Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980

21 Exemption of small direct labour organisations from requirements of Part III

(1) This Part of this Act does not apply to a local authority or development body in any year if they did not in the previous year at any one time employ more than thirty persons, other than persons excluded by subsection (2) below, who were engaged (whether wholly or partly) in carrying out construction or maintenance work.

(2) The persons excluded by this subsection are persons engaged wholly or mainly upon the design, development or control of construction or maintenance work.

(3) The Secretary of State may by order specify for the purposes of subsection (1) above a number of persons less than thirty.

(4) The power to make an order conferred by subsection (3) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(5) A statutory instrument containing any such order shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(6) The Secretary of State may direct that this Part of this Act shall not apply to a local authority or development body in any year if he is satisfied that the only reason why it would apply to that authority or body is that at some time in the previous year the number of their employees engaged in construction or maintenance work exceeded the relevant number because it was necessary to exceed that number in order to carry out urgent construction or maintenance work whose necessity could not reasonably have been foreseen by the authority or body.

(7) In subsection (6) above " the relevant number" means thirty or such lesser number as may for the time being be specified for the purposes of subsection (1) above.