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(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, if the appropriate Minister is satisfied that a recipient authority has failed to achieve or maintain reasonable standards in the provision of any of the services giving rise to relevant expenditure, regard being had to the standards maintained in other areas, and is of opinion that the general grant payable to the authority ought therefore to be reduced, he may, after affording to the authority an opportunity of making representations, make and cause to be laid before Parliament a report stating the amount of the reduction, the reasons therefor, and any representations with respect thereto made by the recipient authority ; and if the report is approved by a resolution of the Commons House of Parliament the Minister may reduce the grant accordingly.
(2)Where the provision of any service giving rise to relevant expenditure is a function of a rating authority in any administrative county, or of a joint board of which the district is wholly or partly comprised in any administrative county, the foregoing subsection shall in relation to that county apply to a failure on the part of the rating authority or joint board to achieve or maintain reasonable standards as it would apply if the failure were that of the county council; but—
(a)in the case of a failure by a rating authority, the amount of any reduction by virtue of this subsection in the general grant payable to the county council shall be recoverable by that council from the authority in default,
(b)in the case of a failure by a joint board of which the district does not comprise the whole of the county, the amount of any such reduction shall be recoverable by the county council from the rating authorities in the county whose areas are wholly or partly comprised in the district of the joint board, the amount recoverable being apportioned among the rating authorities of the areas or parts of areas so comprised in proportion to the aggregates of the rateable values shown in the valuation lists respectively in force for those areas or parts of areas on the first .day of the year for which the general grant is payable,
and any sum recoverable by virtue of this subsection shall be recoverable by adjustment of the amount due under the county precept.
(3)Where the provision of any service giving rise to relevant expenditure is a function of a joint board of which the district is wholly or partly comprised in a county borough, subsection (1) of this section shall in relation to the county borough apply to a failure on the part of the joint board to achieve or maintain reasonable standards as it would apply if the failure were that of the county borough council.
(4)The appropriate Minister may make regulations, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, for prescribing standards and general requirements for the administration of any of the services giving rise to relevant expenditure ; and in determining for the purposes of this section whether there has been any such failure as is referred to in the foregoing provisions of this section regard shall be had to any such regulations and any other standards or requirements imposed by or under any enactment.