Civil Defence Act 1948

2 Civil defence functions of local and police authorities

(1) Every local authority and police authority shall, for civil defence purposes, and, in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the preceding words, in connection with the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (1) of the preceding section, have and perform such functions as may be prescribed in relation to them by regulations to be made by the designated Minister.

(2) Regulations made under this section—

(a) may require that, as respects the exercise of any functions conferred on them under this section, any local or police authority shall be bound to comply with any directions given to them by the designated Minister;

(b) may empower authorities on whom functions are conferred under this section to appoint committees (including joint committees) constituted in accordance with the regulations, whether from among their own members or not, may empower those authorities to authorise those or other committees, or other authorities, to exercise all or any of those functions on their behalf as their agents, and may exclude any of those functions from the operation of so much of any statutory provision as would otherwise require that function, or any question connected therewith, to be delegated to, or to stand referred to, or to be considered or otherwise dealt with by, any particular committee or any other authority;

(c) may empower the designated Minister, where he is satisfied that a local or police authority have failed or refused properly to discharge any functions conferred on them under this section, either himself to discharge those functions in the name and at the expense of that local or police authority or to authorise or require some other authority or person to exercise those functions in the name and at the expense of that local or police authority;

(d) may, on such conditions, if any, as may be prescribed by the regulations, authorise or require things to be done in contravention of, or without compliance with, any statutory provision regulating or restricting the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land; and

(e) may authorise the employment of personnel, and the provision, construction or maintenance of premises and equipment, in excess of any limits imposed by any statutory provision.

(3) The reference in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section to the exercise of any functions of a local or police authority in the name and at the expense of that authority, shall, in relation to a police authority which is the watch committee of a borough, be construed as a reference to the exercise of those functions in the name of the watch committee and at the expense of the council of the borough.