Transport Act 1953
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1953 c. 13 |
Transport Act , 1953
(1 & 2 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 13
An Act to require the British Transport Commission to dispose of the property held by them for the purposes of the part of their undertaking which is carried on through the Road Haulage Executive; to amend the law relating to the carriage of goods by road and to provide for a levy, for the benefit of the said Commission and for other purposes, on motor vehicles used on roads; to provide for the reorganisation of the railways operated by the said Commission and to amend the law relating to the powers, duties and composition of the said Commission; to repeal certain provisions of the Transport Act, 1947, and to amend other provisions thereof; to amend section six of the Cheap Trains Act, 1883; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[6th May 1953]
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:—
Carriage of Goods by Road
1 Disposal of Commission's existing road haulage undertaking.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the British Transport Commission (in this Act referred to as ‘the Commission’) to dispose, as quickly as is reasonably practicable, of all the property held by them for the purposes of so much of their undertaking as is at the passing of this Act carried on through the Road Haulage Executive.
The part of the undertaking of the Commission referred to in this subsection is hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the existing road haulage undertaking’.
(2) Pending the disposal of the property mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, it shall be the duty of the Commission to carry on the existing road haulage undertaking in such manner as may appear to them to be expedient for the purpose of enabling the said property to be disposed of without delay and on the best terms available, and without avoidable disturbance of the transport system of the country.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, sections thirty-nine to fifty-one, section fifty-four, section fifty-five and subsection (2) of section sixty of the Transport Act, 1947 (which relate to the acquisition of certain road transport undertakings by the Commission), and any notice of acquisition given under Part III of that Act before the passing of this Act, shall cease to have effect:
Provided that this subsection shall not affect the operation of the said provisions in relation to or in connection with any transfer effected before the passing of this Act in consequence of any notice of acquisition under the said Part III.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be taken as restricting the powers conferred on the Commission by section two of the Transport Act, 1947, and, accordingly, the Commission may provide, continue or develop any services or facilities for the carriage of goods by road otherwise than as part of the operation of the existing road haulage undertaking.
(5) The references in this Act to the property held by the Commission for the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking are references to—
(a ) property which at the passing of this Act is held by the Commission solely or partly for the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking and is then in the possession, as between the Road Haulage Executive and persons other than the Commission, of that Executive; and
(b ) property which after the passing of this Act is obtained or appropriated by the Commission solely or partly for or to the purposes of the said undertaking and thereby comes into the possession of the Road Haulage Executive as aforesaid or would thereby so come into the possession of that Executive if the undertaking were being carried on through that Executive,
other than property which is consumed or disposed of in the ordinary course of the carrying on of that undertaking:
Provided that the Minister may direct that any property held by the Commission at the passing of this Act, or thereafter obtained or appropriated by them, partly for or to the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking and partly for or to other purposes shall be treated, or shall not be treated, as property held by the Commission for the purposes of that undertaking and the said references shall be construed accordingly.
(6) Nothing in this section shall compel the Commission, unless they think fit so to do, to dispose of any property, being money or being a claim for a debt or other monetary claim.
2 Road Haulage Disposal Board.
(1) There shall be a body, to be called the Road Haulage Disposal Board (hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the Board’), with the powers and duties conferred and imposed on them by the subsequent provisions of this Act.
(2) The Board shall consist of six members all of whom shall be appointed by the Minister.
(3) Of the said members the Minister shall appoint one to be chairman and one to be deputy chairman of the Board.
(4) Of the remaining members of the Board—
(a ) one member shall be appointed from among persons nominated by the Commission;
(b ) one member shall be appointed after consultation with such bodies representative of trade and industry as the Minister thinks fit;
(c ) one member shall be appointed after consultation with such bodies representative of persons holding A or B licences as the Minister thinks fit; and
(d ) one member shall be appointed after consultation with such bodies representative of persons holding C licences as the Minister thinks fit.
(5) Every member of the Board shall hold and vacate his office in accordance with the terms of his appointment and shall, on ceasing to be a member, be eligible for reappointment:
Provided that any member may at any time by notice in writing to the Minister resign his office.
(6) A person shall be disqualified for being appointed or being a member of the Board so long as he is a member of the Commons House of Parliament.
(7) A member of the Board who is in any way directly or indirectly interested in any transaction entered into or proposed to be entered into by the Commission with which the Board are concerned shall disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Board; and the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board, and the member shall not take any part in any deliberation or decision of the Board with respect to that transaction:
Provided that a member of the Board appointed under paragraph (a ) of subsection (4) of this section shall not be deemed for the purposes of this subsection to be interested in any transaction by reason only of the interest which the Commission has therein.
(8) Any question arising at any meeting of the Board shall be determined in accordance with the opinion of the majority of the members of the Board present and voting at that meeting:
Provided that if at any meeting of the Board there is a difference of opinion between the members of the Board on any question, and the chairman, or, in the absence of the chairman, the deputy chairman, considers that the matter is of sufficient importance to require to be referred to the Minister, he may refer the matter to the Minister, and where the matter is so referred to the Minister the Minister may, if he thinks fit, give directions to the Board as to the course to be followed, and the Board shall comply with any such directions.
(9) The Board shall from time to time, and at least once in every six months, make to the Minister a report in writing as to the progress made in the disposal of the property held by the Commission for the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking and the Minister shall lay a copy of each such report before each House of Parliament.
The report for any period shall set out any direction given by the Minister to the Board during that period and any action taken by the Board in compliance with such direction.
(10) The Board may appoint a secretary and, with the approval of the Minister, such other officers and such servants as they consider necessary for assisting them in the proper execution of their duties.
(11) There shall be paid to the members of the Board and to any officer or servant of the Board such remuneration (whether by way of salaries, fees or allowances) as may be determined by the Minister, with the approval, in the case of the members of the Board, of the Treasury; and any such remuneration as aforesaid and any other expenses of the Board shall be defrayed out of the Transport Fund established under the subsequent provisions of this Act.
(12) The Board may act notwithstanding a vacancy among the members thereof, and the quorum of the Board shall be three.
(13) Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, the Board may regulate their own procedure.
3 Sales of transport units.
(1) For the purpose of disposing of the property held by them for the purposes of the existing road haulage undertaking, the Commission shall from time to time, by public notice, invite tenders for the purchase, on specified conditions, of—
(a ) one or more specified motor vehicles; and
(b ) such other property, if any, as may be specified,
and the specified conditions may include conditions whereby the purchaser takes over such rights and obligations of the Commission, whether under contract or otherwise, as may be specified, being rights and obligations connected with the subject matter of the purchase.
(2) In the case of each such invitation, the properties which are to be the subject of the purchase, and the conditions of the purchase, shall be such as, in the opinion of the Commission, are...
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