Any power to make regulations under this Act may be exercised so as to make different provision in relation to different cases or different circumstances to which the power is applicable.

Any power to make regulations under this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and any statutory instrument containing any regulations made under section 4 or section 10 of this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

The M1Statutory Instruments Act 1946 shall apply to all powers of making statutory instruments under this Act as if the Chief Registrar were a Minister of the Crown.

Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of the transition to the provisions of this Act from the law in force before the commencement of those provisions.

In this Act, except so far as the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say—

• “M2Act of 1896” means the Friendly Societies Act 1896;

• “Act of 1965” means the M3Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965;

• “annual return", . . . F2 in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1965, means the annual return which that society is required to send to the appropriate registrar by section 39(1) of that Act;

• “collecting society” has the same meaning as in the M4Industrial Assurance Act 1923;

• “exempt society” has the meaning assigned to it by section 4(4) of this Act;

• “group accounts” has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of this Act;

• “industrial and provident society” means a society registered under the Act of 1965;

• “registered branch” means a branch registered under the Act of 1896 of a society registered under that Act;

• “Scottish society” means any body which is . . . F2 a society registered under the Act of 1965 . . . F2 in Scotland;

• “society” means any body which is . . . F2 a society registered under the Act of 1965;

• “subsidiary” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 of this Act;

• “year of account”—

  1. a

     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3

  2. b

     in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1965, means any period required by section 39 of that Act to be included in an annual return of that society.

In this Act, “the current year of account”, in relation to the appointment of an auditor or auditors, means the year of account in which the question of that appointment arises, and “the preceding year of account” means the year of account immediately preceding the current year of account.

Any Order in Council made under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council so made.

Any Order in Council revoking an Order in Council made under this section may contain such transitional or other incidental or supplemental provisions as appear to Her Majesty to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the revocation.

This Act may be cited as the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968.

This Act and the Industrial Assurance Acts 1923 to 1958 may be cited together as the Industrial Assurance Acts 1923 to 1968; . . . F5 and this Act and the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 and 1967 may be cited together as the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 to 1968.

References in this Act to any other enactment shall, except so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.