Public Works Facilities Act 1930
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1930 c. 50 |
| Year | 1930 |
Public Works Facilities Act, 1930
(20 & 21 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 50.
An Act to expedite the procedure for empowering local authorities and statutory undertakers to execute works which will contribute to the relief of unemployment; to facilitate the acquisition by such authorities and undertakers of land and easements required for the purposes of their functions; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[1st August 1930]
B E 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:—
1 Procedure for conferring on local authorities and statutory undertakers power to execute works.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any powers required by a local authority or by statutory undertakers for the purpose of enabling them to execute works which will contribute to the relief of unemployment may be conferred on them by a scheme made, and confirmed by Parliament in accordance with the provisions of this section, and any such scheme may contain any provisions which might have been contained in a local Act.
(2) Any local authority or statutory undertakers requiring any such powers as aforesaid, may submit to the appropriate Minister the draft of a scheme containing such provisions as appear to them necessary for conferring those powers and any incidental, supplemental and consequential provisions necessary for giving full effect to the scheme, together with an estimate of the cost of the works proposed to be executed and the like plans and sections as they would have been required by the Standing Orders of either House of Parliament to deposit if they had proceeded by an application for a private Bill instead of under this section, and if the Minister is satisfied—
(a ) that the works to be executed under the powers proposed to be conferred by the scheme will materially contribute to the relief of unemployment; and
(b ) that the relief to unemployment will be materially expedited by reason of the powers being conferred by a scheme under this section instead of by a local Act; and
(c ) that the powers proposed to be conferred by the scheme are such as are customarily conferred on local authorities or statutory undertakers by local Acts; and
(d ) that the powers proposed to be conferred will not enable the local authority or statutory undertakers to undertake functions of a different nature from those already within their statutory powers;
he may, subject to the provisions of this section, make the scheme and submit it for confirmation by Parliament.
(3) A scheme under this section may authorise a local authority or statutory undertakers to acquire compulsorily and enter upon any land required for the purposes of the works to be executed under the powers proposed to be conferred by the scheme in like manner as if it had been an order under section two of this Act.
(4) Upon an application being made to the Minister for a scheme under this section—
(a ) the Minister shall, before making the scheme, require the applicants, in accordance with directions given by him, to serve notice of the application for the scheme upon every person upon whom, if they had proceeded by an application for a private Bill instead of under this section, they would have been required by such Standing Orders as aforesaid to serve notice of application for the Bill; to furnish to any authorities appearing to him to be affected such notices and documents as he may direct; and to give, in such manner as he may consider best adapted for informing any other persons affected, notice by public advertisement of the application for the scheme, and of the manner in which and the time within which objections thereto may be made to him, and of the place where the draft scheme and such other documents as the Minister may direct may be inspected, and copies thereof made or purchased; so, however, that any such public advertisement shall be required to contain the like information, and to be published in the same newspapers and at the same intervals, and the like gazette notice thereof shall be required to be given as would, if the applicants had proceeded by an application for a private Bill instead of under this section, have been required by such Standing Orders as aforesaid;
(b ) the Minister shall, if he submits the scheme for confirmation by Parliament, also lay before Parliament his certificate that the requirements made by him under the last foregoing paragraph have been complied with.
(5) Before making any scheme under this section, the Minister may direct an inquiry to be held with respect to the draft thereof, and, if any objections are duly made to any such draft scheme and not withdrawn, the Minister shall not make the scheme until such an inquiry has been held with respect to the objections.
(6) Where any such inquiry is directed to be held, the inquiry shall be held at such place as may be determined by the Minister by a tribunal consisting of one or more persons nominated by him (not being persons having any interest in the subject matter of the inquiry), and section one of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act, 1921 , shall apply to the tribunal as if the tribunal had been established and that Act had been applied thereto in manner provided by that Act; and the tribunal shall, as soon as may be after holding the inquiry, make a report to the Minister recommending whether the scheme should be made and if made, what modifications, if any, should, in the opinion of the tribunal, be made in the draft scheme.
The costs incurred by any tribunal in relation to any such inquiry with respect to a draft scheme (including the remuneration of any member of the tribunal) shall, save in so far as the whole or any part thereof may be ordered by the Minister to be paid by any person whose objection is reported by the tribunal to have been frivolous, be paid by the local authority or statutory undertakers by whom the draft scheme was submitted to the Minister, and the Minister may certify the amount of the costs so payable by any person, authority or undertakers, and any sum so certified shall be a debt to the Crown from that person, authority or undertakers, as the case may be.
(7) The public shall be entitled to be present at any hearing by a tribunal of an inquiry under this section and any person appearing to the tribunal to be interested may appear in person or by counsel, solicitor or parliamentary agent.
(8) Upon receiving the report of any such tribunal with respect to a draft scheme, the Minister may, after considering the report and making in the draft scheme such modifications, if any, as appear to him to be necessary, make the scheme in the terms of the draft and shall, if he submits the scheme for confirmation by Parliament, also lay the report before Parliament.
(9) A scheme under this section shall be of no effect unless confirmed by Parliament, and if the Minister submits a scheme for such confirmation, he shall do so by introducing in Parliament a Bill to confirm the scheme, and the Bill, after introduction, shall be deemed to have passed through all its stages up to and including Committee and shall be ordered to be considered in either House as if reported from a Committee, and when the Bill has been read a third time and passed in the first House of Parliament the like proceedings shall be taken in the second House of Parliament.
(10) Any scheme under this section may be amended or revoked by means of a subsequent scheme submitted to Parliament by the appropriate Minister on the application of any local authority or statutory undertakers having powers under the original scheme, and the foregoing provisions of this section shall, so far as applicable, apply to any such subsequent scheme in like manner as to the original scheme.
2 Power to make orders authorising local authorities and statutory undertakers to purchase land compulsorily for certain purposes.
(1) Any local authority or statutory undertakers may be authorised to purchase land compulsorily for any of the purposes specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act by means of an order (in this Act referred to as a ‘compulsory purchase order’) made and submitted to the appropriate Minister and confirmed by him in accordance with the provisions of Part II of that Schedule, and the provisions of Part III of that Schedule shall have effect with respect to the validity and date of operation of any such order:
Provided that—
(a ) sections one hundred and three to one hundred and five of the Housing Act, 1925 (which impose restrictions on the acquisition of commons, open spaces and certain other lands) shall apply with respect to any order made under this section as if those sections were herein re-enacted with the necessary adaptations and in terms made applicable thereto, but subject to the modification that references in the said sections to ‘the Minister’ shall be construed as references to ‘the appropriate Minister’ except the reference in subsection (2) of the said section one hundred and four which shall be construed as a reference to the Minister of Health; and
(b ) where an enactment in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, which authorises the compulsory acquisition of land for any purpose for which land has been authorised to be acquired compulsorily by an order made under this section, contains a provision that the arbitrator in determining the amount of any disputed compensation shall have regard to the extent to which the remaining and contiguous lands and hereditaments...
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