Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
| Year | 1977 |
Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
1977 CHAPTER 3
An Act to provide for the establishment of two bodies corporate to be called British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders, and to make provision with respect to their functions; to provide for the vesting in British Aerospace of the securities of certain companies engaged in manufacturing aircraft and guided weapons and the vesting in British Shipbuilders of the securities of certain companies engaged in shipbuilding and allied industries; to make provision for the vesting in those companies of certain property, rights and liabilities; to provide for payments to British Aerospace and its wholly owned subsidiaries, for the purpose of promoting the design, development and production of civil aircraft; and for connected purposes.
[17th March 1977]
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
The Corporations
Constitution and functions
1 British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders.
(1) There shall be constituted, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section,—
(a ) a body corporate to be called British Aerospace, and
(b ) a body corporate to be called British Shipbuilders.
(2) Each Corporation shall consist of—
(a ) a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State; and
(b ) subject to subsection (3) below, not less than 7 nor more than 20 other members each appointed by the Secretary of State after consultation with the chairman.
(3) In relation to either Corporation, the Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument—
(a ) provide that subsection (2)(b ) above shall have effect in relation to the Corporation with the substitution of a different minimum or maximum number of members;
(b ) provide that, in addition to the office of chairman of the Corporation, there shall be other offices to which he may appoint members of the Corporation;
(c ) make provision with respect to the appointment and tenure of office of, and the vacation of office by, members of the Corporation;
(d ) make provision with respect to the disclosure by members of the Corporation of any interest (whether direct or indirect) in contracts made or proposed to be made by the Corporation or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries or in any other matter whatsoever which falls to be considered by the Corporation;
(e ) make provision with respect to the quorum, proceedings and meetings of the Corporation, the execution of instruments by or on behalf of the Corporation and the proof of documents purporting to be executed, signed or issued by or on behalf of the Corporation or by or on behalf of any of the Corporation's members or employees; and
(f ) make such provision supplementary or incidental to the matters specified in paragraphs (a ) to (e ) above as appears to the Secretary of State to be expedient.
(4) Subject to any provision made by virtue of subsection (3) above, the arrangements relating to meetings of each Corporation shall be such as it may determine; and the validity of any proceedings of either Corporation shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members or in the office of chairman or by any defect in the appointment of a member.
(5) Each Corporation—
(a ) shall pay to the members thereof such remuneration and such allowances as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service; and
(b ) if the Secretary of State with the consent of that Minister so determines in the case of a person who is or has been a member of the Corporation, shall pay or make arrangements for the payment of a pension to or in respect of that person in accordance with the determination; and
(c ) if a person ceases to be a member of the Corporation and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right that that person should receive compensation, shall pay to that person a sum of such amount as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.
(6) Neither Corporation is to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, privilege or immunity of the Crown, and its property is not to be regarded as property of or held on behalf of the Crown.
(7) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument specify a different name by which either Corporation is to be known; and where any such different name is so specified, any reference in this Act or in any other enactment, instrument or document to British Aerospace or, as the case may be, to British Shipbuilders, shall be construed accordingly.
(8) The power to make an order under subsection (7) above includes power to vary or revoke any order previously made under that subsection; and a statutory instrument containing regulations or an order made under any provision of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(9) The Secretary of State shall maintain in respect of each Corporation a register of members' financial interests and shall ensure that all members of a Corporation enter in the register kept in respect of it statements of such of their financial interests as, were they Members of the House of Commons, they would be required to register in accordance with resolutions of that House, any such resolution being construed, in its application to members of a Corporation, with appropriate modifications.
(10) In the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and in the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975 , in Part II of Schedule 1 (bodies of which all members are disqualified), there shall be inserted, at the appropriate places in alphabetical order,—
‘British Aerospace’; and
‘British Shipbuilders’.
2 General duties of the Corporations.
(1) It shall be the duty of British Aerospace, subject to section 7(3) below, to promote and secure the promotion by its wholly owned subsidiaries of—
(a ) the efficient and economical design, development, production, sale, repair and maintenance of civil and military aircraft, of guided weapons and of space vehicles; and
(b ) research into matters relating thereto.
(2) It shall be the duty of British Shipbuilders to promote and secure the promotion by its wholly owned subsidiaries of—
(a ) the efficient and economical design, development, production, sale, repair and maintenance of ships and slow speed diesel marine engines; and
(b ) research into matters relating thereto.
(3) It shall be the duty of each Corporation—
(a ) in carrying out its activities to have full regard to the requirements of national defence; and
(b ) to secure that each of its wholly owned subsidiaries, in carrying out its activities, has full regard to those requirements.
(4) It shall be the duty of each Corporation to seek to secure the benefit of the knowledge and experience of persons employed by it and its wholly owned subsidiaries in the organisation and conduct of the tasks in which those persons are employed.
(5) The Secretary of State may, after consultation with a Corporation, by order made by statutory instrument, prescribe in relation to that Corporation—
(a ) activities which the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries are to carry on, either in addition to the activities specified in subsections (1) and (2) above or in substitution for such of those activities as may be specified in the order; and
(b ) objectives of a general character which the Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries are to pursue; and
(c ) conditions of a general character subject to which any activities are to be carried on or any prescribed objectives are to be pursued.
(6) The power to make an order under subsection (5) above includes power to vary or revoke any such order previously made, and no order shall be made under that subsection unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(7) It shall be the duty of each Corporation—
(a ) to carry on such activities, to pursue such objectives and in so doing to comply with such conditions as may for the time being be specified in accordance with subsection (5) above; and
(b ) to secure that its wholly owned subsidiaries carry on any such activities, pursue any such objectives and comply with any such conditions;
and in the event of any conflict between the duty imposed by this subsection and any duty imposed by the preceding provisions of this section, the duty imposed by this subsection shall prevail.
(8) In carrying out its functions under this Act, it shall be the duty of each Corporation to promote industrial democracy in a strong and organic form in its undertakings and the undertakings of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
(9) It shall be the duty of each Corporation to enter within 3 months of the relevant vesting date into consultation with the relevant trade unions as to the methods which it should adopt for the purpose of carrying out its duty under subsection (8) above.
(10) Nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing upon either Corporation, directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court.
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