement may still be entered into with that body.
93.Subsection (6) ensures that the lack of a specific power to carry out a function does not prevent a body performing the function if that body has been authorised to do so under an agreement. It also provides that a body may delegate performance to a specially-formed body corporate or to a committee, sub-committee, member, officer or employee (except if the agreement itself prohibits this). However, subsection (8) provides that delegation of the performance of the function to anyone else is generally not permitted.
Section 20: Agreements with certain harbour authorities
94.This section makes additional provision in relation to agreements with harbour authorities which are local authorities. This provision is consequent upon the changes made to local government decision-making under the Local Government Act 2000.
95.Under that Act and subordinate legislation each function of a principal local authority is administered either directly by the full council or through executive arrangements, depending on the function. Detailed arrangements for the performance of the functions are specified in regulations made under section 13 of the 2000 Act.
96.Where, by agreement, a function is to be discharged on behalf of the MMO by a local authority exercising the functions of a harbour authority, the allocation of responsibility for the performance of that type of function under the 2000 Act and subordinate legislation (whether full council or executive) will apply. The full council (or executive, as applicable) of that authority may use various usual powers of delegation (for example to committees and officers of that same authority) to perform the function.
97.This section also enables local authorities which are also harbour authorities to work together jointly to carry out functions delegated to them by the MMO.
Section 21: Supplementary provisions with respect to agreements
98.Subsection (1) of this section requires agreements, and approvals for them, to be in writing and subsection (2) states that any such agreements must be published.
99.Subsection (3) provides that no power of a Minister of the Crown (under the Act or any other legislation) to give directions to a statutory body may be used to require that body to enter into an agreement or to prohibit it from doing so.
100.Subsection (4) applies Schedule 15 to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (relating to the disclosure of information) to bodies exercising functions under an agreement. This imposes requirements on each contracting body concerning the handling of confidential information and the situations where sharing of information between the contracting bodies is permitted.
Section 22: Interpretation of the Chapter
101.This section sets out how certain terms used within Chapter 3 of Part 1 should be interpreted.