Friendly Societies Act 1896

THE REGISTRY OFFICE

1 The registry office

(1) There shall continue to be a chief registrar of friendly societies (in this Act called " the chief registrar"), and one or more assistant registrars of friendly societies for England (in this Act called " assistant registrars for England "), and the chief registrar and assistant registrars for England shall continue to constitute the central office of the registry of friendly societies.

(2) There shall continue to be an assistant registrar of friendly societies for Scotland (in this Act called " assistant registrar for Scotland"), and an assistant registrar of friendly societies for Ireland (in this Act called " assistant registrar for Ireland").

(3) Every chief registrar and assistant registrar shall be appointed by and shall hold his office during the pleasure of the Treasury.

(4) The chief registrar shall be a barrister of not less than twelve years standing, and one at least of the assistant registrars for England, and the assistant registrar for Ireland, shall be a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years standing, and the assistant registrar for Scotland shall he an advocate, writer to the signet, or solicitor of not less than seven years standing.

(5) The central office may, with the approval of the Treasury, have attached to it such assistants skilled in the "business of an actuary and an accountant as may be required for discharging the duties imposed on the office by this Act.

2 Functions of the central office

(1) The central office shall continue to exercise the functions and powers formerly vested—

(a) as respects trade unions, in the registrar of friendly societies in England ; and

(b) as respects building societies, in the registrar of building societies in England; and

(c) as respects unincorporated benefit building societies, loan societies, and societies instituted for purposes of science literature or the fine arts, in the barristers appointed to certify the rules of savings banks or friendly societies,

and shall be entitled to receive all fees payable to those registrars and barristers; and all enactments relating to those registrars and barristers shall, so far as respects trade unions and such societies as aforesaid, be construed as applying to the central office.

(2) The central office shall, with the approval of the Treasury—

(a) prepare and cause to be circulated, for the use of societies, model forms of accounts, balance sheets, and valuations; and

(b) collect from the returns under this Act and from other sources, and publish and circulate, either generally or in any particular district, or otherwise make known, such information on the subject of the statistics of life and sickness, and the application thereof to the business of friendly societies, and such particulars of their returns and valuations, and such other information useful to the members of or to persons interested in societies registered or capable of being registered under this Act, as the chief registrar may think fit; and

(c) cause to be constructed and published tables for the payment of sums of money on death, in sickness, or old age, or on any other contingency forming the subject of an assurance authorised under this Act which may appear to be calculable: Provided that the adoption of the tables by a society shall be optional.

3 Functions of assistant registrars generally

(1) The assistant registrars shall, except as in this Act provided, be subordinate to the chief registrar.

(2) They shall, within the parts of the United Kingdom for which they are respectively appointed, exercise all functions and powers by this Act given to the registrar, and may also by the written authority of the chief registrar, exercise such of the functions and powers by this Act given to the chief registrar as he may delegate to them.

4 Functions of assistant registrars for Scotland and Ireland

(1) Subject to any regulations to be made under this Act, the assistant registrars for Scotland and Ireland respectively shall continue to exercise the functions and powers formerly vested—

(a) as respects trade unions, in the registrars of friendly societies in Scotland and Ireland ; and

(b) as respects building societies, in the registrars of building societies in Scotland and Ireland; and

(c) as respects benefit building societies and societies instituted for purposes of science literature or the fine arts, in Scotland, in the Lord Advocate or his deputes appointed to certify the rules of any such societies, and, in Ireland, in any barristers appointed for the like purpose ;

and shall be entitled to receive all fees payable to those registrars, the Lord Advocate or his deputes, and those barristers respectively ; and all provisions in any Acts of Parliament relating to those persons respectively shall be construed as applying to those assistant registrars.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, the assistant registrars for Scotland and Ireland shall—

(a) send to the central office copies of all such documents registered or recorded by them as the chief registrar may direct: and

(b) record such documents and matters as may be sent to them for record from the central office, and such other documents and matters as are in this Act required to be recorded: and

(c) circulate and publish, or transmit to or from societies registered in Scotland or Ireland respectively, from or to the central office, such information and documents relating to the purposes of this Act as the chief registrar may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct: and

(d) report their proceedings to the chief registrar as he may direct.

(3) An assistant registrar for Scotland or Ireland shall not refuse to record any rules or amendments of rules which have been registered by the central office.

5 Salaries and expenses

The Treasury shall, out of money to be provided by Parliament, pay to the chief and assistant registrars such salaries or other remunerations, and such sums of money for defraying the expenses of office rent, salaries of assistants, clerks, and servants, remuneration for actuaries, accountants, and inspectors, computation of tables, publication of documents, diffusion of information, expenses of prosecutions, travelling expenses and other allowances of the chief or any assistant registrar, and other expenses which may be incurred for carrying out the purposes of this Act, as the Treasury may allow.

6 Report of the chief registrar

The chief registrar shall every year make a report of his proceedings and of those of the assistant registrars, and of the principal matters transacted by him and them and of the valuations returned to or caused to be made by the registrar during the year preceding, and that report shall be laid before Parliament.

7 Deposit of documents

All documents by this Act required to be sent to the registrar shall be deposited with the rules of the societies to which the documents respectively relate, and shall be registered or recorded by the registrar, with such observations thereon, if any, as the chief registrar may direct.