Civil Aviation Act 1971

General functions of the Board

38 General powers

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, the Board shall have power—

(a) to provide air transport services and carry out all other forms of aerial work, whether on charter terms or otherwise, in any part of the world ;

(b) without prejudice to the generality of the preceding paragraph, to do all or any of the following—

(i) to promote the formation of undertakings constituted for the purpose of providing air transport services or engaging in any other activities of a kind which the Board has power to carry on ;

(ii) to acquire any such undertaking or a financial interest in any such undertaking ;

(iii) to lend money to or enter into guarantees for the benefit of any such undertaking ;

(c) to control all the activities of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and the British European Airways Corporation (hereafter in this Act referred to jointly as " the corporations" and severally as "BOAC" and " BEA" respectively) and for that purpose to give to the corporations or either of them such directions as the Board thinks fit;

(d) to appoint such persons as the Board thinks fit as the chairmen, deputy chairmen and other members of the corporations and to terminate any appointment made by virtue of this paragraph notwithstanding anything in the terms on which the appointment was made;

(e) to provide for any person technical advice or assistance, including research services, as respects any matter in which the Board has skill or experience ;

(f) to do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the performance of any of the Board's functions (including a function exercisable by the Board by virtue of this paragraph).

(2) The preceding subsection shall have effect subject to the following limitations, that is to say—

(a) the Board shall not exercise its powers under paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection except with and in accordance with a general or special authorisation given by the Secretary of State ;

(b) the Board shall not have power to manufacture air frames, aero-engines or airscrews except in so far as the Secretary of State provides by order that it shall have such a power ;

(c) the appointment of a person as the chairman of either of the corporations shall not—

(i) be made unless he is a member of the Board and the Secretary of State approves the appointment, and

(ii) be terminated unless the Secretary of State approves its termination ;

(d) nothing in paragraph (d) of the preceding subsection is to be construed as—

(i) authorising the termination of an appointment made before that paragraph came into force, or

(ii) depriving a person whose appointment is terminated in pursuance of that paragraph of his entitlement (if any) to damages or compensation in consequence of the termination.

39 Reviews of organisation

(1) It shall be the duty of the Board, forthwith after the appointed day and subsequently from time to time when the Board considers it appropriate or the Secretary of State so requires,—

(a) to undertake a review of the group's affairs for the purpose of determining whether the carrying on of the activities of the group is organised, so far as regards the direction thereof, in the most efficient manner;

(b) to make a report to the Secretary of State upon the Board's conclusions arising from the review (and in relation to the first review to make the report before such a date as the Secretary of State determines after consultation with the Board).

(2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each report made in pursuance of the preceding subsection.

(3) The Secretary of State may, after considering any report made in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section and laying a copy of it before each House of Parliament and after consulting the Board about it, give to the Board such directions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for securing that the carrying on of the activities mentioned in that subsection is organised as there mentioned; and the Board shall not make or permit any substantial change in the organisation of the said activities except in pursuance of a direction under this subsection or with the consent of the Secretary of State.

40 Secretary of State's directions in the national interest etc.

(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Board, give to the Board—

(a) directions of a general character as to the performance of the Board's functions in relation to any matter appearing to the Secretary of State to affect the national interest;

(b) directions requiring the Board to dispose, or to secure that either of the corporations dispose, of any shares or stock or other financial interest held by the Board or corporation in any undertaking specified in the directions;

(c) directions requiring the Board to secure that any relevant body specified in the directions—

(i) discontinues, or restricts to an extent specified in the directions, any of the activities of the body which are so specified, or

(ii) disposes of such part of the undertaking of the body as is so specified, or

(iii) disposes of any property of the body which is so specified.

(2) In paragraph (c) of the preceding subsection " relevant body " means—

(a) any undertaking of which all the issued share capital is held, directly or through a nominee, by the Board or one of the corporations ; and

(b) any other undertaking which, if such of its issued share capital as is held directly or through nominees by each of the corporations and each such undertaking as is mentioned in the preceding paragraph were held by the Board, would be an undertaking falling within the preceding paragraph.

(3) The Secretary of State shall not give directions in pursuance of paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (1) of this section unless he is satisfied that he will not thereby impede or prevent the proper discharge of the Board's duties.

(4) The powers to give directions conferred by paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and a draft of any statutory instrument made by virtue of this subsection shall be laid before Parliament.