Industry Act 1972

PART I — Regional Development Grants

Grants for buildings, machinery, plant and certain works

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• (1) The Secretary of State may make a grant to a person towards approved capital expenditure incurred by that person, being expenditure of any description in column 1 of the Table below.

• (2) The amount of a grant under this section shall be the prescribed percentage of the expenditure in respect of which it is made.

• (3) Subject to any order under section 3 of this Act, the prescribed percentage shall be that specified in column 2 of the Table below.

Expenditure incurred in	Prescribed percentage
1. Providing a building as part of, or providing works on, qualifying premises in—
(a) a development area	If the qualifying premises are in a special development area: 22 per cent. If not: 20 per cent.
(b) an intermediate area	20 per cent.
(c) in the case of a building or any works provided before 22nd March 1974, a derelict land clearance area.	20 per cent.
2. (1) Providing new machinery or plant for use in qualifying premises in a development area. (2) Providing mining works for use in a development area.	} If the qualifying premises or mining works are in a special development area: 22 per cent. } If not: 20 per cent.
3. Providing new machinery or plant for use in a development area in activities which are within Order XX of the Standard Industrial Classification (construction industry).	20 per cent.

• (4) For the purposes of this section the Secretary of State may by order designate a development area or any part of it as a special development area, and, in exercising his powers under this subsection, the Secretary of State shall have regard to all the circumstances actual and expected, including the state of employment and unemployment, population changes, migration and the objectives of regional policies.

• (5) An order under this section may describe a special development area by reference to employment exchange areas, that is to say areas for which an employment exchange has been established for the purposes of the Employment and Training Act 1948; and any reference in such an order to a named employment exchange area shall be construed as a reference to that area as it exists on the date on which the order comes into force.

• (6) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act, grants may be made under this Part of this Act in respect of expenditure defrayed on or after 22nd March 1972, and the power conferred by subsection (4) above shall include power to specify special development areas for the purpose of grant payable in accordance with this Part of this Act in respect of assets provided before the passing of this Act (and before the making of the order).

Qualifying premises

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• (1) In this Part of this Act " qualifying premises " means premises which are for the time being used wholly or mainly for qualifying activities.

• (2) For the purposes of this section " qualifying activities " means—

• (a) activities which are described in any of the minimum list headings in Orders II to XX (inclusive) in the Standard Industrial Classification (manufacturing, mining and construction), and

• (b) the processing of scrap and waste materials, and

• (c) scientific research relating to any other qualifying activity, and

• (d) the repair or maintenance of any machinery or plant designed for use in any manufacturing or mining process, or in the processing of scrap and waste materials, or in any activity described in heading 500 of the Standard Industrial Classification (construction of buildings, roads and bridges), and

• (e) repairs of the kinds described in heading 370 (ship building and marine engineering), 383 (aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing), 384 and 385 (locomotives, rolling stock and railway equipment) and 500 (buildings, roads and bridges) in the Standard Industrial Classification, whether or not also within paragraph (d) above, together with the maintenance of anything the repair of which is included in this paragraph, and

• (f) the training of staff for work in any other qualifying activity.

• (3) The Standard Industrial Classification shall be used for the purposes of this section, and of any other provision of this Act, without taking account of the way in which that Classification is applied, whether or not in pursuance of any other Act of Parliament, for any other purpose, and without regard to any ancillary or associated activities, such as—

• (a) office work, including accountancy, audit, advertising and market research,

• (b) haulage,

• (c) sales and distribution,

• (d) storage,

• (e) production and distribution of energy and heating,

which, though not mentioned in a particular minimum list heading, may be classified for statistical purposes along with the activities which are so mentioned; and the reference in heading 499(2) of the Standard Industrial Classification to " all other manufacturing industries not elsewhere specified " shall be taken as a reference to all manufacturing activities not elsewhere specified without the remaining activities in the industry in question.

• (4) Subject to paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (2) above, the repair or maintenance of any articles shall not be a qualifying activity, and in the case of the activities described in the said Classification, other than those mentioned in the said paragraph (e), this subsection applies whether or not repair or maintenance is mentioned in the Classification.

• (5) The Secretary of State may give directions, which may be general directions or directions concerning a particular case, as respects the determination of—

• (a) any question as to the classification of an asset as between the following categories, that is, machinery or plant, buildings, works other than mining works, and mining works,

• (b) any question whether two or more different buildings or areas are, or are not, to be regarded as forming part of the same premises,

• (c) any question whether different parts of a building are, or are not, to be regarded as forming part of the same premises, and any question as to the apportionment of the expenditure incurred in providing a building between the parts of the building which are, and are not, qualifying premises, or

• (d) any question whether premises are being used, or used wholly or mainly, for any qualifying activities, or other specified activities.

• (6) If, on a request by an applicant for grant, the applicant satisfies the Secretary of State that any land or building is near to and held together with premises which are being used for qualifying activities, he may direct that the land or building shall be treated as forming part of those premises.

• (7) Where premises are partly in, and partly outside, an assisted area, they shall be regarded for the purposes of this Part of this Act as in an assisted area—

• (a) if the larger part of the premises is in an assisted area, or if the qualifying activities there carried on are mainly carried on in an assisted area, or

• (b) if the Secretary of State so directs in any case or class of case,

and corresponding provisions shall be applied as respects premises which are partly in one category of assisted area, and partly in another, and as respects mining works for use partly in a development area and partly elsewhere.

• (8) For the purposes of this Part of this Act an asset is provided as part of, or on, or for use in, qualifying premises if in the opinion of the Secretary of State the premises are or will be qualifying premises when the asset is provided.

Variation of rates of grant and qualifying activities

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• (1) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, by order vary all or any of the percentages specified in the Table in section 1 of this Act.

• (2) The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, by order—

• (a) add to, exclude or vary all or any of the descriptions of qualifying activities in the last preceding section, or vary the description of activities in head 3 of the Table in section 1 of this Act, or

• (b) amend the definition of the Standard Industrial Classification in this Part of this Act by the substitution for the reference to the edition of that publication there specified of a reference to any later edition thereof, or by providing for any such reference to include a reference to any specified list of amendments to the edition in question published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

Conditions

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• (1) In making a grant under this Part of this Act the Secretary of State may impose such conditions as he thinks fit.

• (2) The Secretary of State may in particular impose a condition for repayment of all or any part of a grant in any circumstances, and in particular—

• (a) if the asset in respect of which the grant is paid is not used, or ceases to be used, in the way specified in the condition, or

• (b) if the premises cease to be qualifying premises.

• (3) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing the provisions of this section about the imposition of conditions.

Supplemental

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• (1) An application for grant under this Part of this Act shall be made within such time, and in such form or manner, and shall contain such particulars and be accompanied by such documents, as the Secretary of State may direct.

• (2) A grant under this Part of this Act may be made at any time after the time when, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the asset is provided, or the expenditure is defrayed, whichever is the earlier.

• (3) Any power conferred by this Part of this Act to make orders includes power to vary or revoke any order previously made in the exercise of that power.

• (4) An order under this Part of this Act may contain such incidental and supplemental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate, including, in the case of an order under section 3 (2) (a) of this Act, amendments of subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 2 of this Act.

• (5) Any power conferred by this Part of this Act to make orders shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and, except where subsection (6) below applies to the order, the statutory instrument shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (6) The Secretary of State shall not make an order under this Part of this Act which varies all or any of the percentages specified in the Table in section 1 of this Act (whether or not it also provides for other matters) unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Interpretation of Part I

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• (1) For the purposes of this Part of this Act " building " includes part of a building, and a building may be provided by the adaptation of an existing one, or by the purchase of a new one, that is to say one not previously occupied, or, if previously occupied, then only by the purchaser, and only as part of arrangements made in contemplation of purchase.

• (2) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• " approved capital expenditure ", in relation to any grant, means expenditure appearing to the Secretary of State to be of a capital nature, and approved by him for the purposes of the grant,

• " asset " includes any mining works, and any works other than mining works,

• " assisted area " means a development area, an intermediate area or a derelict land clearance area,

• " capital expenditure ", or expenditure of a " capital nature ", includes the capital element in expenditure consisting of instalments under a hire-purchase agreement or otherwise consisting of instalments of, or payments towards, the purchase price of, or cost of providing, the asset in question,

• " derelict land clearance area " means an area for the time being specified as such by an order made or having effect under section 8(6) of the Local Employment Act 1972,

• " expenditure "— in relation to an asset which is provided by being installed in a building or on a site, includes expenditure on or incidental to the installation of the asset, in relation to an asset provided by being manufactured or constructed by any person, includes such sum as appears to the Secretary of State to be properly attributable to its provision by that person in that manner, and the sum so attributed shall be treated as having been paid at such time as the Secretary of State may direct,

• " hire-purchase agreement " has the same meaning as in the Hire-Purchase Act 1965 or, as the case may be, the Hire-Purchase (Scotland) Act 1965,

• " machinery or plant " includes part of any machinery or plant, but does not include anything forming part of mining works, or a pipe-line, or any vehicle except— a vehicle constructed or adapted for the conveyance of a machine incorporated in or permanently attached to it, or a vehicle constructed or adapted for the conveyance or haulage of loads, but a vehicle shall not be eligible for grant under this Part of this Act unless its use for the conveyance or haulage of loads is exclusively in or about private premises, including the site of building or civil engineering operations,

• " mining works " means works, or part of any works, constructed for the carrying on of any process for or incidental to the searching for, or extracting or getting of, coal, oil, natural gas or other minerals, brine (but not water) or peat, but excluding any road, track, pipe or other works for conveying minerals, or brine or peat, from the site at which they have been extracted or got,

• " new " in relation to machinery or plant, means unused,

• " pipe-line " has the meaning given by section 65 of the Pipe-lines Act 1962, but excludes anything which, for the purpose of any provision of that Act, is excluded by section 60 or section 61 of that Act,

• " qualifying premises " has the meaning given by section 2 of this Act,

• " scientific research " means any activity in the fields of natural or applied science for the extension of knowledge,

• " special development area " means any such part of a development area as is to be treated as a special development area by virtue of section 1(4) of this Act,

• " Standard Industrial Classification " means, subject to section 3 of this Act, the revised edition published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1968 of the publication of that name prepared by the Central Statistical Office,

• " works ", except in the expression ' mining works ', includes part of any works, but does not include anything forming part of mining works or a pipe-line, or any machinery or plant, or anything forming part of, or of foundations for, machinery or plant.

• (3) Where in the case of any minimum list heading in Orders III to XIX of the Standard Industrial Classification the title of the heading is not accompanied by a description of the industries or services included therein, the heading shall be construed as referring only to the manufacture of the goods specified in that title.

PART II — Financial assistance for industry

Selective financial assistance for industry in assisted areas

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• (1) For the purposes set out in the following provisions of this section the Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, provide financial assistance where, in his opinion—

• (a) the financial assistance is likely to provide, maintain or safeguard employment in any part of the assisted areas, and

• (b) the undertakings for which the assistance is provided are or will be wholly or mainly in the assisted areas.

• (2) The purposes mentioned in subsection (1) of this section are—

• (a) to promote the development or modernisation of an industry,

• (b) to promote the efficiency of an industry,

• (c) to create, expand or sustain productive capacity in an industry, or in undertakings in an industry,

• (d) to promote the reconstruction, reorganisation or conversion of an industry or of undertakings in an industry,

• (e) to encourage the growth of, or the proper distribution of undertakings in, an industry,

• (f) to encourage arrangements for ensuring that any contraction of an industry proceeds in an orderly way.

• (3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, financial assistance under this section may be given on any terms or conditions, and by any description of investment or lending or guarantee, or by making grants, and may, in particular, be—

• (a) investment by acquisition of loan or share capital in any company, including an acquisition effected by the Secretary of State through another company, being a company formed for the purpose of giving financial assistance under this Part of this Act,

• (b) investment by the acquisition of any undertaking or of any assets,

• (c) a loan, whether secured or unsecured, and whether or not carrying interest, or interest at a commercial rate,

• (d) any form of insurance or guarantee to meet any contingency, and in particular to meet default on payment of a loan, or of interest on a loan, or non-fulfilment of a contract.

• (4) Financial assistance shall not be given under this section in the way described in subsection (3Ma) above unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that it cannot, or cannot appropriately, be so given in any other way, and the Secretary of State, in giving financial assistance in the way so described, shall not acquire any shares or stock in a company without the consent of that company.

• (5) Where financial assistance is given under this section by acquiring shares or stock in a company, the Secretary of State shall dispose of the shares or stock as soon as, in his opinion, it is reasonably practicable to do so; and before making the disposal the Secretary of State shall consult the company.

• (6) In this section " industry ", unless the context otherwise requires, includes any description of commercial activity, and references to an industry include references to any section of an industry.

• (7) In this section " the assisted areas " means the development areas, the intermediate areas and Northern Ireland.

Selective financial assistance: general powers

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