Coal Industry Act 1994
| Year | 1994 |
Coal Industry Act 1994
1994 CHAPTER 21
An Act to provide for the establishment and functions of a body to be known as the Coal Authority; to provide for the restructuring of the coal industry, for transfers of the property, rights and liabilities of the British Coal Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries to other persons and for the dissolution of that Corporation; to abolish the Domestic Coal Consumers' Council; to make provision for the licensing of coal-mining operations and provision otherwise in relation to the carrying on of such operations; to amend the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991 and the Opencast Coal Act 1958; and for connected purposes.
[5th July 1994]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Re-organisation of Coal Industry
The Coal Authority
1 Establishment of the Coal Authority.
(1) There shall be a body corporate to be known as the Coal Authority (in this Act referred to as ‘the Authority’) for the purpose of—
(a) holding, managing and disposing of interests and rights in or in relation to the unworked coal and other property which is transferred to or otherwise acquired by it by or under this Act;
(b) carrying out functions with respect to the licensing of coal-mining operations;
(c) carrying out functions with respect to coal-mining subsidence and in connection with other matters incidental to the carrying on of any opencast or other coal-mining operations;
(d) facilitating the establishment and maintenance of arrangements for the information to which persons are to be entitled under this Act to be made available to them; and
(e) carrying out the other functions conferred on it by virtue of this Act.
(2) The Authority shall consist of not less than two nor more than eight members appointed by the Secretary of State.
(3) The Secretary of State shall designate one of the members appointed under this section as the chairman of the Authority and may, if he thinks fit, designate another such member as its deputy chairman.
(4) In appointing a person to be a member of the Authority, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of appointing a person who has experience of, and has shown capacity in, some matter relevant to its functions.
(5) The Authority shall not be regarded—
(a) as the servant or agent of the Crown, or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown; or
(b) by virtue of any connection with the Crown, as exempt from any tax, duty, rate, levy or other charge whatsoever, whether general or local;
and the Authority's property shall not be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown.
(6) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Authority and its finances.
2 Duties of the Authority with respect to licensing.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority to carry out its functions under Part II of this Act in the manner that it considers is best calculated to secure, so far as practicable—
(a) that an economically viable coal-mining industry in Great Britain is maintained and developed by the persons authorised by virtue of that Part to carry on coal-mining operations;
(b) that such persons are able to finance both the proper carrying on of the coal-mining operations that they are authorised to carry on and the discharge of liabilities arising from the carrying on of those operations; and
(c) that persons to whom obligations are owed in respect of subsidence damage caused at any time (whether before or after the passing of this Act) do not sustain loss in consequence of any failure by a person who is or has been a licensed operator to make such financial provision for meeting present and future liabilities as might reasonably have been required of that person.
(2) Subject to section 4 below, it shall be the duty of the Authority, in carrying out its functions under Part II of this Act, to have regard to the desirability of securing—
(a) that persons authorised by virtue of that Part to carry on coal-mining operations are persons who have at their disposal such experience and expertise in the carrying on of such operations as are appropriate for ensuring that any authorised operations are properly carried on; and
(b) that competition is promoted between the different persons carrying on, or seeking to carry on, coal-mining operations.
(3) It shall also be the duty of the Authority, in carrying out its functions under Part II of this Act in cases where it appears that subsidence damage may be caused to any land or other property that does not consist in unworked coal or in a coal mine, to have regard—
(a) to the extent of the damage which is likely to be caused; and
(b) to the character of the land or other property in question and to the uses to which it is or is likely to be put.
3 Duties of the Authority with respect to property.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority, in carrying out the functions mentioned in section 1(1) (a) above, to have regard to—
(a) the need to co-ordinate its practice in relation to relevant property dealings with the carrying out of its functions under Part II of this Act; and
(b) the need to secure the safety of members of the public.
(2) Subject to subsection (4) below, it shall be the duty of the Authority, so far as practicable, to make available for acquisition by others such of its land and other property as—
(a) does not consist in an interest in any unworked coal or coal mine;
(b) is not being put to a use which justifies its retention by the Authority; and
(c) in the opinion of the Authority, is unlikely to be required for any such use.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) above the only uses for land and other property which justify its retention by the Authority are—
(a) use by any person for or in connection with the carrying on of any coal-mining operations; and
(b) use by the Authority in connection with the administration of its own activities or with the management of the land and other property which it is entitled to retain or is unable to dispose of;
and for this purpose the management of land and other property shall include the performance of every obligation to which the Authority is subject in relation to any of that land or other property.
(4) Subject to subsection (6) below, it shall be the duty of the Authority, where it disposes of any interests or rights in or in relation to any land or other property, to secure the best terms reasonably available for the disposal.
(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, it shall be the duty of the Authority, in the exercise and performance of its powers and duties with respect to its land and other property, to have regard to the desirability of the exploitation, so far as that is economically viable, of coal-bed methane in Great Britain.
(6) It shall be the duty of the Authority, in determining the terms on which it may dispose of any interest or right in or in relation to any unworked coal or coal mine to a person who requires the interest or right for purposes connected with activities to be carried on under the authority of a licence under section 2 of the Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 , to act in accordance with such arrangements and principles as it may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, have determined for the purposes of subsection (5) above.
(7) It shall be the duty of the Authority, in formulating any proposals for works on or in relation to any of its land or other property which has been used for the carrying on of any coal-mining operations but is no longer to be put to such use—
(a) to have regard to the desirability of preserving natural beauty, of conserving flora and fauna and geological or physiographical features of special interest and of protecting sites, buildings, structures and objects of architectural, historic or archaeological interest; and
(b) to take into account the effect of the proposals on the natural beauty of any area or on any such flora, fauna, features, sites, buildings, structures or objects.
(8) In this section ‘relevant property dealings’, in relation to the Authority, means the grant of such interests and rights in or in relation to its land or other property as appear to it to be appropriate for the purpose of enabling or facilitating its use for, or in connection with, the carrying on of any coal-mining operations.
4 Duty of the Authority with respect to safety.
(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority—
(a) in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive, to prepare and from time to time revise a document setting out such means as may, with the approval of the Health and Safety Commission, be agreed between the Authority and that Executive for securing co-operation and the exchange of information between them; and
(b) without prejudice to the effect or operation of any relevant statutory provisions (within the meaning of Part I of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 ), to conduct itself in the carrying out of its functions in accordance with any agreement contained in that document.
(2) As soon as practicable after agreement is reached for the purposes of—
(a) the preparation of a document in accordance with subsection (1) above, or
(b) any revision of a document prepared in accordance with that subsection,
the Authority shall send a copy of the document or...
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