In accordance with arrangements approved by the Minister and the Treasury, the Commission shall have power to give financial assistance by way of grant or loan, or partly in the one way and partly in the other, to any person, other than a public body, carrying on or proposing to carry on any project approved by the Minister for the purposes of this section which in the opinion of the Commission is conducive to the attainment of any of the purposes of this Act or the Act of 1949.

Financial assistance by way of grant under this section shall not exceed seventy-five per cent, of the expenditure in respect of which the grant is made.

Before applying for the approval of the Minister under this section to any project the Commission shall satisfy themselves that in all the circumstances it is preferable that the project should be carried out by a person other than a public body.

On making a grant or loan under this section the Commission may impose such conditions as they think fit, including (in the case of a grant) conditions for repayment in specified circumstances.

In this section " public body" does not include the National Trust.