Gas Act 1972

• (2) A scheme under subsection (1) above may provide that, where a person participating therein as an employee of the Corporation becomes a member of the Corporation, his service as a member shall be treated for the purposes of the scheme as if it were service as an employee ; and any such scheme may also provide for the like treatment, in the case of any person who is a member of the Corporation as from the appointed day, and was immediately before that day participating in a pension scheme maintained by the Gas Council or an Area Board either as an employee of the body in question or as a member whose service as such was treated for the purposes of that scheme as service as an employee, of the whole service of that person as a member of the Corporation and a member or employee of the Council or Board.

• (3) Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of section 58 of the Gas Act 1948 (pensions for persons employed in the gas industry), any regulations in force under that section immediately before the appointed day (including regulations made by virtue of section 62(2) of that Act), and any pension scheme subsisting immediately before that day under or by virtue of any such regulations, shall continue in force thereafter by virtue of this subsection, subject however to the necessary modifications and to the provisions of any regulations made under subsection (4) below.

• (4) Under this subsection (in which " old scheme " and " new scheme " mean respectively a pension scheme continued in force by subsection (3) above, and a pension scheme established under subsection (1) above), the Secretary of State may make regulations providing for all or any of the following matters—

• (a) the amendment, repeal or revocation of an old scheme, or the amalgamation of such a scheme either with another old scheme or with a new scheme,

• (b) the amendment, repeal or revocation of any enactment relating to an old scheme or to a new scheme, of any regulations continued in force by subsection (3) above and not constituting such an enactment, and of any trust deed, rules or other instrument made for the purpose of any such scheme,

• (c) the transfer in whole or in part, or the extinguishment, of liabilities and obligations under an old scheme,

• (d) the transfer in whole or in part, or the winding up, of any pension fund held for the purposes of an old scheme, and

• (e) any matter supplemental to or consequential on any of the matters aforesaid, including the dissolution or winding up of bodies, whether incorporated or not, the continued existence of which is unnecessary having regard to the regulations ;

but nothing in this subsection shall authorise the making of provision for the diversion of any pension fund to purposes other than the payment of pensions to or in respect of persons to whom subsection (1) above applies.

• (5) Regulations made under subsection (4) above shall be so framed as to secure that persons having pension rights under any scheme or regulations to which they relate are not placed in any worse position by reason of the regulations.

Regulations shall not be invalid by reason that in fact they fail to secure that result; but if the Secretary of State is satisfied that they have failed to secure it, or it is so determined as hereinafter mentioned, the Secretary of State shall as soon as possible make the necessary amending regulations.

Any dispute arising as to whether or not the said result has been secured shall be referred to and determined by a tribunal established under section 12 of the Industrial Training Act 1964.

• (6) Regulations made under the said subsection (4) may be made so as to have effect from a date prior to the making thereof, so however that so much of any regulations as provides that any provision thereof is to have effect from a date prior to the making thereof shall not place any person other than the Corporation in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only as from the date of the making thereof.

Compensation to members and officers of Gas Council and Area Boards, and officers of Gas Consultative Councils

37

• (1) The Secretary of State may require the Corporation to pay—

• (a) to any person whose term of office as a member of the Gas Council expires on the appointed day by virtue of paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to this Act, and who is not appointed to membership of the body under its new name for a term of office beginning on that day, and

• (b) to the persons who are members of Area Boards immediately before the appointed day,

such sums by way of compensation for loss of office as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

• (2) The Secretary of State may by regulations require the Corporation to pay, in such cases and to such extent as may be determined by or under the regulations, compensation to or in respect of officers of the Gas Council, of Area Boards, or of Gas Consultative Councils established under section 9 of the Gas Act 1948, being officers who suffer loss of employment, or loss or diminution of emoluments or pension rights, in consequence of this Act.

• (3) Different regulations may be made under subsection (2) above in relation to different classes of persons, and any such regulations may be so framed as to have effect as from a date prior to the making thereof, so, however, that so much of any regulations as provides that any provision thereof is to have effect as from a date earlier than the making thereof shall not place any person other than the Corporation in a worse position than he would have been in if the regulations had been made to have effect only as from the date of the making thereof.

• (4) Regulations under subsection (2) above—

• (a) shall prescribe the procedure to be followed in making claims for compensation, and the manner in which and the person by whom the question whether any or what compensation is payable is to be determined, and

• (b) shall in particular contain provisions enabling appeals from any determination as to whether any or what compensation is payable to be brought, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the regulations, before a tribunal established under section 12 of the Industrial Training Act 1964.

Contributions by Secretary of State towards expenditure designed to promote employment

38

• (1) There may be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament such sums not in the aggregate exceeding £5 million as may be required by the Secretary of State for the purpose of making with the approval of the Treasury contributions towards expenses to which this section applies.

• (2) This section applies—

• (a) to expenses incurred by the Gas Council, any of the Area Boards or the Corporation in or in connection with the carrying out of any project which is commenced before 1st April 1974 and which, pursuant to an agreement entered into with the Secretary of State with a view to promoting employment (whether or not in the gas industry) is, in whole or in part, commenced or carried out earlier than it would have been but for the agreement, and

• (b) to expenses incurred by any of those bodies in or by reason of the purchase before that date of materials for any project, being a purchase which, pursuant to any such agreement, was effected earlier than it would have been but for the agreement;

and, in the case of the Gas Council and the Area Boards, this section applies to expenses incurred before as well as after the passing of this Act.

Application of Pipe-lines Act 1962

39

• (1) As from the appointed day, section 58(1) of the Pipe-lines Act 1962 (which sets out certain statutory bodies to whom, or in relation to whose pipe-lines, certain provisions of that Act are not to apply) shall be amended by substituting the following paragraph for paragraphs (a) and (b) (Area Boards and Gas Council)—

(a) the British Gas Corporation ;

.

• (2) Notwithstanding subsections (4) and (5) of the said section 58 and subsection (1) above, but subject to subsection (3) below, the references to a pipe-line in sections 27(1), 31(1) and 42 of the said Act (protection of pipe-lines imperilled by buildings, structures or deposits, and powers of inspectors) shall include references to any pipe-line vested in the Corporation other than one laid in a street or a service pipe, and the references in the said section 42 to pipe-line works shall include references to any such works executed by the Corporation in relation to such a pipe-line.

In this subsection "street" has the same meaning as in the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950.

• (3) The application by virtue of subsection (2) above of the said section 27(1) and the said section 31(1) to a particular part of any pipe-line shall be dependent upon there having been previously deposited with every local authority in whose area the part lies, either by the Corporation or, before the appointed day, by the Gas Council or an Area Board, a map, on a scale not less than 1 in 10,560, showing the route taken by the part.

A local authority holding a map relating to a pipe-line vested in the Corporation shall keep the map at their offices, and shall secure that it is open to inspection by any person at all reasonable times free of charge.

In this subsection " local authority " means—

• (a) in England and Wales, the council of a county, county borough or county district, the Greater London Council, the council of a London borough, and the Common Council of the City of London, and

• (b) in Scotland, a town or county council.

Meaning of "operational land" in Planning Acts

40

Section 223 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 and section 212 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 (which relate to the determination of what is operational land for the purposes of those Acts) shall each be amended by inserting in subsection (2)(b), before the words " the Transport Act 1968 " , the words " the Gas Act 1972 or ".

Adaptation to metric units

41

• (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend any provision of this Act, or any other enactment (whenever passed or made) relating to gas by substituting—

• (a) for any reference therein to the therm, a reference to a unit of measurement defined in terms of metric units, and

• (b) for any reference therein to a distance expressed in imperial units, a reference to one expressed in metric units, being one which is either equivalent thereto or such an approximation thereto as the Secretary of State considers it preferable to substitute for the purpose of securing that the enactment in question as amended is expressed in convenient terms.

• (2) The Secretary of State may also by regulations amend section 25(1) of this Act by substituting for the definition of " calorific value " a definition expressed in terms of metric units.

• (3) Regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplemental and consequential provisions as the Secretary of State considers expedient.

Supplementary

Penalties

42

• (1) If any person, in giving any information, making any claim or giving any notice for the purposes of any provision of this Act, or of any regulation thereunder, makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

• (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400,

• (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both.

• (2) Regulations made under any provision of this Act may provide that any person contravening or failing to comply with any provision of the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400.

Provisions as to prosecutions, and as to offences by corporations

43

• (1) Proceedings for an offence under section 42(1) above or any regulation made under this Act shall not in England and Wales be instituted except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

• (2) In England and Wales, any proceedings before a court of summary jurisdiction—

• (a) for an offence against any regulations made under section 31 above, or for aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of such an offence, or

• (b) for an offence under section 42(1) above relating to any information, claim or notice given or made for the purposes of any such regulations,

may, notwithstanding any enactment prescribing the time within which proceedings may be brought, be brought either within the time so prescribed or within three months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Secretary of State to justify a prosecution for the offence comes to his knowledge, whichever is the longer; and for the purposes of this subsection a certificate purporting to be signed by the Secretary of State as to the date on which such evidence comes to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence thereof.

• (3) Summary proceedings in Scotland for an offence mentioned in the last foregoing subsection may notwithstanding the limitation in section 23(1) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954 be commenced at any time within three months after the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Lord Advocate to justify a prosecution comes to his knowledge, or where such evidence was reported to him by the Secretary of State, within three months after the date on which it came to the knowledge of the Secretary of State and for the purposes of this subsection—

• (a) a certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Lord Advocate or the Secretary of State, as the case may be, as to the date on which such evidence as aforesaid came to their knowledge shall be conclusive evidence; and

• (b) section 23(2) of the said Act of 1954 shall have effect as it has effect for the purposes of that section.

• (4) Where an offence under section 42(1) above or any regulations made under this Act which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

• (5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (4) above shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

Service of notices etc.

44

• (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, any notice or other document required or authorised to be given, delivered or served under this Act or regulations made thereunder, or under any enactment applied by this Act, other than one contained in the Pipe-lines Act 1962, may be given, delivered or served either—

• (a) by delivering it to the person to whom it is to be given or delivered or on whom it is to be served, or

• (b) by leaving it at the usual or last known place of abode of that person, or

• (c) by sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode, or

• (d) in the case of a body corporate, by delivering it to the secretary or clerk of the body at their registered or principal office, or sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to the secretary or clerk of the body at that office, or

• (e) if it is not practicable after reasonable inquiry to ascertain the name or address of a person to whom it should be given or delivered, or on whom it should be served, as being a person having any interest in premises, by addressing it to him by the description of the person having that interest in the premises (naming them) to which it relates and delivering it to some responsible person on the premises, or affixing it or a copy of it to some conspicuous part of the premises.

• (2) Subsection (1) above shall not apply to notices to be given to or served on the Corporation under the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act, but any such notice may be given or served by delivering it at, or sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to, an appropriate office of the Corporation, and, in the case of a notice under paragraph 15 or 22 of that Schedule, shall be treated as received by the Corporation only if received by them at an appropriate office.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (2) above, the Corporation shall divide Great Britain into such areas as they think fit, and shall fix in the case of each area offices of theirs which are to be appropriate offices in relation to notices relating to matters arising in that area; and the Corporation shall publish in each area, in such manner as they consider adequate, the addresses of the offices fixed by them for that area, and shall endorse the addresses of the offices fixed for the area in question on every demand note for gas charges payable to them.

Provisions as to regulations and orders

45

• (1) Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations or orders shall include power to provide by those regulations or orders for the determination of questions of fact or of law which may arise in giving effect to the regulations or orders and for regulating (otherwise than in relation to any court proceedings) any matters relating to the practice and procedure to be followed in connection with the determination of such questions, including provision as to the mode of proof of any matters and provision as to parties and their representation and provision for the right to appear and be heard (as well in court proceedings as otherwise) of the Secretary of State or other authorities, and as to awarding costs of proceedings (other than court proceedings) for the determination of such questions, determining the amount thereof and the enforcement of awards thereof.

• (2) Any power conferred by this Act to prescribe by regulations a period within which things are to be done shall include power to provide by those regulations for extending the period so prescribed.

• (3) Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations or orders may be exercised so as to make different provision for different areas or in relation to different cases or different circumstances to which the power is applicable, and so as to provide for such exceptions, limitations and conditions as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient.

• (4) Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations or orders shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which, except in the case of an order appointing a day or an instrument which is required to be laid before Parliament in draft, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (5) Any order made under any such power may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order made in the like manner and subject to the like conditions; but an order appointing a day shall not be revoked or varied by virtue of this subsection by an order made on or after that day.

Inquiries

46

• (1) The Secretary of State may cause an inquiry to be held in any case when he deems it advisable to do so in connection with any matter arising under this Act, and subsections (2) to (5) of section 290 of the Local Government Act 1933 shall apply to any inquiry held by the Secretary of State in pursuance of this section, and shall have effect as if the expression " department" included the Secretary of State:

Provided that no local authority shall be ordered to pay costs under subsection (4) of the said section 290 in the case of any inquiry unless they are a party thereto.

• (2) Subsections (2) to (9) of section 355 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 shall apply to any inquiry held under the preceding subsection in Scotland in lieu of the enactments therein mentioned:

Provided that no local authority shall be directed under subsection (8) of the said section to pay any part of the expenses incurred in relation to any inquiry unless the authority are a party thereto.

Expenses and receipts of Secretary of State etc.

47

Any administrative expenses incurred under this Act by the Secretary of State or by any other Minister of the Crown or government department shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament; and any sums received by the Secretary of State or by any other Minister of the Crown or government department under or by virtue of this Act shall, except as provided by section 20(4) of this Act, be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Interpretation

48

• (1) In this Act the following expressions have the following meanings except where the context otherwise requires—

• " appointed day " means the day appointed by the Secretary of State under section 1(1) of this Act;

• " Area Board " means an Area Board established under the Gas Act 1948;

• " British Gas Stock " has the meaning given by section 21(1) of this Act;

• " calorific value " and " declared calorific value " have the meanings given by section 25(1) of this Act;

• " company " means a company incorporated by any enactment or by Royal Charter, any company within the meaning of the Companies Act 1948 and any company registered or incorporated outside Great Britain;

• " the Corporation " means the British Gas Corporation;

• " emoluments " includes any allowances, privileges or benefits, whether obtaining legally or by customary practice;

• " enactment " means any provision of a public general Act, of a local, private or personal Act, of a provisional order confirmed by an Act or of any regulation or order made under an Act;

• " financial year ", in relation to the Corporation, means a period of twelve months ending with a day to be prescribed, so however that the first financial year shall be the period of whatever length running from the end of the last full financial year of the Gas Council as such until the first occurrence of the prescribed day after the appointed day, and, in the case of any alteration of the prescribed day, the duration of the financial year as to which the alteration is first to have effect shall be shortened or extended as may be prescribed, by not more than six months, so as to end on the new prescribed day ;

• " functions " means duties and powers ;

• " gas fittings " means gas pipes, fittings, meters, apparatus and appliances designed for use by consumers of gas for lighting, heating, motive power and other purposes for which gas can be used ;

• " gasworks " means works for the manufacture of gas and gas holders, and any works used in connection with such works or holders ;

• " holding company " shall be construed in accordance with section 154 of the Companies Act 1948 ;

• " local enactment " means any enactment except one contained in or made under a public general Act, and also includes any provision of the Metropolis Gas Act 1860 and the Metropolis Gas Act 1861 ;

• " the National Council " means the National Gas Consumers' Council;

• " natural gas " means any gas derived from natural strata ;

• " pension ", in relation to any person, means a pension, whether contributory or not, of any kind whatsoever payable to or in respect of him, and includes a gratuity so payable and a return of contributions to a pension fund with or without interest thereon or any other addition thereto:

• " pension rights " includes, in relation to any person, all forms of right to, or eligibility for, the present or future payment of a pension to or in respect of that person, and any expectation of the accruer of a pension to or in respect of that person under any customary practice and includes a right of allocation in respect of the present or future payment of a pension;

• " pension scheme " includes any form of arrangements for the payment of pensions, whether subsisting by virtue of an Act, trust, contract or otherwise;

• " plant " includes any equipment, apparatus and appliances except gas fittings;

• " prescribed " means prescribed by regulations;

• " Regional Council " means a Regional Gas Consumers' Council;

• " regulations " means regulations made by the Secretary of State;

• " subsidiary " shall be construed in accordance with section 154 of the Companies Act 1948, and " wholly owned subsidiary " in accordance with section 150(4) of that Act;

• " therm " means 100,000 British thermal units.

• (2) References in this Act to any other enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any other enactment including this Act.

Amendments, savings, transitional provisions and repeals

49

• (1) The enactments mentioned in Part I of Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect as from the appointed day subject to the minor and consequential amendments there specified; and the provisions of Part II of that Schedule shall have effect with respect to the enactments there mentioned.

• (2) This Act shall have effect subject to the savings and transitional provisions contained in Schedule 7 to this Act.

• (3) The enactments specified in Schedule 8 to this Act are hereby repealed as from the appointed day to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule:

Provided that the repeal of the London Gas Undertakings (Regulations) Act 1939 shall have effect as from such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint for that particular purpose.

Short title and extent

50

• (1) This Act may be cited as the Gas Act 1972.

• (2) This Act, except section 33(2) and the provisions thereof relating to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 (that is to say, paragraph 4 of Schedule 3, paragraph 7 of Schedule 6, and the repeals in that Act effected by Schedule 8), does not extend to Northern Ireland.

SCHEDULE 1

Termination of office of existing members of Gas Council

1

The terms of office of all persons who are members of the Gas Council immediately before the appointed day shall expire on that day, but without prejudice to the appointment of any of those persons under section 1(2) of this Act to membership of the body under its new name for a term of office beginning on that day.

Functions etc. of first members of British Gas Corporation before the appointed day

2

• (1) It shall be the duty of the persons appointed to membership of the Corporation as from the appointed day to meet from time to time before that day for the purpose of planning the organisation and operation of the gas industry in Great Britain as from that day; and the Gas Council shall provide those persons with the accommodation and staff necessary for the carrying out of that duty, shall supply them with such information as they may reasonably require for that purpose, shall meet any expenses reasonably incurred by them in that connection, and shall give effect to any recommendation for the appointment of officers with effect from the appointed day which may have been decided upon by a majority of those persons in accordance with rules of procedure (which may include provision for a casting vote) determined by them for the purpose.

• (2) The Gas Council shall pay to the persons appointed to membership as aforesaid, for the period beginning with their appointment and ending immediately before the appointed day, such remuneration and such allowances as may be determined by the Secretary of State with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service.

Supplementary provisions with respect to vesting of assets etc.

3

• (1) The Secretary of State may provide by regulations for the registration of the title of the Corporation to assets vesting in them by virtue of this Act and of a kind subject to provision for the registration of title thereto, and for any matters for which provision appears to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing the effective transfer of any assets so vesting.

• (2) In the application of sub-paragraph (1) above to Scotland, after the word "thereto" there shall be inserted the words " for the completion of the title of the Corporation to heritable property vesting in them as aforesaid ".

4

Every agreement to which any Area Board was a party immediately before the appointed day, whether in writing or not, and whether or not of such a nature that rights, liabilities and obligations thereunder could be assigned by the Board, shall, unless its terms or subject matter make it impossible that it should have effect as modified in the manner provided by this paragraph, have effect as from that day as if—

• (a) the Corporation had been a party to the agreement,

• (b) subject to sub-paragraph (e) below, for any reference (however worded, and whether express or implied) to the Board there were substituted, as respects anything falling to be done on or after the appointed day, a reference to the Corporation,

• (c) for any reference (however worded, and whether express or implied) to any member or officer of the Board not being a party to the agreement and beneficially interested therein there were substituted, as respects anything falling to be done on or after the appointed day, a reference to such person as the Corporation may appoint, or, in default of appointment, to the member or officer of the Corporation who corresponds as nearly as may be to the member or officer of the Board,

• (d) in the case of an agreement for the rendering of personal services to the Board, the services to which the agreement relates were, on and after the appointed day, any services under the Corporation, to be selected by the Corporation, which are reasonably equivalent services, and

• (e) except as provided in sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) above, for any reference (however worded, and whether express or implied) to the business carried on by the Board or to the Board's area of supply or part of it there were substituted, as respects anything falling to be done on or after the appointed day, a reference to the corresponding part of the Corporation's business or, as the case may be, to the corresponding area supplied by the Corporation.

5

Every agreement, whether in writing or not, and every document (not being an agreement to which paragraph 4 above applies or an enactment) which refers whether specifically or generally to any Area Board shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of that paragraph so far as applicable.

6

Paragraphs 4 and 5 above shall have effect subject to the provisions of any regulations made under section 36 of this Act.

7

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs 4 and 5 above, where any right, liability or obligation vests in the Corporation by virtue of this Act, the Corporation and all other persons shall, as from the appointed day, have the same rights, powers and remedies (and, in particular, the same rights as to the taking or resisting of legal proceedings or the making or resisting of applications to any authority) for ascertaining, perfecting or enforcing that right, liability or obligation as they would have had if it had at all times been a right, liability or obligation of the Corporation, and any legal proceedings or applications to any authority pending on the appointed day by or against any Area Board, in so far as they relate to any property, right, liability or obligation vesting in the Corporation by virtue of this Act or to any agreement or document which has effect in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 above or to any enactment applied by or under this Act, shall be continued by or against the Corporation to the exclusion of the Board.

SCHEDULE 2

PART I — Powers of Acquisition

1

The Secretary of State may authorise the Corporation to purchase compulsorily any land in Great Britain which they require for or in connection with the exercise and performance of their functions under any enactment.

2

In paragraph 1 above " land" includes any right over land; and the power of the Secretary of State under that paragraph includes power to authorise the acquisition of rights over land by creating new rights as well as acquiring existing ones.

3

• (1) This paragraph applies to land which, for the purposes of the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 or of the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947, is or forms part of a common, open space or fuel or field garden allotment.

• (2) Where for any purpose the Corporation have acquired, or propose to acquire, any land to which this paragraph applies, or any right over any such land, and other land is required for the purpose of being given in exchange for the land or right in question, the Secretary of State may authorise the Corporation to purchase that other land compulsorily, or they may acquire it by agreement.

PART II — Procedure, Compensation etc. (England and Wales)

Application of Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 generally

4

The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act 1946 (hereafter referred to as " the Act of 1946 ") shall apply to the compulsory purchase by the Corporation of land or rights in England or Wales as if the Corporation were a local authority within the meaning of that Act, and as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.

New rights: general adaptation of Act of 1946 and Compulsory Purchase Act 1965

5

The Act of 1946 and the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (hereafter referred to as " the Act of 1965 ") shall have effect with the modifications necessary to make them apply to the Corporation's compulsory acquisition of a right in England or Wales by the creation of a new right as they apply to the compulsory acquisition of land, so that, in appropriate contexts, references in those Acts to land are to be read as referring, or as including references, to the right acquired or to be acquired, or to land over which the right is, or is to be, exercisable, according to the requirements of the particular context.

New rights: specific adaptations of Act of 1946

6

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 5 above, Part III of Schedule 1 to the Act of 1946 (requirement of special parliamentary procedure, and other special provisions, in the case of acquisition of certain descriptions of land) shall apply in relation to the Corporation's compulsory acquisition of a right in England or Wales by the creation of a new right with the modifications specified in paragraphs 7 to 10 below.

7

In paragraph 9 of that Schedule (compulsory purchase affecting land of local authorities, statutory undertakers or National Trust) for references to the compulsory purchase of land there shall be substituted references to the compulsory acquisition of rights over land.

8

In paragraph 10 of that Schedule (land of statutory undertakers)—

• (a) for the words " land comprised in the order " there shall be substituted the words " land over which a right is to be acquired by virtue of the order ",

• (b) for the words " purchase of " there shall be substituted the words " acquisition of a right over ",

• (c) for the words " it can be purchased and not replaced " there shall be substituted the words " the right can be acquired ", and

• (d) for sub-paragraph (ii) there shall be substituted the following:—

(ii) that any detriment to the carrying on of the undertaking, in consequence of the acquisition of the right, can be made good by the undertakers by the use of other land belonging to, or available for acquisition by, them

.

9

• (1) In paragraph 11 of that Schedule (common land, open spaces, etc.) the following shall be substituted for sub-paragraph (1):

(1) In so far as a compulsory purchase order authorises the acquisition of a right over land forming part of a common, open space or fuel or field garden allotment, it shall be subject to special parliamentary procedure unless the Secretary of State is satisfied— (a) that the land, when burdened with that right, will be no less advantageous to those persons in whom it is vested and other persons, if any, entitled to rights of common or other rights, and to the public, than it was before ; or (b) that there has been or will be given in exchange for the right additional land which will as respects the persons in whom there is vested the land over which the right is to be acquired, the persons, if any, entitled to rights of common or other rights over that land, and the public, be adequate to compensate them for the disadvantages which result from the acquisition of the right, and that the additional land has been or will be vested in the persons in whom there is vested the land over which the right is to be acquired, and subject to the like rights, trusts and incidents as attach to that land apart from the compulsory purchase order ; or (c) that the land affected by the right to be acquired does not exceed 250 square yards in extent, and that the giving of other land in exchange for the right is unnecessary, whether in the interests of the persons, if any, entitled to rights of common or other rights or in the interests of the public, and certifies accordingly.

.

• (2) In the said paragraph 11, in sub-paragraph (3), the following shall be substituted for the words from " and for discharging " to the end—

and for discharging the land over which any right is to be acquired from all rights, trusts and incidents to which it has previously been subject so far as their continuance would be inconsistent with the exercise of that right

.

10

In paragraph 12 of that Schedule, for the words " the purchase of" there shall be substituted the words " the acquisition of a right over ".

Restriction on application of paragraphs 5 to 10 above

11

So much of paragraph 5 above as relates to the Act of 1946, and paragraphs 6 to 10 above, shall not apply to any compulsory purchase to which, by virtue of section 12 or 13 of the Gas Act 1965 as amended by paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 6 to this Act, Part I of Schedule 4 to that Act applies.

New rights: specific adaptations of Act of 1965

12

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph 5 above, Part I of the Act of 1965 shall apply in relation to the Corporation's compulsory acquisition of a right in England or Wales by the creation of a new right with the modifications specified in paragraphs 13 to 18 below.

13

For section 7 of that Act (measure of compensation) there shall be substituted the following:—

(7) In assessing the compensation to be paid by the acquiring authority under this Act regard shall be had not only to the extent (if any) to which the value of the land over which the right is to be acquired is depreciated by the acquisition of the right but also to the damage (if any) to be sustained by the owner of the land by reason of its severance from other land of his, or injuriously affecting that other land by the exercise of the powers conferred by this or the special Act.

14

For section 8(1) of that Act (protection for vendor against severance of house, garden, etc.) there shall be substituted the following:—

(1) No person shall be required to grant any right over part only— (a) of any house, building or manufactory ; or (b) of a park or garden belonging to a house, if he is willing to sell the whole of the house, building, manufactory, park or garden, unless the Lands Tribunal determines that— (i) in the case of a house, building or manufactory, the part over which the right is proposed to be acquired can be made subject to that right without material detriment to the house, building or manufactory ; or (ii) in the case of a park or garden, the part over which the right is proposed to be acquired can be made subject to that right without seriously affecting the amenity or convenience of the house ; and if the Lands Tribunal so determine, the Tribunal shall award compensation in respect of any loss due to the acquisition of the right, in addition to its value; and thereupon the party interested shall be required to grant to the acquiring authority that right over that part of the house, building, manufactory, park or garden. (1A) In considering the extent of any material detriment to a house, building or manufactory, or any extent to which the amenity or convenience of a house is affected, the Lands Tribunal shall have regard not only to the right which is to be acquired over the land, but also to any adjoining or adjacent land belonging to the same owner and subject to compulsory purchase.

15

The following provisions of that Act (being provisions stating the effect of a deed poll executed in various circumstances where there is no conveyance by persons with interests in the land):—

• section 9(4) (refusal by owners to convey);

• Schedule 1, paragraph 10(3) (owners under incapacity);

• Schedule 2, paragraph 2(3) (absent and untraced owners) ; and

• Schedule 4, paragraphs 2(3) and 7(2) (common land),

shall be so modified as to secure that, as against persons with interests in the land which are expressed to be overridden by the deed, the right which is to be compulsorily acquired is vested absolutely in the acquiring authority.

16

Section 11 of that Act (powers of entry) shall be so modified as to secure that, as from the date on which the acquiring authority have served notice to treat in respect of any right, they have power,

exercisable in the like circumstances and subject to the like conditions, to enter for the purpose of exercising that right (which shall be deemed for this purpose to have been created on the date of service of the notice); and sections 12 (penalty for unauthorised entry) and 13 (entry on sheriff's warrant in the event of obstruction) shall be modified correspondingly.

17

Section 20 of that Act (protection for interests of tenants at will, etc.) shall apply with the modifications necessary to secure that persons with such interests as are mentioned in that section are compensated in a manner corresponding to that in which they would be compensated on a compulsory acquisition of that land, but taking into account only the extent (if any) of such interference with such an interest as is actually caused, or likely to be caused, by the exercise of the right in question.

18

Section 22 of that Act (protection of acquiring authority's possession where by inadvertence an estate, right or interest has not been got in) shall be so modified as to enable the acquiring authority, in circumstances corresponding to those referred to in that section, to continue entitled to exercise the right acquired, subject to compliance with that section as respects compensation.

New rights: compensation

19

The enactments in force in England and Wales with respect to compensation for the compulsory purchase of land shall apply with the necessary modifications as respects compensation in the case of the Corporation's compulsory acquisition of a right by the creation of a new right as they apply to compensation on the compulsory purchase of land and interests in land.

PART III — Procedure, Compensation etc. (Scotland)

Application of Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 generally

20

The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 (hereafter referred to as " the Act of 1947 ") shall apply to the compulsory purchase by the Corporation of land or rights in Scotland as if the Corporation were a local authority within the meaning of that Act, and as if this Act had been in force immediately before the commencement of that Act.

New rights: general application of Act of 1947 and incorporated enactments

21

The enactments incorporated with this Act by virtue of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1947 and that Act shall have effect with the modifications necessary to make them apply to the Corporation's compulsory acquisition of a right in Scotland in the manner described in paragraph 5 of this Schedule.

New rights: specific adaptations of Act of 1947

22

Paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9(1) (so far as relating to the acquisition of a right over land forming part of a common or open space) and 10of this Schedule shall apply for the adaptation of the Act of 1947 as they apply for the adaptation Of the Act of 1946 with the substitution in paragraph 6 of " Scotland " for England and Wales and in paragraph 7 of " The National Trust for Scotland" for National Trust.

23

Paragraph 16 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to that Act with the substitution of a reference to paragraph 3(1) of the Second Schedule to that Act for the reference to section 11 of the Act of 1965, and with the omission of the words from " and sections " to the end of the paragraph.

24

For paragraph 4 of the Second Schedule to that Act (protection for owner against severance of property) there shall be substituted the provisions substituted by paragraph 14 of this Schedule for section 8(1) of the Act of 1965, and any reference in those provisions to the Lands Tribunal shall be construed as a reference to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

Restrictions on application of paragraphs 21 and 22 above

25

So much of paragraph 21 above as relates to the Act of 1947, and paragraph 22 above, shall not apply to any compulsory purchase to which, by virtue of section 12 or 13 of the Gas Act 1965 as amended by paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 6 to this Act, Part I of Schedule 4 to that Act applies.

New rights: specific adaptations of Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845

26

For section 61 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 (estimation of compensation) there shall be substituted the following:—

(61) In estimating the purchase money or compensation to be paid by the promoters of the undertaking in the Special Act, in any of the cases aforesaid, regard shall be had not only to the extent (if any) to which the value of the land over which the right is to be acquired is depreciated by the acquisition of the right, but also to the damage (if any) to be sustained by the owner of the land by reason of its severance from other land of his, or injuriously affecting that other land by the exercise of the powers conferred by this or the Special Act.

27

The following provisions of that Act (being provisions stating the effect of a notarial instrument or of a disposition executed in various circumstances where there is no conveyance by persons with interests in the land):—

• section 74 (failure by owner to convey);

• section 76 (refusal to convey or show tide or owner cannot be found);

• section 98 (vesting of common land),

shall be so modified as to secure that, as against persons with interests in the land over which the right is to be compulsorily acquired such right is vested absolutely in the promoters of the undertaking.

28

Paragraph 17 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to that Act with the substitution of a reference to sections 114 and 115 thereof for the reference to section 20 of the Act of 1965.

29

Paragraph 18 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to that Act with the substitution of a reference to sections 117 and 118 thereof for any reference to section 22 of the Act of 1965.

New rights: compensation

30

Paragraph 19 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to Scotland with the substitution of " Scotland " for England and Wales.

31

This Part of this Schedule shall extend to Scotland only.

SCHEDULE 3

Remuneration and allowances, officers, accommodation etc.

1

• (1) The chairman of the National Council, and the chairmen of the Regional Councils, shall be paid such remuneration, or such allowances in respect of any loss of remunerative time, and such travelling allowances and allowances in respect of their out-of-pocket expenses, as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

• (2) The other members of those Councils, and the members of committees and individuals acting as local representatives of the Regional Councils, shall be paid such allowances in respect of any loss of remunerative time, travelling allowances and allowances in respect of their out-of-pocket expenses as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

• (3) There shall be paid such pensions, or arrangements shall be made for the payment of such pensions, to or in respect of persons who are or have been in receipt of remuneration under sub-paragraph (1) above as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine; and if a person in receipt of remuneration under that sub-paragraph ceases to hold the office by virtue of which he receives it, and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right that that person should receive compensation, that person shall be paid a sum of such amount as the Secretary of State may with the consent of the Minister for the Civil Service determine.

2

• (1) The National Council and each of the Regional Councils may, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State as to numbers, appoint such officers as appear to them to be requisite for the proper discharge of their functions; and the officers of the said Councils shall be paid such remuneration and allowances as the Secretary of State may determine.

• (2) There shall be paid such pensions, or arrangements shall be made for the payment of such pensions, to or in respect of persons who are or have been officers of any of the said Councils as the Secretary of State may determine.

• (3) Each of the said Councils shall be furnished with such office accommodation and equipment as they reasonably consider requisite for ithe proper discharge of their functions, or as the Secretary of State may after consultation with them determine.

• (4) There shall be paid such expenses incurred by the National Council, the Regional Councils or the local representatives of the Regional Councils as the Secretary of State may after consultation with the Council in question determine.

• (5) In this paragraph, references to the functions of Regional Councils include references to the functions of local representatives of Regional Councils.

3

The payments to be made under paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be provided from the funds of the Corporation; and the arrangements to be made, and accommodation and equipment to be furnished, under those paragraphs shall be made or, as the case may be, furnished by the Corporation.

Parliamentary disqualification of paid chairmen

4

In Part III of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 as it applies in relation to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, after the entry relating to the Chairman of the Mining Qualifications Board there shall be inserted the words " Chairman in receipt of remuneration of the National Gas Consumers' Council or any Regional Gas Consumers' Council. "

Procedure etc.

5

• (1) The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to—

• (a) the appointment of, and the tenure and vacation of office by, members of the National Council and the Regional Councils,

• (b) the appointment of deputy chairmen of those Councils,

• (c) the quorum, proceedings, meetings and determinations of those Councils,

• (d) the execution of instruments on behalf of those Councils, and the proof of documents purporting to be executed on their behalf, and

• (e) any other matters supplementary or incidental to those above mentioned for which provision appears to him to be necessary or expedient.

• (2) Subject to any such regulations, the said Councils shall have power to regulate their own procedure.

6

The validity of any proceedings of the National Council or any of the Regional Councils shall not be affected by any vacancy amongst the members or of any defect in the appointment of a member.

Dissolution etc. of Regional Councils on variation of areas

7

Directions under section 9(3)(b) of this Act may contain such provision consequential on any variation of area thereby effected as the Secretary of State may consider expedient, and may in particular provide for the dissolution of any Regional Council, the winding up of their affairs and the disposal of their records in such manner as the National Council consider desirable, and the payment by the Corporation of any specified expenses arising out of the dissolution and winding up.

SCHEDULE 4

Laying of pipes etc.

Power to break up streets, bridges etc.

1

• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, the Corporation may, for the purposes of the exercise or performance of any of their functions under this Act or any other enactment, open and break up any street or bridge, and open and break up any sewers, drains or tunnels within or under any such street or bridge, and place pipes, conduits, service pipes, cables, pressure governors, sewers and other works, and from time to time repair, alter or remove them, and for the purposes aforesaid may remove or use all earth and materials in or under any such street or bridge, and may in any such street erect any pillars, lamps and other works, and do all other acts which the Corporation from time to time think necessary for the purposes of the exercise or performance of any of their said functions, doing as little damage as may be in the exercise of the powers hereby conferred and making compensation for any damage done in the exercise of those powers.

• (2) The powers of the Corporation under sub-paragraph (1) above shall include power to erect in any street one or more structures for housing pressure governors, but only with the consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, of the highway authority or other person having the control or management of the street.

Any question whether or not consent to the erection of such a structure is unreasonably withheld shall be determined by arbitration ; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, the withholding of consent shall, to the extent that it is based on the ground that the structure ought to be erected elsewhere than in a street, be treated as unreasonable if the Corporation show either that there is no reasonably practicable alternative to erecting it in a street, or that all such alternatives would, on the balance of probabilities, involve greater danger to life or property.

• (3) Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) above shall empower the Corporation to lay down or place any pipe or other works into, through or against any building, or in any land not dedicated to the public use, without the consent of the owners and occupiers thereof:

Provided that—

• (a) the Corporation may exercise the powers conferred by that sub-paragraph in relation to any street which has been laid out but not dedicated to the public use for the purpose of giving a supply of gas to any premises which abut on the street, and

• (b) the Corporation may, after giving notice in writing to the owners and occupiers of the land or building not less than seven clear days before the entry, enter upon any land (not being a street to which paragraph (a) above applies) or building for the purpose of placing a new pipe in the place of an existing pipe which has already been lawfully placed, or of repairing or altering any pipe lawfully placed, so, however, that entry may be made without such notice in cases of emergency arising from defects in any pipes, but notice shall then be given as soon as possible after the occurrence of the emergency.

• (4) Except in cases of emergency arising from defects in any pipes or other works, a street or bridge which does not constitute for the purposes of the Highways Act 1959 a highway or part of a highway maintainable at the public expense, and is under the control or management of, or maintainable by, any railway authority or navigation authority, shall not be opened or broken up without the consent of that authority ; but that consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, and any question whether or not consent is unreasonably withheld shall be determined by arbitration.

In the application of this sub-paragraph to Scotland, for the words from "constitute " to " public expense " there shall be substituted the words " constitute a highway as defined in section 50(1) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1970 ".

• (5) If the Corporation open or break up a street or bridge to which sub-paragraph (4) above applies without the consent required by that sub-paragraph, they shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

• (6) The powers conferred by sub-paragraph (1) above shall be included among those to which section 15 of the Highways Act 1959 and (in Scotland) section 4 of the Special Roads Act 1949 (restriction on laying of mains etc. in special roads) apply.

Obligation to supply gas

Right to demand supply.

2

• (1) The Corporation shall, upon being required to do so by the owner or occupier of any premises situated within twenty-five yards from any main of the Corporation through which the Corporation are for the time being distributing gas, give and continue to give a supply of gas to those premises, and shall furnish and lay any pipe that may be necessary for that purpose subject to the conditions specified in the following provisions of this paragraph:

Provided that this provision shall not apply in relation to any main used only for the purpose of giving a separate supply of gas for industrial purposes, or of conveying gas in bulk.

• (2) The cost of providing and laying so much of any pipe for the supply of gas to any owner or occupier as may be laid upon the property of the owner or in possession of the occupier, not being property dedicated to public use, and of so much of any such pipe as may be laid for a greater distance than thirty feet from any pipe of the Corporation, although not on such property, shall, if the Corporation so require, be defrayed by the owner or occupier.

• (3) The Corporation shall carry out any necessary work of maintenance, repair or renewal of any such pipe which is provided and laid at the cost of the owner or occupier of any premises, and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them in so doing from the owner or occupier of the premises.

• (4) Nothing in sub-paragraph (2) or (3) above shall be taken as affecting any rights or obligations as between the owner and occupier of the premises in relation to any such pipe as aforesaid.

• (5) Every owner or occupier of premises requiring under this paragraph a supply of gas shall—

• (a) serve a notice on the Corporation specifying the premises in respect of which the supply is required, and the day (not being earlier than a reasonable time after the service of the notice) upon which the supply is required to commence, and undertaking to pay the charges in respect of the supply as they become due, and

• (b) give to the Corporation (if required by them to do so) security for the payment to them of all money which may become due to them from such owner or occupier in respect of any pipe to be provided by the Corporation and in respect of gas to be supplied by the Corporation.

• (6) Where the Corporation have given a supply of gas for any premises and the owner or occupier has not given such security as aforesaid, or the security given has become invalid or insufficient, the Corporation may, by notice in writing, require the owner or occupier, within seven days after the service of the notice, to give them security for the payment of all money which may from time to time become due to them in respect of the supply, and if the owner or occupier fails to comply with the notice the Corporation may if they think fit discontinue the supply for those premises so long as the failure continues.

Relief from obligation to supply.

3

• (1) Where a new or increased supply of gas is required under paragraph 2 above for purposes other than lighting or domestic use, and the supply cannot be given without the laying of a new main, or the enlarging of an existing main, or the constructing or enlarging of any other works required for the supply of gas by the Corporation, the Corporation shall, notwithstanding the provisions of that paragraph, not be obliged to give the supply unless the person requiring it enters into a written contract with them—

• (a) to continue to receive and pay for a supply of gas of such minimum quantity and for such minimum period as the Corporation may reasonably require, having regard to the expense to be incurred by them in laying or enlarging the main or constructing or enlarging the other works, or

• (b) to make such payment to the Corporation (in addition to any payments to be made from time to time for gas supplied) as the Corporation may reasonably require having regard to the matters aforesaid,

and gives to the Corporation (if required by them to do so) security for the payment of all money which may become due under the contract.

• (2) Any question arising under sub-paragraph (1) above whether a supply can be given without the laying or enlarging of a main or the constructing or enlarging of other works, or as to the reasonableness of the minimum quantity or period therein referred to or of the payment required by the Corporation, or as to the nature and amount of the security to be given, shall in default of agreement be determined by arbitration.

• (3) In determining any such question, the arbitrator (or, in Scotland, arbiter) shall have regard to the following among other considerations—

• (a) the total annual quantity of gas required by the applicant, the maximum quantity required per hour, and the hours of the day during which the Corporation may be called upon to supply gas to the applicant,

• (b) the capital expenditure which the Corporation would have to incur in the laying of a new main or the enlarging of an existing main or the construction or enlarging of other works for the purpose of giving the supply, and

• (c) how far the capital expenditure may become unproductive to the Corporation in the event of the supply ceasing to be given.

Stand by supply.

4

• (1) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment a person shall not be entitled to demand or continue to receive a supply of gas from the Corporation for the purposes only of a stand-by supply for any premises having a separate supply of gas, or having a supply (in use or ready for use for the purpose for which the stand-by supply of gas is required) of electricity, steam, or other form of energy, unless he has agreed with the Corporation to pay them such annual sum in addition to any charge for gas supplied as will give them a reasonable return on the capital expenditure incurred by them in providing the stand-by supply, and will cover other charges incurred by them in order to meet the possible maximum demand for those premises.

• (2) Any question arising under this paragraph—

• (a) as to whether a supply of gas is demanded or received for the purpose only of a stand-by supply, or

• (b) as to whether any premises have a separate supply of gas or have a supply (in use or ready for use for the purpose for which a stand-by supply of gas is required) of electricity, steam, or other form of energy, or

• (c) as to the amount of the said annual sum to be specified in the agreement,

shall in default of agreement be determined by arbitration.

Supply to public lamps.

5

The Corporation shall supply gas to any public lamps to which, immediately before the appointed day, an Area Board were supplying gas under the duty imposed on them by paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 to the Gas Act 1948 in such quantities as the authority by or for whom the lamps are maintained may from time to time require.

6

If the Corporation fail to give a supply of gas to any owner or occupier of premises entitled to such a supply, or to supply gas to any public lamps in accordance with paragraph 5 above, they shall, unless the failure was due to circumstances not within their control, or was authorised by any provision of this Schedule or by regulations made under section 31 of this Act, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20.

Meters and fittings

Consumption of gas to be ascertained by meter.

7

Every consumer of gas supplied by the Corporation shall, if required to do so by them, take his supply through a meter duly stamped in accordance with section 30 of this Act; and the Corporation shall if so required by the owner or occupier of any premises, or by any authority within paragraph 5 above, supply to the said owner, occupier or authority, either by way of sale or by way of hire, an appropriate meter (whether a prepayment meter or otherwise) for ascertaining the quantity of gas supplied by them:

Metres to be kept in proper order.

8

• (1) Every consumer shall at all times, at his own expense, keep all meters belonging to him, whereby the quantity of gas supplied by the Corporation is registered, in proper order for correctly registering the quantity of gas, and in default of his doing so the Corporation may cease to supply gas through that meter.

• (2) The Corporation shall at all times at their own expense, keep all meters let for hire by them to any consumer in proper order for correctly registering the quantity of gas supplied, and in default of their so doing the consumer shall not be liable to pay rent for the meter in respect of the period of the default.

• (3) The Corporation shall have access to and be at liberty to remove, inspect and replace any meter at all reasonable times, and shall, while any such meter is removed, fix a substituted meter on the premises; and, subject to sub-paragraph (4) below, the cost of removing, inspecting and replacing a meter and of fixing a substituted meter shall be defrayed by the Corporation.

• (4) Where a meter is removed for the purpose of being examined by a meter examiner in accordance with this Act, the person at whose request the examination is to be carried out shall, unless the meter is found to register erroneously to a degree exceeding the degree permissible under the regulations for the time being in force, defray the expenses incurred in removing, examining and replacing the meter and fixing a substituted meter, and the said expenses shall, if the meter is found to register erroneously as aforesaid, be defrayed by the owner of the meter.

Placing of meters in new premises.

9

• (1) Every meter to be used in a building not previously supplied with gas or in connection with a new-or substituted pipe laid between the main and the meter shall be placed as near as practicable to the main, but within the outside wall of the building:

Provided that the meter may be placed otherwise than within the outside wall of the building if it is placed either in accommodation of a type and construction reasonably approved by the Corporation by an approval given in relation to buildings generally, or to any class or description of buildings, or in a separate meter house or other accommodation outside the building reasonably approved by the Corporation in the case of that particular building.

• (2) If the requirements of sub-paragraph (1) above are not complied with, the Corporation may refuse to supply gas to the premises until those requirements have been complied with.

Meter to be evidence of quantity of gas supplied.

10

• (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, where gas is supplied through a meter, the register of the meter shall be prima facie evidence of the quantity of gas supplied:

Provided that where a meter is found, when examined by a meter examiner appointed under this Act, to register erroneously to a degree exceeding the degree permissible under the regulations for the time being in force—

• (a) the meter shall be deemed to have registered erroneously to the degree so found since the penultimate date on which the register of the meter was ascertained before the date of the examination and otherwise than in connection therewith, except in a case where it is proved to have begun to register erroneously as aforesaid on some later date; and

• (b) the amount of allowance to be made to, or the surcharge to be made on, the consumer by the Corporation in consequence of the erroneous registration shall be paid to Or by the consumer, as the case may be, and shall, in the case of a surcharge, be recoverable in like manner as charges for gas are recoverable by the Corporation.

• (2) Sub-paragraph (1) above shall not have effect in relation to the supply of gas to a person under any agreement made with the Corporation and providing for the quantity of gas supplied to him to be ascertained otherwise than by means of a duly stamped meter.

Alteration and replacement of burners on change of calorific value.

11

The Corporation shall, in the case of any alteration in the calorific value declared in respect of any gas supplied by them, take at their own expense such steps as may be necessary to alter, adjust or replace the burners in the appliances of consumers of that gas in such manner as to secure that the gas can be burned with safety and efficiency:

Resale of gas supplied

Maximum charges for reselling gas supplied by the Corporation.

12

• (1) The Corporation shall from time to time fix maximum prices at which gas supplied by them may be re-sold, and shall publish the prices so fixed in such manner as in their opinion will secure adequate publicity therefor.