323.A “relevant authority” is defined by section 78. This may be a person (or organisation) listed in schedule 3, or one designated as a relevant authority, or falling within a class of persons designated as relevant authorities, by the Scottish Ministers by order. Schedule 3 includes local authorities, the Scottish Ministers, Health Boards, and certain other Scottish public bodies, which have been specified because they own significant amounts of land and buildings.
324.The remainder of section 78 gives the Scottish Ministers a power to remove or amend any entry on the list set out in schedule 3, or to make an order designating other persons or classes of person as a relevant authority. Subsection (4) provides that persons may only be designated if they fall into the following categories:
part of the Scottish Administration, which has the meaning given in section 126(6) to (8) of the Scotland Act 1998;
“Scottish public authorities with mixed functions or no reserved functions under the Scotland Act 1998” – this means that UK Government departments and public bodies that deal with matters reserved to the UK Parliament cannot be included;
companies wholly-owned by relevant authorities.