(1)It shall be the duty of the Commission, acting in consultation with the Council and for the purposes set out in section 8(1)(a) to (c) (General duty of Council and Commission) above, to take such steps as appear to it to be necessary and reasonably practicable for—
(a)the improvement and maintenance of the Common and any additional open space, and
(b)the promotion of proper standards of livestock husbandry on that land (including the assessment of the number of animals which can properly be grazed on the Common from time to time).
(2)Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission may, with the Council’s consent, do anything which is designed to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of its functions and, in particular, the attainment of the purposes set out in section 8(1)(a) to (c) (General duty of Council and Commission) above.
(3)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, the Commission, with the Council’s consent, may—
(a)render assistance to any commoner in the maintenance of the commoner’s rights of common;
(b)enter into agreements with the owner of any land in the vicinity of the Common which the Commission consider can conveniently be managed with the Common for the management by the Commission of grazing on the land;
(c)apply for and receive grants and other gifts subject to such conditions (if any) as to repayment or otherwise as the Commission may accept; and
(d)engage, or participate in, fund-raising activities including the holding of public collections or the making of public appeals.
(4)Subject to subsection (5) below, the provisions of sections 65 to 71, 73 and 74 of the Charities Act 1992 (c. 41) (which regulate public charitable collections and charitable appeals) shall apply in relation to public collections and public appeals by the Commission under subsection (3) above as if they were respectively public charitable collections and charitable appeals for the purposes of Part III of that Act.
(5)Until the coming into force of Part III of the Charities Act 1992 (c. 41), the provisions of—
(a)the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 (c. 31); and
(b)the House to House Collections Act 1939 (c. 44),
(and any regulations made under either of those Acts) shall apply in relation to a collection or sale of articles by the Commission for any of the purposes set out in paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 8(1) (General duty of Council and Commission) above as if the collection or sale were for a charitable purpose.