Local Government Act 1966

23 Rating of certain office premises of nationalised boards.

(1) In respect of any rate period beginning after 31st March 1967, an authority to which this section applies shall, notwithstanding anything in Part V of the [1948 c. 26.] Local Government Act 1948, section 6(2) of the [1955 c. 9 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2.).] Rating and Valuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1955 or section 3(1) of the [1965 c. 36.] Gas Act 1965, be liable to be rated in respect of any office premises occupied by the authority which are not situated on operational land of the authority; and accordingly any such premises shall be rated for any such period, and shall be included in the valuation list in force during any such period for the rating area in which the premises are situated, and in every rate made for any such period by the rating authority for that area.

(2) In determining the rateable value of any office premises which are to be rated by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, any part of the premises which is not used as an office or for office purposes, or for purposes ancillary to the use of the premises as an office or for office purposes, shall be disregarded.

(3) Valuation officers shall from time to time make such proposals under Part III of the [1948 c. 26.] Local Government Act 1948 as appear to them to be requisite for altering valuation lists so as to give effect to the foregoing provisions of this section.

(4) A valuation officer may if he thinks fit, before making a proposal in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section in respect of any premises.—

(a) raise a question as to whether the premises are situated on operational land of an authority to which this section applies; and

(b) make an application to the appropriate Minister for the determination of the question in pursuance of the following provisions of this section,

and where a valuation officer makes such an application he shall, before the expiration of the period of seven days beginning with the date of the application, serve notice of it on the occupier of the premises and the rating authority for the area in which the premises are situated; and section 59 of the [1925 c. 90.] Rating and Valuation Act 1925 (which relates to the service of documents) shall apply to such a notice as it applies to the documents mentioned in that section.

(5) Where it is determined in consequence of an application under subsection (4) of this section that the premises to which the application relates are not situated on operational land of the relevant authority to which this section applies, then—

(a) the valuation officer may make a proposal in respect of the premises by reference to the same considerations as would have been applicable if the proposal had been made on the date of the application; and

(b) any alteration in a valuation list made in pursuance of a proposal certified by the valuation officer to have been made by him in consequence of the determination shall have effect as if any notice of the proposal served on the occupier of the premises had been so served at the same time as the notice of the application served on him under subsection (4) of this section.

(6) Any question as to whether, for the purposes of this section, any premises are situated on operational land of an authority to which this section applies shall be determined—

(a) where the authority is the British Railways Board, the London Transport Board or the British Waterways Board, by the Minister of Transport;

(b) in any other case, by the Minister of Power.

(7) The Minister may by regulations make such provision as he considers appropriate for securing, in the case of premises liable to be rated under this section and under another enactment and premises of which a part is liable to be rated under this section and another part is liable to be rated under another enactment, that the premises are included in the valuation list as a single hereditament with a single rateable value; and the regulations may make different provision for different circumstances and may contain such supplemental, consequential and incidental provisions, including provisions modifying any enactment, as the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(8) This section applies to the following authorities, that is to say, the British Railways Board, the London Transport Board, the British Waterways Board, the Central Electricity Generating Board, any Area Board within the meaning of the [1947 c. 54.] Electricity Act 1947, the Gas Council and any Area Board constituted for an area in England and Wales under the [1948 c. 67.] Gas Act 1948 and, as respects office premises situated in England, the South of Scotland Electricity Board.

(9) In this section—

• " office premises " means any hereditament used wholly or mainly as an office or for office purposes; and

• " operational land ", in relation to an authority to which this section applies, means land which is used for the purpose of the carrying on of the authority's undertaking, not being land which, in respect of its nature and situation, is comparable rather with land in general than with land which is used for the purpose of the carrying on of statutory undertakings;

and for the purposes of this subsection " office purposes " includes the purposes of administration, clerical work and handling money, " clerical work" includes writing, bookkeeping, sorting papers, filing, typing, duplicating, punching cards or tapes, machine calculating, drawing and the editorial preparation of matter for publication, and " statutory undertakings " has the same meaning as in the [1962 c. 38.] Town and Country Planning Act 1962.