The Secretary of State or any appropriate Minister may at any time by order make such incidental, consequential, transitional or supplementary provision as may appear to him—
and nothing in any other provision of this Act shall be construed as prejudicing the generality of this subsection.
An order under this section may in particular include provision—
Subject to subsection (5) below any of the following things done or treated by virtue of any enactment as having been done by or to or in relation to an existing local authority outside Greater London in connection with the discharge of any of their functions, that is to say—
any written agreement or other instrument in writing or any determination or declaration made or treated as made by such an authority,
any notice or direction given or treated as given by or to such an authority,
any licence, permission, consent, approval, exemption, dispensation or relaxation granted or treated as granted by or to such an authority,
any application, proposal or objection made or treated as made by or to such an authority,
any condition or requirement imposed or treated as imposed by or on such an authority, or
any appeal allowed by or in favour of or against such an authority,
shall, as from 1st April 1974, be treated as having been done by, to or in relation to the new local authority by whom those functions become exercisable on and after that date by or by virtue of this Act, and any such thing shall as from that date have effect as if any reference therein to a specified existing local authority outside Greater London by whom those functions were exercisable before that date were a reference to the new local authority by whom those functions become exercisable.
If there is any doubt as to the identity of a local authority to whom any particular functions are so transferred, that authority shall be taken to be such authority as may be specified in a direction given by a Minister of the Crown concerned with the discharge of those functions.
Subsection (3) above is without prejudice to any express provision made by, or by any instrument made under, this Act, but has effect subject to any provision to the contrary so made and in particular may be excluded from applying, either wholly or to any specified extent, in any particular case by an order made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.
Section 68 above shall apply for the purposes of Parts I and II, section 214(1)(b) and this Part of this Act as if any reference to an order under Part IV of this Act included a reference to any provision of Part I or II of this Act or to section 214(1)(b) of this Act or to any provision of any instrument made under Part I or II or this Part of this Act.
A local authority to whom any charters or insignia of a borough abolished by Part I or II of this Act have been transferred by virtue of subsection (2)(a) above shall if practicable preserve them in the area of the borough as it existed immediately before 1st April 1974.
An order under this section which extends the area for which any local statutory provision is in force shall be provisional only.
Any statutory instrument containing any other order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.