Agricultural Marketing Act (Northern Ireland) 1964

14 Directions by Minister to boards as respects certain matters. N.I.

(1) This section shall have effect with respect to any powers exercisable by a board by virtue of any provision of a scheme providing for any of the following matters, that is to say—

(a) for empowering the board to buy the regulated product, to produce such commodities the whole or a main ingredient of which is derived from that product as may be specified in the scheme and to sell the regulated product and any such commodities;

(b) for the determination from time to time—

(i) of the quantity of the regulated product or of any description thereof which may be sold by any producer;

(ii) of the descriptions of the regulated product which may be sold by any producer;

(iii) of the price at, below or above which, the terms on which, and the persons to whom, or through the agency of whom, the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, may be sold by any producer;

(c) F1 for empowering the board to enter into agreements with buyers of the regulated product or their representatives concerning the prices at which and the terms on which the regulated product shall be sold by the board;

and references in the following provisions of this section to acts or omissions of the board shall be construed as references to acts or omissions of the board in the exercise of any of the said powers.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, if it appears to the Minister that the result, or one of the results, of any act or omission of the board or intended act or omission of the board is or will be …F2

(a) to restrict the purposes for which the regulated product or any description thereof is used, or to limit the quantity of the regulated product, which is used for any particular purpose; or

(b) to limit the quantity of the regulated product or of any description thereof, or of any commodity produced therefrom, which is produced or sold, whether by producers or by other persons; or

(c) to regulate the price at which the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, or any commodity produced therefrom, is sold, whether by producers or by other persons; or

(d) to limit the classes of persons to whom or through the agency of whom the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, or any commodity produced therefrom, is sold, whether by producers or by other persons;

and that that result is or will be contrary to the public interest, the Minister may by order give to the board such directions as to their acts or omissions as he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of preventing that result or, as the case may be, preventing or mitigating the damage to the public interest entailed thereby, and it shall be the duty of the board to comply with that order.

(3) Before making an order under subsection (2) the Minister shall give to the board notice in writing stating the general nature of the action which he proposes to take and of his reasons for taking it, and shall not make any order under that subsection for at least twenty-eight days after the date of the notice.

(4) If within the said period of twenty-eight days or such longer period as the Minister may allow the board make representations to the Minister regarding the action which he proposes to take, the Minister shall not make an order under subsection (2) until he has considered such representations.

(5) The Minister may at any time, after consultation with the board, by order revoke or vary any order in force under subsection (2) so as either—

(a) to withdraw the whole or any part of the directions in force thereunder; or

(b) to vary or add to those directions in any manner which he thinks necessary or expedient in order better to attain the purposes for which those directions were given;

but the Minister shall not, except with the consent of the board, vary or add to any directions under paragraph ( b) where, in his opinion, the need for the variation or addition arose from circumstances not obtaining at the date when the directions were given.

F1 1968 c.34

F2 1975 NI 8