Agricultural Marketing Act 1949

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved


Agricultural Marketing Act, 1949

(12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 38

An Act to amend the Agricultural Marketing Acts, 1931 to 1933, and for purposes connected therewith.

[31st May 1949]

Be it enacted by the King'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:—

Composition of Boards

Composition of Boards

S-1 Composition of marketing boards.

1 Composition of marketing boards.

(1) The composition of the board to administer a scheme under the Agricultural Marketing Act, 1931 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the principal Act’) shall be such as may be prescribed by the scheme, but the scheme shall be so framed as to secure that—

(a ) the total number of members shall not be less than eight nor, unless for special reasons the Minister thinks fit to allow a greater number, more than twenty-four;

(b ) of the members, not less than two and (provided that there are at least two) not more than one-fifth of the total number of members shall be persons appointed by the Minister as being persons who in his opinion are qualified for appointment as having had experience and shown capacity in commerce, finance, administration, public affairs or the organisation of workers, or as being specially conversant with the interests of consumers of the regulated product;

(c ) subject to the provisions of the scheme as to the filling of casual vacancies in the board, the remaining members shall—

(i) during such period, not being longer than twelve months from the day on which the scheme comes into force, as may be specified in the scheme, be persons named in the scheme;

(ii) after the expiration of the said period, be persons elected in accordance with the scheme, either by registered producers or by a body or bodies elected by such producers in accordance with the scheme;

(d ) the executive committee of the board referred to in section fifteen of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 1933, shall include at least one of the members of the board who are appointed by the Minister.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this section, provision may be made by a scheme under the principal Act for the board acting notwithstanding any vacancy in the membership thereof.

(3) In this section the expression ‘consumers of the regulated product’ means persons who purchase the product, or commodities produced wholly or partly therefrom, for their own consumption or use and not persons who purchase the product, or such commodities as aforesaid, for the purpose of any trade or industry carried on by them.

Relations of Boards with Ministers, etc.

Relations of Boards with Ministers, etc.

S-2 Directions by Ministers to boards as respects certain matters.

2 Directions by Ministers to boards as respects certain matters.

(1) This section shall have effect with respect to any powers exercisable by the board administering a scheme under the principal Act by virtue of any provision of the scheme providing for any of the following matters, that is to say—

(a ) for empowering the board to buy the regulated product, to produce commodities from that product, and to sell the regulated product and any commodity so produced by the board;

(b ) for the determination from time to time—

(i) of the quantity of the regulated product, or of any description thereof, which may be sold by any registered producer;

(ii) of the descriptions of the regulated product which may be sold by any registered producer;

(iii) of the price at, below or above which, the terms on which, and the persons to whom, or through the agency of whom, the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, may be sold by any registered producer,

and references in the following provisions of this section to acts or omissions of the board shall be construed as references to acts or omissions of the board in the exercise of any of the said powers.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, if it appears to the Minister that the result, or one of the results, of any act or omission of the board or intended act or omission of the board is or will be either—

(a ) to restrict the purposes for which the regulated product, or any description thereof, is used, or to limit the quantity of the regulated product, or of any description thereof, which is used for any particular purpose; or

(b ) to limit the quantity of the regulated product, or of any description thereof, or of any commodity produced therefrom, which is produced or sold, whether by registered producers or by other persons; or

(c ) to regulate the price at which the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, or any commodity produced therefrom, is sold, whether by registered producers or by other persons; or

(d ) to limit the classes of persons to whom or through the agency of whom the regulated product, or any description or quantity thereof, or any commodity produced therefrom, is sold, whether by registered producers or by other persons,

and that that result is or will be contrary to the public interest, the Minister may by order give to the board such directions as to their acts or omissions as he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of preventing that result or, as the case may be, preventing or mitigating the damage to the public interest entailed thereby, and it shall be the duty of the board to comply with that order:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authorising or requiring the board to do anything which they have no power to do under the scheme.

(3) Before making an order under subsection (2) of this section, the Minister shall give to the board notice in writing stating the general nature of the action which he proposes to take and of his reasons for taking it, and shall not make any order under that subsection for at least twenty-eight days from the date of the notice, and if, within the said period of twenty-eight days or such longer period as the Minister may allow, the board request that the question whether or not any such act or omission or intended act or omission of the board as is referred to in the notice has or will have any such result as is mentioned in paragraphs (a ) to (d ) of the said subsection (2), and, if so, whether or not that result is or will be contrary to the public interest, should be referred to a committee of investigation, the Minister shall refer that question to the committee of investigation accordingly and shall not make any order under that subsection until he has considered their report.

(4) Where a question has been referred to a committee of investigation under subsection (3) of this section, it shall be the duty of the committee to consider that question and report to the Minister thereon, and the Minister on receiving their report shall forthwith publish the conclusions of the committee in such manner as he thinks fit, shall proceed to consider the report and may then make such order, if any, under subsection (2) of this section as he thinks fit:

Provided that the Minister shall not make any such order except after consulting the board and shall not in any event make any such order unless either—

(a ) the committee report that the relevant act or omission or intended act or omission of the board has or will have any such result as is specified in paragraphs (a ) to (d ) of the said subsection (2) and that that result is or will be contrary to the public interest; or

(b ) the relevant act or omission or intended act or omission of the board relates to, or to a commodity produced from, a commodity for the time being specified in the First Schedule to the Agriculture Act, 1947.

(5) The Minister may at any time, after consultation with the board concerned, by order revoke or vary any order in force under the said subsection (2) so as either—

(a ) to withdraw the whole or any part of the directions in force thereunder; or

(b ) to vary or add to those directions in any manner which he thinks necessary or expedient in order better to attain the purposes for which those directions were given:

Provided that, except with the consent of the board, the Minister shall not vary or add to any directions under paragraph (b ) of this subsection where, in his opinion, the need for the variation or addition arose from circumstances not obtaining at the date when the directions were given.

(6) Any order made under any of the provisions of this section shall state the general nature of the reasons for the making thereof and shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(7) For the purpose of enabling a committee of investigation to consider any question which it is their duty under this section to consider, the board administering the scheme to which the question relates shall furnish the committee with such accounts and other information relating to the functions of the board as the committee may reasonably require, and shall be entitled to make representations to the committee with respect to that question in such manner as may be prescribed by the regulations made by the Minister under the principal Act with respect to the procedure of the committee.

S-3 Saving for, and amendments of, s. 9 of the principal Act

3 Saving for, and amendments of, s. 9 of the principal Act

(1) The provisions of the last preceding section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of section nine of the principal Act (which relates to consumers' committees and committees of investigation and enables the Minister to make certain orders after considering the report of a committee of investigation).

(2) So much of subsection (4) of the last preceding section as requires the Minister to publish the conclusions of a committee of...

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