The Savings Certificates Regulations 1991

PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Savings CertificatesRegulations 1991 and shall come into force on 17th May 1991.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwiserequires—

• “amount repayable”, in relation to any certificate, includes any interest or bonus orother sum which has accrued due in respect of that certificate;

• “certificate” means a certificate issued under the name of a war savingscertificate or a national savings certificate by the Treasury throughthe department of the Postmaster General or under the auspices of theDirector of Savings for the purpose of raising money authorised to beraised by any Act;

• “Chief Registrar of friendly societies” means the Chief Registrar of friendly societies or a deputyappointed by him;

• “friendly society” means a friendly society registered under the Friendly SocietiesAct 1974(1) or a branch registered under that Act of a friendlysociety so registered;

• “index-linked certificate” means a certificate issued under the name of an index- linkednational savings certificate;

• “mentally disordered person”, in the application of these Regulations to England and Wales,means a person who is incapable, by reason of mental disorder within themeaning of the Mental Health Act 1983(2), of managing and administering his property andaffairs;

• “multiple certificate” means a certificate representing more than one unit certificate;

• “receiver”, in the application of these Regulations to England and Wales,means, in relation to any act or thing done in respect of a mentallydisordered person, a receiver or other person authorised in that behalfunder Part VII of the Mental Health Act 1983;

• “Treasury Solicitor” means the Solicitor for the affairs of Her Majesty’s Treasury; and

• “unit” means, in relation to certificates of any series, the minimumamount for which a certificate of that series is issued or would, apartfrom the minimum purchase requirement applicable to non index-linkedcertificates issued after 31st March 1977 but not later than 28thJanuary 1979, have been issued and“unit certificate” means a certificate issued on payment of such minimum amount.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires references to regulations andSchedules are references to regulations of and Schedules to theseRegulations.

ISSUE AND PURCHASE OF CERTIFICATES

Issue, purchase and recording of certificates

3.—(1) Certificates shall be issued at such places as the Director ofSavings shall determine and by such persons as he shall authorise.

(2) An application to purchase a certificate shall be made in a mannerapproved by the Director of Savings and for the purposes of any suchapplication, the applicant shall deliver to the Director of Savings suchdocuments and other information in writing as he may require.

(3) The names of all persons who are for the time being holders ofcertificates shall be recorded by the Director of Savings.

Persons entitled to purchase and hold certificates

4.—(1) A certificate may be purchased and held by any of the followingpersons or by any two or more such persons jointly, that is tosay—

(a) any person who has attained the age of seven years and who isnot under any legal disability otherwise than by reason of his age;

(b) a friendly society;

(c) any other body of persons which the Director of Savings may in hisdiscretion approve for the purpose, either generally or with respect toany particular purchase.

(2) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, a certificate may bepurchased—

(a) on behalf of and in the name of any person or persons entitledunder paragraph (1) of this regulation to purchase and hold acertificate, by any other person or persons;

(b) on behalf of and in the name of a person or persons under the ageof seven years, by any other person or persons; and

(c) on behalf of and in the name of a mentally disordered person, byhis receiver;

and any certificate so purchased shall be deemed to be held by theperson or persons on whose behalf it is purchased:

• Provided that no certificate shall be purchased under sub-paragraph(a) of this paragraph by any person or persons on behalf of any body ofpersons (other than a friendly society), whether corporate orunincorporate, without the approval of the Director of Savings, whichapproval may be either general or limited to a particular purchase.

(3) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, a certificate may beeither—

(a) purchased and held by a trustee or by two or more trusteesjointly; or

(b) purchased by a person or persons acting as trustee on behalfof—

(i) any person or persons entitled under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph(1) of this regulation to purchase and hold a certificate; or

(ii) any person or persons under the age of seven years,

and in the joint names of the trustee or trustees and the beneficiaryor beneficiaries, in which case the certificate shall be held by themjointly:

• Provided that no certificate shall be purchased under sub-paragraph(a) of this paragraph by a trustee or trustees on behalf of any body ofpersons (other than a friendly society), whether corporate orunincorporate, without the approval of the Director of Savings, whichapproval may be either general or limited to a particular purchase.

(4) Where a certificate is purchased and held by a trustee or trusteesunder sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (3) of this regulation, he or theymay be described in the records kept by the Director of Savings astrustee or trustees of a specified trust or as a trustee or trusteeswithout specifying a trust.

(5) Where a certificate has been purchased on behalf of a person whowas, at the date of the purchase, under the age of seven years, theDirector of Savings may, at any time after that person has attained theage of seven years, require a specimen of his signature.

(6) Part I of Schedule 1 shall apply in relation to index-linkedcertificates issued before 7th September 1981.

Maximum holding of certificates

5.—(1) A person shall not purchase any certificates, or hold anycertificates purchased on his behalf under regulation 4(2) or paragraph2 of Part I of Schedule 1, if the total number of units which will beheld by him immediately after the purchase (whether solely or jointlywith any person) will exceed—

(a) in the case of index-linked certificates issued after 30th June1985, the number of units specified by or in accordance with theprospectus relating to such certificates as the maximum number of unitsof that description of certificate (and such prospectus may provide thatdifferent maximum numbers shall apply in different circumstances) whichmay be held by any one person, and

(b) in the case of certificates, not being index-linked certificates,issued after 25th September 1985, the number of units specified by or inaccordance with the prospectus relating to such certificates as themaximum number of units of that description of certificate (and suchprospectus may provide that different maximum numbers shall apply indifferent circumstances) which may be held by any one person, and

(c) in the case of any other certificates the number of units specifiedin Part II of Schedule 1 in relation to those certificates.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, a person who is a trustee orwho holds certificates as a beneficiary jointly with a trustee shall betreated separately in his personal capacity and in his capacity astrustee and in his capacity as such beneficiary, and in either of thelast two capacities separately in respect of each separate trust fund;and so much of the property in the hands of a trustee shall be treatedas a separate trust fund as is held on trusts which (as respects thebeneficiaries or their respective interests or the purposes of the trustor as respects the powers of the trustee) are not identical with thoseon which other property in his hands is held.

(3) Paragraph (1) above shall not apply to the transfer of a certificateto a person in accordance with regulation 13(7) below, but in relationto any subsequent purchase by him or on his behalf certificates sotransferred shall be included for the purpose of calculating the numberof units he holds.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, each holding of certificates inthe name of the Accountant General of the Supreme Court shall be treatedseparately.

(5) In calculating for the purposes of this regulation the total numberof units which a person holds, a multiple certificate shall be taken tobe such number of unit certificates as is represented by the multiplecertificate, but no account shall be taken of any certificate which thatperson holds and which—

(a) was purchased by him or on his behalf out of moneys payable tohim on account of a gratuity in respect of service in the1914—1918 war and formed part of a special issue made inconnection with war service gratuities, or

(b) has been acquired by him—

(i) as a member of a savings group working under the rules of theProvident Scheme of the National Savings Committee for England and Walesor of the National Savings Committee for Scotland, or

(ii) under the Pensioners' Savings Scheme of the Department ofSocial Security.

REPAYMENT OF CERTIFICATES

Applications for repayment

6.—(1) Application for payment of the amount repayable in respect of acertificate shall (subject to the provisions of these Regulationsrelating to payment in the case of special classes of persons) be madeby the holder of the certificate in writing in a manner approved by theDirector of Savings. Where repayment is requested on a specified datethe application may not, unless the Director of Savings otherwiseagrees, be made more than two months before that date. Unless theDirector of Savings otherwise directs or agrees any application forrepayment shall be made to the Savings Certificate and SAYE Office,Durham.

(2) In the case of a multiple certificate, an application may be madefor repayment in respect of any number of the unit certificatesrepresented by the multiple certificate.

(3) The holder of a certificate, being a person who has attained the ageof seven years, may, subject to the approval of the Director of Savings,authorise any person to apply for or receive on his behalf the amountrepayable in respect of the certificate.

Repayment warrants

7.—(1) Every payment of an amount repayable in respect of a certificateshall be made by a warrant except to the extent that the Director ofSavings otherwise directs or the applicant for the repayment requeststhat all or part of the amount repayable be used to purchase anothercertificate or a National Savings Capital Bond and the Director ofSavings consents thereto; and accordingly in the absence of such requestor direction every application for payment of any such amount shall betreated as implying an authority to him to issue a warrant for thatamount and to pay it in accordance with the terms of the warrant, andthe death of the person who made the application for repayment shall notof itself determine such authority; but if the Director of Savingsreceives notice that the applicant has died or has countermanded suchauthority, the Director of Savings shall not issue the warrant or, if ithas already been issued, shall take all reasonable steps to stop paymentthereof.

(2) The provisions of section 76, subsections (1), (3), (4) and (5) and,so far as it relates to crossed cheques, subsection (6) of section 77and sections 78, 79, 80 and 81 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882(3) (which relate to crossed cheques) and of sections 3 and4 of the Cheques Act 1957(4) (which relate to unindorsed cheques as evidence ofpayment and to the protection of collecting bankers) shall apply to anycrossed warrant issued under these Regulations as if the warrant were acheque drawn on the Director of Savings by the officer issuing thewarrant, but nothing in these Regulations shall make any such warrantnegotiable.

(3) An uncrossed warrant shall not be paid until the receipt for theamount thereby payable has been duly signed by the payee or by someperson authorised by the payee to receive payment:

• Provided that, where such a warrant is paid to a person purportingto be the payee or to be a person authorised by the payee to receivepayment, then, notwithstanding that the receipt on the warrant wassigned by some person being neither the payee nor a person soauthorised, the making of the payment shall be a full discharge to theTreasury and to the Director of Savings for the amount thereof, if it isshown that the payment was made in good faith and without negligence,and that the making of the payment is attributable to some act oromission on the part of the holder of the certificate to which thewarrant relates or on the part of the payee or the person soauthorised.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (3) above, where an uncrossedwarrant for the amount repayable in respect of any certificate is madepayable to the holder of the certificate, it may be paid to anotherperson who signs the receipt on the warrant and forthwith reinvests theamount of the payment in certificates in the name of the holder of therepaid certificate; and the making of the payment shall be a fulldischarge to the Treasury and to the Director of Savings for the amountthereof.

(5) Except where the Director of Savings otherwise directs, a warrantshall not be paid until the certificate in respect of which therepayment is to be made has been delivered to the Director of Savings.

(6) An uncrossed warrant shall be payable at the place named in thewarrant or otherwise in accordance with the directions containedtherein. The Director of Savings may dispatch the warrant to such place,and where he does so shall dispatch a notice informing the payee that hehas done so.

(7) For the purpose of determining the amount repayable in respect of acertificate, the payment of the amount repayable thereunder shall bedeemed to be effected on the date appearing on the warrant.

(8) Subject to paragraph (9) below, the date appearing on the warrantshall, unless the holder has requested a later date, be not more than 21days from the date on which application for payment of the amountrepayable in respect of a certificate is received by the Director ofSavings in accordance with regulation 6(1) above; and where the holderhas requested that the warrant be dated with a later date, the dateappearing on the warrant shall be no later than that date save that theDirector of Savings may set a different date (being not more than 10 days after the requested date) if, having regard to the terms on which the certificate was issued, he is satisfied that such different date would be in the interests of the holder.

(9) If the Director of Savings is satisfied that it is or was notpracticable to dispatch the warrant in time to enable payment thereof tobe made on a date within paragraph (8) above, then the date appearing onthe warrant shall be no later than the earliest date by which he issatisfied it would be practicable for the payee to obtain paymentthereof. In this paragraph the expression“payment” in relation to a crossed warrant shall include paying in thewarrant at a bank or other institution.

(10) Paragraphs (7), (8) and (9) of this regulation shall apply and bedeemed always to have applied to all certificates, purchased and notrepaid before the coming into force of these Regulations, provided thatin respect of certificates purchased and not repaid before 11 February1991 the date appearing on the warrant shall not be a date which wouldresult in the amount repayable being less than the amount that, havingregard to the date on which the warrant is dispatched, would have beenrepayable if the Savings Certificates (Amendment) Regulations 1991(5) (which came into force on 11 February 1991) had not comeinto force in respect of such certificates.

(11) The posting of—

(a) a warrant, or

(b) the notice referred to in paragraph (6) above, where in accordancewith that paragraph an uncrossed warrant is dispatched to the place atwhich it is payable,

to any person at the last address furnished to the Director ofSavings shall, as regards the liability of the Treasury or the Directorof Savings, be equivalent to the delivery of the warrant or notice tothat person.

Amount repayable when proceeds reinvested

8.  For the purpose of determining the amount repayable in respect of acertificate where repayment is not made by warrant because the proceedsare used to purchase another certificate or a National Savings CapitalBond, the payment of the amount repayable shall be deemed to be effectedon the date entered in the records kept by the Director of Savings asthe date of such purchase.

Repayment in case of persons under 7 years of age and mentallydisordered persons

9.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, no repayment shall bemade in respect of a certificate held by a person under the age of sevenyears.

(2) An application for repayment in respect of a certificate held by amentally disordered person shall be made by his receiver.

(3) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savingsthat any person holding, or having an interest in, a certificate is aperson under the age of seven years, the Director of Savings may, if hethinks fit, pay the whole or any part of the amount repayable in respectof the certificate to any person who satisfies him that he is a properperson to receive payment.

(4) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savingsthat any person holding, or having an interest in, a certificate is amentally disordered person for whose estate no receiver has beenappointed, the Director of Savings may, if he thinks fit, pay the wholeor any part of the amount repayable in respect of the certificate to anyperson who satisfies him that he will apply the payment for themaintenance or otherwise for the benefit of the mentally disorderedperson.

Repayment in case of certificate held by persons jointly

10.—(1) Application for payment of the amount repayable in respect of acertificate held in the names of two or more persons as joint holdersshall be made by all those persons or, in the case of the death of oneor more of them, by the survivors:

• Provided that—

  (a)

  where one of any joint holders of a certificate, being atrustee for the other or others of them, becomes bankrupt or a mentallydisordered person, the application may be made by the other or others ofthem without the concurrence of the trustee in bankruptcy or thereceiver, if any, and the Director of Savings, if he thinks fit, may,without any such concurrence, pay the amount repayable in respect of thecertificate in the same manner as if the trustee in question were notone of the holders of the certificate; and

  (b)

  where one of any joint holders of a certificate is the PublicTrustee, the application may be made by him alone and the Director ofSavings shall pay the amount repayable in respect of the certificate tothe Public Trustee alone.

(2) The joint holders of a certificate may authorise any person,including one of themselves, to act as their agent for the purpose ofreceiving on their behalf any amount repayable in respect of thecertificate.

Repayment to friendly societies, etc

11.—(1) Any application for payment of the amount repayable in respect ofcertificates held by a friendly society or any other body of persons,corporate or unincorporate, shall be made by that society or body in thenames of the persons specified as the persons authorised to apply forrepayment on behalf of the society or body in any direction given to theDirector of Savings from time to time by the society or body in a formapproved by the Director of Savings or, where no such direction has beengiven, in the names of such persons as the Director of Savings mayapprove.

(2) Where, in pursuance of these Regulations, any amount is repayable toany friendly society or other body of persons, whether corporate orunincorporate, a receipt for the amount may be given by any personpurporting to be an agent or officer of that society or body authorisedto receive the repayment.

Repayment in case of bankrupts

12.  Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savingsthat a bankruptcy order has been made against any person who is the soleholder of a certificate, or that a trustee has been appointed in thebankruptcy of any such person, or that an order forthe administration inbankruptcy of the estate of a deceased sole holder has been made, theDirector of Savings may, if he thinks fit, on an application made inthat behalf by the Official Receiver or trustee pay to the OfficialReceiver or the trustee, as the case may be, the amount repayable inrespect of that certificate.

TRANSFER OF CERTIFICATES AND ADDITION OF NAMES

Transfers and addition of names

13.—(1) Every transfer of a certificate shall be effected by the Director ofSavings causing the name of the person to whom the certificate is to betransferred to be recorded as the holder thereof.

(2) The Director of Savings may in his discretion refuse to transfer acertificate, but shall, if he so refuses, forthwith send an intimationof his refusal to the person desiring the transfer.

(3) A certificate shall not be transferred except on a writtenapplication in that behalf made, in a manner approved by the Director ofSavings, by the holder of the certificate and every such applicationmust, except where the Director of Savings otherwise directs, beaccompanied by the certificate to which it relates.

(4) On the receipt of an application duly made for the transfer of acertificate, the Director of Savings, if he is satisfied that thetransfer can lawfully be made under these Regulations and ought to bemade, shall forthwith cause the certificate to be transferred inaccordance with the application, and the death of the applicant shallnot of itself determine the authority given by the applicant for thetransfer to be made; but, if the Director of Savings receives noticebefore the certificate is transferred that the applicant has died, thetransfer shall not be made.

(5) On the application of the holder of a certificate, the Director ofSavings may, if he thinks fit and subject to the provisions of theseRegulations, cause the names of any persons to be recorded as jointholders of the certificate with the applicant.

(6) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (3) of this regulation, wherea certificate is held by any person as a trustee jointly with thebeneficiary, the Director of Savings may, if he thinks fit, on theapplication of any person being a holder of the certificate cause thecertificate to be transferred either to the beneficiary alone or to thebeneficiary and another trustee.

(7) This regulation shall, so far as applicable, apply in the event ofthe death of the holder of a certificate, to the transfer of thecertificate and, in particular, any person to whom the amount repayablein respect of the certificate may be paid in accordance with theprovisions of these Regulations may, subject to the provisions of theseRegulations, instead of obtaining payment of the amount repayable applyfor the transfer of the certificate into his name or the name of anotherperson.

PAYMENT IN CASE OF DEATH

Payment under grant of representation

14.—(1) In the event of the death of the holder of a certificate, theproduction of probate or letters of administration granted, or havingeffect as if granted, in respectof personal estate including thecertificate, by a court in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or theChannel Islands, or of a certified copy thereof, shall, subject to theprovisions of these Regulations, be sufficient authority to the Directorof Savings to pay the amount repayable in respect of the certificate, orto transfer the certificate, to the person to whom the grant was made,or as directed by that person.

(2) Where any sum repayable in respect of a certificate is paid, or acertificate is transferred, in purported pursuance of this regulation,the payment or transfer shall, notwithstanding the invalidity of, or anydefect in, the probate or letters of administration, be deemed for thepurposes of these Regulations to have been duly made.

Payment without a grant of representation

15.—(1) Where, on the death of any person, being the sole holder ofcertificates, the amount repayable in respect of which does not, at thetime of his death, exceed in the aggregate £5,000, probate ofhis will or letters of administration to his estate is not or are notproduced to the Director of Savings within such time as he thinksreasonable in the circumstances of the case, the Director of Savings, ifhe thinks fit, may, without requiring probate or letters ofadministration, pay the amount repayable in respect of thosecertificates, or any part of that amount—

(a) to a person appearing to the Director of Savings to be entitledto take out probate of the will of the deceased or letters ofadministration to his estate;

(b) where the deceased has left a will (being a will with respect towhich the Director of Savings is satisfied that probate or letters ofadministration with the will annexed would be granted), to any person towhom the amount repayable or any part thereof would, in the opinion ofthe Director of Savings, be payable under such will, if probate thereofor letters of administration with the will annexed were granted;

(c) to any person who satisfies the Director of Savings that he isentitled to receive the amount repayable or any part thereof in right ofhis being—

(i) a person who has paid the funeral expenses of the deceased; or

(ii) a creditor of the deceased; or

(iii) a person who has a beneficial interest in the estate of the deceased;

(d) if the deceased was a British citizen and his next of kin appearsto the Director of Savings to reside outside the United Kingdom, theIsle of Man and the Channel Islands, to any officer or authority who, inthe opinion of the Director of Savings, may properly be entrusted withthe duty of distributing the amount repayable;

(e) if the deceased was a seaman of a foreign country, being a countrywith which a treaty has been made in respect of the payment of moneysdue to seamen, to the consular authority of that country;

(f) if the deceased was a foreign subject, not being a seaman towhom the provisions of the last preceding sub-paragraph apply, to theconsular authority of the country to which the deceased belonged, or tosuch other authority as appears to the Director of Savings to beappropriate, subject in either case to the Director of Savings beingsatisfied that the amount repayable will be duly distributed;

(g) in a case where the estate of the deceased appears to the Directorof Savings to have devolved upon the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster orthe Duchy of Cornwall, to the Treasury Solicitor, the Solicitor for theAffairs of the Duchy of Lancaster or the Solicitor for the Affairs ofthe Duchy of Cornwall, as the case requires:

• Provided that, where a person to whom any sum may be paid undersub-paragraph (b) or (c) of this paragraph has died before payment hasbeen made to him, that sum or any part thereof may be paid to any personto whom it might have been paid if the first mentioned person had,immediately before his death, been the sole holder of the certificatesin question.

(2) Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary, any person to whoma payment may be made under sub-paragraph (b) or (c) of paragraph (1) ofthis regulation or under the proviso to that paragraph may sign areceipt therefor if he has attained the age of sixteen years, and thereceipt shall be a valid receipt without the signature of any otherperson, and where any person to whom a payment may be so made is unable,by reason of his age or for any other reason whatsoever, to give adischarge therefor under these Regulations, the Director of Savings maymake the payment to any person who satisfies him that he will apply itfor the maintenance or otherwise for the benefit of the first mentionedperson.

(3) Subject to the provisions of the last preceding paragraph, theDirector of Savings, in making any payment under sub-paragraph (b) or(c) of paragraph (1) of this regulation or under the proviso to thatparagraph, shall, unless he is of the opinion that hardship orinconvenience would be thereby caused, have regard to the rules of lawrelating to the distribution of the estates of deceased persons, but, ifhe is of that opinion, may depart from those rules in such manner and tosuch extent as he considers just.

(4) In this regulation the expression“will” includes a codicil.

Law applicable on holder’s death

16.  Where, in the event of the death of the holder of a certificate, anypayment in respect of the certificate made under these Regulations ismade in accordance with the law of the place where the holder of thecertificate resided at the date of his death, that payment shall, unlessnotice in writing to the effect that the holder was, at that date,domiciled in some other place has been received by the Director ofSavings before the payment was made, be deemed for the purposes of theseRegulations to have been duly made.

Inheritance tax chargeable on holder’s death

17.—(1) Where, on the death of the holder of any certificate (not being acertificate in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of theDirector of Savings that the deceased holder had no interest thereinotherwise than as a trustee), the aggregate value of the specifiedassets (hereinafter defined) exceeds £25,000, the Director ofSavings shall, before making any payment in respect of, or transferring,the certificate, require the production of a statement from theCommissioners of Inland Revenue to the effect either that no inheritanceor capital transfer tax, being inheritance or capital transfer taxchargeable on the death of such holder, is payable in respect of thecertificate or that any inheritance or capital transfer tax, beinginheritance or capital transfer tax chargeable on the death of suchholder, so payable has been paid:

• Provided that the production of such a statement shall not berequired—

  (a)

  where the payment or transfer is made to or as directed by:

  (i)

  the deceased holder’s legal personal representative acting underprobate or letters of administration granted by any court in the UnitedKingdom, or

  (ii)

  the Public Trustee, the Official Receiver, or the trustee inbankruptcy of the estate of the deceased holder; or

  (b)

  where the deceased holder was at the time of his death domiciled inthe Isle of Man or the Channel Islands; or

  (c)

  where the beneficial interest in the certificate in question haspassed to the spouse of the deceased holder in circumstances in whichinheritance or capital transfer tax is not chargeable.

(2) In this regulation the expression“the specified assets” means the following assets (not being assets in respect of which itis shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savings that thedeceased holder had no interest otherwise than as atrustee)—

(a) the total amount which would have been repayable (if repaymenthad been demanded) at the date of the death of the holder in respect ofall certificates recorded in his name alone or in his name jointly withany other person;

(b) the total amount (including interest) which, at the date of thedeath of the holder, stands to the credit of all accounts in his namealone, or in his name jointly with any other person, in the NationalSavings Bank;

(c) all stock and securities registered on the National Savings StockRegister at the date of the death of the holder in his name alone or inhis name jointly with any other person;

(d) any amount repayable and any other sum payable in respect of allpremium savings bonds recorded in the holder’s name;

(e) the total amount (including any bonus or interest) which would havebeen repayable (if repayment had been demanded) at the date of the deathof the holder in respect of all savings contracts entered into by himand registered by the Director of Savings under a contractual savingsscheme certified by the Treasury in accordance with section 326(2) ofthe Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(6);

(f) the total amount (including interest) which would have beenrepayable (if repayment had been demanded) at the date of the death ofthe holder in respect of all agreements entered into or certificatesheld by the holder in accordance with the Savings Certificates (YearlyPlan) Regulations 1984(7).

(3) For the purposes of this regulation, the value of the stock andsecurities referred to in paragraph (2)(c) of this regulation shallbe—

(a) in the case of stock which is of a description corresponding tostock or securities transferable in the books of the Bank of England,the market value thereof at the date of the death of the holder; and

(b) in all other cases, the total amount (including interest and anyother sum payable) which would have been repayable (if repayment hadbeen demanded) at the date of the death of the holder.

MISCELLANEOUS

Persons under disability

18.  If any person holding, or having an interest in, any certificate isa mentally disordered person or is under legal disability for any otherreason except his age alone, anything which under these Regulations isrequired or authorised to be done by or to the holder of the certificateshall or may be done by or to the receiver or other person having powerin law to administer his estate.

Payments into National Savings Bank

19.—(1) Where the Director of Savings is unable for any reason to obtain avalid discharge for any payment falling to be made to any person inrespect of a certificate, he may, unless other provision for dealingwith the payment has been made by any enactment, open an account in theNational Savings Bank in the name of the person to whom the payment isdue, and may, until payment can be made to the person entitled thereto,retain the amount due in that account:

• Provided that—

  (a)

  if the person to whom the payment is due has an account in theNational Savings Bank, the Director of Savings may, if he thinks fit,instead of opening a new account, credit the amount payable to theexisting account; and

  (b)

  in the case of an account opened by the Director ofSavings—

  (i)

  no sum shall be received by way of deposit for the credit of theaccount except in pursuance of these Regulations; and

  (ii)

  the regulations requiring a declaration to be made by adepositor in the National Savings Bank shall not apply with respect toany payment into the account by the Director of Savings.

(2) For the purpose of any Order under section 4 of the National SavingsBank Act 1971(8) (which empowers the Treasury by order to limit theamount of deposits in the National Savings Bank) or any Order havingeffect as if made under that section, regard shall not be had to any sumcredited to an account under this regulation.

Loss of certificates, etc

20.—(1) The loss or destruction of any document issued by or under theauspices of the Director of Savings in pursuance of these Regulationsshall be notified in writing to the Director of Savings as soon aspracticable by the person entitled to possession of the document.

(2) If it appears to the Director of Savings that any document so issuedhas been issued in error, lost, destroyed or tampered with, or is insuch a condition as to render it desirable that it should be replaced bya new document, he may, subject to the provisions of this regulation,issue a new document in lieu of the old document to any person whosatisfies him that he is entitled to the possession of the document.

(3) The Director of Savings may attach to the issue under thisregulation of any new document such conditions as to indemnity orotherwise as he thinks fit.

Forfeiture of certificates

21.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, if anyperson—

(a) not being a person entitled under regulation 4 or Part I ofSchedule 1 so to do, purchases or holds a certificate; or

(b) purchases or holds any certificate in contravention of regulation 5or Part II of Schedule 1 (which prescribe the maximum number of unitswhich may be purchased);

the certificate shall, if the Director of Savings so directs, beforfeited:

• Provided that, in any case in which the Director of Savings hasdirected the forfeiture of any certificates, he may, if he thinks fit, pay tothe person concerned or credit to him in the National Savings Bank:

  (i)

  a sum equal to the aggregate amount of the purchase price ofthe certificates forfeited;

  (ii)

  (in the case of any certificates which the person concernedhas purchased or held when he was not entitled so to do under regulation4) such sum by way of interest, not exceeding the amount of interestwhich had accrued due in respect of those certificates immediatelybefore the forfeiture thereof, as the Director of Savings maydetermine;

  (iii)

  (in the case of any certificate which the person concernedhas purchased or held when he was not entitled so to do under Part I ofSchedule 1) such sum by way of bonus or otherwise, not exceeding theamount of the bonus or other sum which had accrued due in respect ofthose certificates immediately before the forfeiture thereof, as theDirector of Savings may determine;

  (iv)

  (in the case of any certificates which the person concernedhas purchased or held in contravention of regulation 5 or Part II ofSchedule 1) interest, at such rate as the Director of Savings thinksfit, on a sum equal to the purchase price of those certificates, beinginterest computed in such manner as the Director of Savings, with theapproval of the Treasury, may direct.

(2) For the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this regulation, amultiple certificate shall be taken to be such number of unitcertificates as is represented by the multiple certificate.

(3) For the purposes of any Order under section 4 of the NationalSavings Bank Act 1971 (which empowers the Treasury by order to limit theamount of deposits in the National Savings Bank) or any Order havingeffect as if made under that section, any sum credited to a person underthis regulation shall, if the Director of Savings so directs, bedisregarded.

(4) Notice of any forfeiture under this regulation shall be sent to theperson concerned as soon as may be, and the Director of Savings mayrequire any certificate which might be or is affected to be delivered upto him for the purpose of being either cancelled or altered or otherwisedealt with, as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of thisregulation.

Persons unable to write

22.  Where any document is required by the Director of Savings or bythese Regulations to be signed by any person and that person is unableto write, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of these Regulationsif the document is marked by that person in the presence of a witness insuch manner as the Director of Savings may require.

Rectification of mistakes

23.—(1) Any mistake in any document received from the Director of Savings inpursuance of these Regulations shall, as soon as practicable, benotified in writing to the Director of Savings by the person receivingthe document.

(2) If the Director of Savings is satisfied that any transactioneffected or thing done, or purporting to have been effected or done, inaccordance with these Regulations has been effected or done in error, hemay cancel the transaction and may take all such steps as are, in hisopinion, necessary to rectify the error, and may for that purposerequire the surrender to him of any certificate or other document.

Settlement of disputes

24.—(1) If any dispute arises between the Director of Savingsand—

(a) the holder of any certificate, or

(b) a person who is or claims to be the personal representative or nextof kin or creditor of a holder, or the trustee in bankruptcy or assigneeof a holder who is bankrupt or insolvent, or

(c) a person who claims to be entitled to any certificate,

the matter in dispute shall be referred in writing to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies.

(2) On any such reference being made, the Chief Registrar may proceed exparte on notice in writing sent by post to the Director of Savings andmay administer oaths to any witnesses appearing before him.

(3) The award of the Chief Registrar on any reference under thisregulation shall be final and binding on all parties.

(4) Section 11 of the National Savings Bank Act 1971 (which empowers theTreasury to direct that fees shall be charged on certain awards made bythe Chief Registrar of friendly societies) shall have effect as if theawards therein mentioned included awards made under this regulation.

Notice of trust not receivable by Director of Savings

25.—(1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, no notice of acharge, trust or other equitable interest shall be receivable by theDirector of Savings in respect of a certificate.

(2) Neither the Director of Savings nor any person acquiring anyinterest in a certificate shall, by reason that the certificate is heldin the name of any person as trustee (whether jointly with any otherperson or solely), be affected with notice of any trust or of thefiduciary character of the holder or of any fiduciary obligationattaching to the holding of the certificate.

Fees for birth, death and marriage certificates

26.  Section 10 of the Savings Banks Act 1887(9) (which relates to the price of a certificate of birth,death or marriage required for the purpose of the Acts relating to theNational Savings Bank), as amended by any Order in force for the timebeing under section 5 of the Public Expenditure and Receipts Act 1968(10), shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as itapplies for the purposes of those Acts, and for the purposes of theseRegulations the said section 10 shall have effect as if the holder of acertificate or any person having an interest in a certificate were adepositor in the National Savings Bank.

Indemnity of Treasury, Director of Savings and officers

27.—(1) The Treasury, the Director of Savings and any person acting underhis authority shall not be liable in respect of any payment duly made oract duly done in accordance with these Regulations, and any such paymentshall, subject to the provisions of these Regulations for saving therights of third parties, be deemed to have been a valid payment, and thereceipt of the person to whom the money was paid shall be a fulldischarge to the Treasury and the Director of Savings for the amount ofthe payment.

(2) Where a warrant for payment of any amount repayable in respect of acertificate is issued payable to some person being neither the holder ofthe certificate nor a person otherwise entitled under these Regulationsto receive payment in respect thereof, then, if it is shownthat—

(a) the warrant was issued in good faith and without negligence;and

(b) the issue of the warrant to that person is attributable to some actor omission on the part of the holder or a person so entitled,

the warrant shall, subject to the provisions of these Regulationsfor saving the rights of third parties, be deemed to have been dulyissued to a person so entitled.

Saving for rights of third parties

28.  Nothing in these Regulations for the protection of the Treasury orthe Director of Savings in respect of any act done or any money paidshall operate to prevent the recovery by any person or hisrepresentatives of any money lawfully due to him from the person to whomthat money was paid by or under the direction of the Director ofSavings, or from the representatives of that person, or affect the rightwhich any person or his representatives may have in respect of acertificate against a third party.

Form of documents

29.  Where any application is required by these Regulations to be made ina manner approved by the Director of Savings, the document in which theapplication is made shall contain a full and specific statement of theparticulars required to be given, and any such document which isrequired by the Director of Savings to be signed by any person shall besigned by that person.

Evidence of identity, etc

30.—(1) The Director of Savings shall be entitled to require evidence to begiven to his satisfaction of the identity of any person or of the titleof any person to any certificates, document or money, or to requireevidence that anything purporting to be done in pursuance of theseRegulations has been duly done, or otherwise with respect to any matterson which the due exercise of his powers or performance of his dutiesunder these Regulations depends, and the Director of Savings may, forthe purpose of obtaining any such evidence, require a statutorydeclaration to be made by any person.

(2) The Director of Savings may accept as conclusive proof of the deathof the holder of a certificate any evidence which establishes to hissatisfaction the fact that the holder has not been heard of for a periodof seven years or upwards, and, for the purposes of this paragraph, theexpression“holder of a certificate” includes any person beneficially interested at any time, whetherabsolutely or contingently, in the personal estate of the deceasedholder of a certificate.

Obligation of secrecy

31.—(1) A person employed in connection with business arising under theseRegulations shall not disclose to any person, other than the Director ofSavings or a person employed in carrying these Regulations intoexecution, the name of the purchaser or holder of any certificate, thenumber of certificates purchased by any person, or the amount repaid inrespect of any certificate.

(2) The last foregoing paragraph shall not prevent the disclosure by aperson authorised for the purpose by the Director of Savings ofinformation to any person in connection with an offence committed withreference to any certificate or for the purpose of ascertaining whetheror not an offence has been so committed nor shall it prevent theDirector of Savings from complying with a notice served on him undersection 20(3) of the Taxes Management Act 1970(11) (requirement to deliver or make available documentsrelating to liability of a taxpayer).

Saving for rights of joint holders, etc

32.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations relating to joint holders ofcertificates shall affect the mutual rights of any joint holders.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations relating to trustees shall as betweenany trustees or as between any trustee and the beneficiaries under atrust be deemed to authorise the trustees to act otherwise than inaccordance with the rules of law applying to the trust and the terms ofthe instrument (if any) constituting the trust.

Application to Scotland

33.  In the application of these Regulations to Scotland—

(a) any reference to a mentally disordered person shall beconstrued as a reference to a person who is incapable by reason ofmental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act1984(12) of managing and administering his property and affairs;

(b) any reference to a receiver in relation to a mentally disorderedperson shall be construed as a reference to a curator bonis, guardian ortutor;

(c) any reference to a bankruptcy order shall be construed as areference to an award of sequestration;

(d) any reference to the Official Receiver shall be construed as areference to the trustee in bankruptcy or a judicial factor;

(e) any reference to probate, letters of administration or letters ofadministration with the will annexed shall be construed as a referenceto confirmation of an executor;

(f) any reference to the Treasury Solicitor shall be construed asa reference to the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer;

(g) any reference to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies shall beconstrued as a reference to the Assistant Registrar of friendlysocieties for Scotland.

Application to Northern Ireland

34.  In the application of these Regulations to NorthernIreland—

(a) any reference to a friendly society shall be construed as areference to a friendly society registered or deemed to be registeredunder the Friendly Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1970(13) or a branch registered or deemed to be registered underthat Act of a friendly society so registered or deemed to beregistered;

(b) any reference to a mentally disordered person shall be construed asa reference to a person who, by reason of unsoundness of mind, or ofmental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health (NorthernIreland) Order 1986(14), is or is considered incapable of managing his affairs;

(c) any reference to a receiver in relation to a mentally disorderedperson shall be construed as a reference to a controller or any otherperson appointed pursuant to the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order1986 and the orders made thereunder to exercise with respect to theestate of such person powers similar to those of a committee;

(d) any reference to a bankruptcy order shall be construed as areference to an order of adjudication of bankruptcy, or to an order inany arrangement operating by virtue of section 349 of the Irish Bankruptand Insolvent Act 1857(15) to vest a deposit in the Official Assignee alone orjointly with any person;

(e) any reference to the Official Receiver shall be construed as areference to the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy;

(f) any reference to the Treasury Solicitor shall be construed asa reference to the Crown Solicitor for Northern Ireland.

Application to the Isle of Man

35.—(1) These Regulations shall extend to the Isle of Man.

(2) In the application of these Regulation to the Isle ofMan—

(a) any reference to a mentally disordered person shall beconstrued as a reference to a person who is incapable by reason ofmental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1974 (an Actof Tynwald) of managing and administer- ing his property and affairs;

(b) any reference to a receiver in relation to any act or thing done inrespect of a mentally disordered person shall be construed as areference to a receiver or other person authorised in that behalf underPart VII of the said Act of 1974;

(c) any reference to a bankruptcy order shall be construed as areference to a receiving order or an order of adjudication ofbankruptcy;

(d) any reference to the Treasury Solicitor shall be construed as areference to Her Majesty’s Attorney General for the Isle of Man.

Application to the Channel Islands

36.—(1) These Regulations shall extend to the Channel Islands.

(2) In the application of these Regulations to Jersey—

(a) any reference to a mentally disordered person shall beconstrued as a reference to a person suffering from mental disorderwithin the meaning of the Mental Health (Jersey) Law 1969;

(b) any reference to a receiver in relation to a mentally disorderedperson shall be construed as a reference to a curator;

(c) the references in regulation 7(2) of these Regulations to sections3 and 4 of the Cheques Act 1957 shall be respectively construed asreferences to articles 3 and 4 of the Cheques (Jersey) Law 1957;

(d) any reference to a receiving order shall be construed as areference to a declaration of“de sastre”;

(e) any reference to the Official Receiver shall be construed as areference to the Viscount or to an“attourne” appointed in bankruptcy, as the case may be;

(f) any reference to the Treasury Solicitor shall be construed asa reference to Her Majesty’s Receiver General;

(g) any reference to a statutory declaration shall be construed as areference to a declaration on oath before the Bailiff, a Jurat, theMagistrate or a notary public.

(3) In the application of these Regulations to Guernsey, Alderney andSark—

(a) any reference to a mentally disordered person shall beconstrued as a reference to a person who under any law for the timebeing in force in any of the Islands of the Bailiwick of Guernsey is aperson of unsound mind;

(b) any reference to a receiver in relation to a mentally disorderedperson shall be construed as a reference to a guardian appointed by theRoyal Court of Guernsey, the Court of Alderney or the Court of theSeneschal of Sark, as the case may be;

(c) any reference to the Treasury Solicitor shall be construed as areference to Her Majesty’s Receiver-General;

(d) any reference to a statutory declaration shall be construed as areference to a declaration on oath before a notary publicor—

(i) in Guernsey, before the Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff, A Jurat ofthe Royal Court or the Magistrate;

(ii) in Alderney, before a Jurat of the Court of Alderney; and

(iii) in Sark, before the Seneschal.

(e) the references in regulation 7(2) of these Regulations to section76, subsections (1), (3), (4) and (5) and, so far as it relates tocrossed cheques, subsection (6) of section 77, and sections 78, 79, 80and 81 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 shall be respectively construedas references to section 75, subsections (1), (3), (4) and (5) and, sofar as it relates to crossed cheques, subsection (6) of section 76, andsections 77, 78, 79 and 80 of the Bills of Exchange (Guernsey) Law 1958,and the references in the said regulation 7(2) to sections 3 and 4 ofthe Cheques Act 1957 shall be respectively construed as references tosections 83 and 84 of the Bills of Exchange (Guernsey) Law 1958;

(f) for regulation 12 of these Regulations shall be substitute

the following regulation—

“12.   Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savingsthat any person who is the sole holder of a certificate is insolvent,the Director of Savings may, if he thinks fit, pay the amount repayablein respect of the certificate to any person who makes application inthat behalf and who satisfies him that he is a proper person to receivepayment.”;

(g) in regulation 24(1)(b) of these Regulations the words“or the trustee in bankruptcy or assignee of a holder who is bankruptor insolvent” shall be deleted.

Nominations

37.  Schedule 2 to these Regulations shall have effect in relation tonominations made before 1st May 1981.

Revocation

38.  The Regulations specified in Schedule 3 to these Regulations arehereby revoked.

Irvine Patnick

Gregory Knight

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

16th April 1991