Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996

Financial assistance for regeneration and development

126 Power of Secretary of State to give financial assistance for regeneration and development

(1) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, give financial assistance to any person in respect of expenditure incurred in connection with activities which contribute to the regeneration or development of an area.

(2) Activities which contribute to the regeneration or development of an area include, in particular—

(a) securing that land and buildings are brought into effective use;

(b) contributing to, or encouraging, economic development;

(c) creating an attractive and safe environment;

(d) preventing crime or reducing the fear of crime;

(e) providing or improving housing or social and recreational facilities, for the purpose of encouraging people to live or work in the area or of benefiting people who live there;

(f) providing employment for local people;

(g) providing or improving training, educational facilities or health services for local people;

(h) assisting local people to make use of opportunities for education, training or employment;

(i) benefiting local people who have special needs because of disability or because of their sex or the racial group to which they belong.

(3) In subsection (2)—

• “local people”, in relation to an area, means people who live or work in the area; and

• “racial group” has the same meaning as in the [1976 c. 74.] Race Relations Act 1976.

127 Regeneration and development: forms of assistance

(1) Financial assistance under section 126 (powers of Secretary of State to give financial assistance) may be given in any form.

(2) Assistance may, in particular, be given by way of—

(a) grants,

(b) loans,

(c) guarantees, or

(d) incurring expenditure for the benefit of the person assisted.

(3) The Secretary of State must not, in giving financial assistance under section 126, purchase loan or share capital in a company.

128 Regeneration and development: terms on which assistance is given

(1) Financial assistance under section 126 may be given on such terms as the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Treasury, considers appropriate.

(2) The terms may, in particular, include provision as to—

(a) circumstances in which the assistance is to be repaid, or otherwise made good, to the Secretary of State, and the manner in which that is to be done; or

(b) circumstances in which the Secretary of State is entitled to recover the proceeds or part of the proceeds of any disposal of land or buildings in respect of which assistance was provided.

(3) The person receiving assistance must comply with the terms on which it is given, and compliance may be enforced by the Secretary of State.

129 Regeneration and development: consequential amendment

In section 175(2)(b) of the [1993 c. 28.] Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, for the words from “sections 27 to 29” to the end, substitute “sections 126 to 128 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (financial assistance for regeneration and development)”.

130 Regeneration and development: Welsh Development Agency

(1) In the [1975 c. 70.] Welsh Development Agency Act 1975, after section 10 insert—

“10A Financial assistance for regeneration and development

(1) The Secretary of State may appoint the Agency to act as his agent in connection with such of his functions mentioned in subsection (2) below as he may specify.

(2) The functions are—

(a) functions under sections 126 to 128 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (financial assistance for regeneration and development), so far as they relate to—

(i) financial assistance which the Agency has power to give apart from this section; or

(ii) financial assistance given under that Act in pursuance of an agreement entered into by the Secretary of State for Wales before the coming into force of this section, or

(b) functions of the Secretary of State in relation to financial assistance given by the Secretary of State for Wales under sections 27 to 29 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986.

(3) An appointment under this section shall be on such terms as the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Treasury, may specify; and the Agency shall act under the appointment in accordance with those terms.

(4) The Agency’s powers in relation to functions under an appointment under this section include the powers it has in relation to functions under subsection (3) of section 1 by virtue of subsections (6) and (7) of that section.”

(2) In section 2(8) of that Act, after “declared that” insert “, except as provided by section 10A below,”.