1 Transfer of Atomic Energy Authority Weapons Group to Secretary of State.

(1)

On a day appointed by the Secretary of State by order made by statutory instrument the undertaking of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (“the Authority”) shall cease to comprise so much of it as is known as the Weapons Group; and it shall on and after that date, be for the Secretary of State (and not the Authority, except under contract to the Secretary of State, or by his direction or with his approval) to carry on any activities which before that day were activities of the Group and involved the doing of work on explosive nuclear devices.

(2)

On the appointed day there shall be transferred to the Secretary of State for Defence by virtue of this Act and without further assurance—

(a)

all such lands and premises as immediately before the appointed day are the property of the Authority and were on 1st November 1972 the property of the Authority and recorded in the Authority’s books as held by the Weapons Group;

(b)

without prejudice to the foregoing but subject to the following subsection, all such property, rights, liabilities and obligations as immediately before the appointed day belonged to or were incumbent upon the Authority and appertained to the Weapons Group.

(3)

There are excepted from the transfer effected by subsection (2) above any rights, liabilities or obligations of the Authority under—

(a)

any contract of employment;

(b)

any agreement for the rendering by a person of services to the Authority in his capacity as a member of the Authority; or

(c)

any pension scheme or agreement relating to a pension scheme;

and there are also excepted from that transfer the interests, property, rights, liabilities and obligations specified in the Schedule to this Act (patents and other industrial property).