National Debt Act 1958
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1958 c. 6 |
| Year | 1958 |
National Debt Act, 1958
(7 & 8 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 6
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the national debt.
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 Post Office Register of government Stock
1 The Post Office register.
(1) The register—
(a ) which was established in pursuance of section one of the War Loan (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1915, as amended by section two of the War Loan Act, 1918, and
(b ) with which, by virtue of subsection (2) of section twelve of the Savings Banks Act, 1929, were amalgamated such stock registers as, by virtue of the Savings Banks Act, 1880, had been established by savings banks authorities;
shall continue in existence by the name of the Post Office register, and is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as ‘the register’.
(2) Any description of government stock, as defined in this Act, may be registered in the register.
2 Power to make regulations with respect to the register.
(1) The appropriate authority may, by statutory instrument, make regulations with respect to the keeping of the register and the stock registered therein, and in particular with respect to—
(a ) investments in, and sales of, stock so registered, and the receipt and payment of interest thereon,
(b ) the manner in which, and the conditions subject to which, stock may be transferred either from the name of the holder registered in the register to that of any other person registered or to be registered therein, or from the register to the books of the Bank of England or the Bank of Ireland, and vice versa,
(c ) the commissions and fees payable in respect of dealings in stock registered in the register,
(d ) the maximum amount of stock which may be registered in the register in any one holding in any one year or at any one time, and the exceptions which are to be allowed from any such limits in the case of friendly societies, trade unions or other similar bodies,
and separate regulations may, with the consent of the National Debt Commissioners, be made with respect to any part of the register kept by the trustees of a trustee savings bank.
(2) Regulations under this section—
(a ) may provide for the total amount of stock registered in the register being held by the National Debt Commissioners,
(b ) may provide, in connection with any stock registered in the register, for the issue through the Post Office of bearer bonds for such amounts as may be provided by the regulations, with coupons annexed entitling the bearer of the coupons to the interest on the stock,
(c ) may apply, with such modifications as appear necessary or expedient, to stock registered in the register, or to bearer bonds issued under this section, any of the provisions of the National Debt Act, 1870, subsections (1) to (6) of section five of the Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Act, 1955, or any Act, regulation or warrant relating to savings banks,
(d ) may direct that all or any of the provisions of the regulations shall, with such modifications as appear necessary or expedient, apply, and be deemed always to have applied, to stock issued before the date on which the regulations come into force, as they apply to stock issued after that date,
(e ) may contain such consequential and supplemental provisions as appear necessary or expedient for giving full effect to the regulations.
(3) In this section ‘the appropriate authority’ means the Treasury in conjunction with the Postmaster General and, in the case of regulations relating to the National Debt Commissioners, those Commissioners.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section shall be laid before Parliament.
3 Closing of register for transfers of stock to be redeemed.
3. In the event of the redemption of any government stock, the register may be closed for transfers of the stock for not more than one month immediately preceding the redemption date.
4 Settlement of disputes as to holdings on the register.
(1) If a dispute arises between the Postmaster General, or the trustees of a savings bank, and the holder of any stock registered in the register, or a person claiming to be entitled to any such stock, the matter in dispute shall be referred in writing to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies.
(2) On a reference under the foregoing subsection, the Chief Registrar may proceed ex parte on notice in writing sent by post to the Postmaster General or trustees, and may inspect the register, and may administer oaths to any witnesses appearing before him; and his award on the matter in dispute shall be final and binding on all parties.
(3) This section—
(a ) in its application to Scotland, shall have effect as if, for the references to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies, there were substituted references to the Assistant Registrar of friendly societies for Scotland;
(b ) in its application to Northern Ireland, shall have effect as if, for the references to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies, there were substituted references to the Chief Registrar of friendly societies or a deputy appointed by him.
5 Transfer to register of small holdings in names of deceased persons.
(1) Where the Bank of England or the Bank of Ireland have reason to believe that a person in whose name any government stock of an amount not exceeding in the aggregate one hundred pounds in nominal value or in actual value, whichever is the less, is standing in their books, has died, the Bank may, in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under section two of this Act, transfer the stock from their books to the register, and may in such manner as may be so prescribed, remit any interest accrued thereon to the Postmaster General to be dealt with in the same manner as if the stock had been registered in the register at the time when the interest accrued due.
(2) Where any stock is transferred or any interest is remitted in pursuance of this section, the transfer or remittance shall be deemed to have been properly made, and the Bank of England or the Bank of Ireland, as the case may be, shall be discharged from all liability in respect of the stock transferred or the interest remitted, as the case may be.
6 Acceptance of probate issued in Isle of Manor or Channel Islands.
(1) In the case of the death of a person entitled to stock registered in the register, the production—
(a ) of probate or letters of administration granted by any court in the Isle of Man or in any of the Channel Islands having authority to grant the same, or
(b ) of a certified copy of probate or letters of administration so granted,
shall be sufficient authority to the appropriate authority, and (in so far as they are concerned) to the National Debt Commissioners, to transfer the stock to the person to whom the probate or letters of administration were granted or as directed by that person, but the appropriate authority shall not transfer stock in pursuance of this section except on production to it of a certificate from the Commissioners of Inland Revenue showing either that all death duties payable in Great Britain in respect of the stock have been paid or that no duty is payable in Great Britain in respect thereof.
(2) Where any stock is transferred in pursuance of this section the appropriate authority and the National Debt Commissioners shall, notwithstanding the invalidity of, or any defect in, the probate or letters of administration, be freed, discharged and indemnified from and against all proceedings of any kind whatsoever brought against them by any person whatsoever for or in respect of the transfer of the stock.
(3) In this section ‘the appropriate authority’, in relation to stock registered otherwise than in a part of the register kept by the trustees of a trustee savings bank, means the Postmaster General, and, in relation to stock registered in a part of the register kept by the trustees of a trustee savings bank, means the trustees of that bank.
(4) This section shall, in its application to Northern Ireland, have effect with the substitution, in subsection (1), for the references to Great Britain, of references to Northern Ireland, and for the reference to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue of a reference to the Minister of Finance for Northern Ireland.
Part II
Savings Certificates
7 Power of Treasury to issue national savings certificates.
(1) The Treasury may, by the issue through the Post Office of national savings certificates, borrow such sums as they think proper to raise for the purpose of their being applied in accordance with the following provisions of this section.
(2) National savings certificates shall bear such rate of interest and be subject to such conditions as to repayment or otherwise as the Treasury think fit.
(3) The principal of, and interest on, any national savings certificates and any expenses incurred in connection with the issue thereof shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom (hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the Consolidated Fund’).
(4) The Treasury shall from time to time (as they think fit) issue out of the Consolidated Fund, and apply in the purchase, redemption or paying...
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