Section 95: Power to trade in function-related activities through a company, Local Government Act 2003

The appropriate person may by order—

authorise relevant authorities to do for a commercial purpose anything which they are authorised to do for the purpose of carrying on any of their ordinary functions, and

make provision about the persons in relation to whom authority under paragraph (a) is exercisable.

No order under this section may authorise a relevant authority—

to do in relation to a person anything which it is required to do in relation to him under its ordinary functions, or

to do in relation to a person anything which it is authorised, apart from this section, to do in relation to him for a commercial purpose.

An order under this section may be made in relation to—

all relevant authorities, particular relevant authorities or particular descriptions of relevant authority;

all things authorised to be done for the purpose of carrying on a particular function, particular things authorised to be done for that purpose or particular descriptions of thing authorised to be so done.

Power conferred by an order under this section shall only be exercisable through a company within the meaning of Part 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42) (companies in which local authorities have interests).

A relevant authority on which power is conferred by an order under this section shall be treated as a local authority for the purposes of Part 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 if it would not otherwise be such an authority, but only in relation to a body corporate through which it exercises, or proposes to exercise, the power conferred by the order.

In its application by virtue of subsection (5), section 70(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42) (power to make provision about what a company under the control, or subject to the influence of, a local authority does) shall only apply in relation to the doing for a commercial purpose of the thing to which the order under this section relates.

In this section—

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"relevant authority" means— a best value authority, other than the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a police authority and ... ; a county council or county borough council in Wales; a corporate joint committee established by regulations under Part 5 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021; the Passenger Transport Executive of an integrated transport area in England; a fire and rescue authority created by an order under section 4A of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004; a fire and rescue authority in Wales, constituted by a scheme under section 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 or a scheme to which section 4 of that Act applies; a National Park authority for a National Park in Wales; a parish council; a parish meeting of a parish which does not have a separate parish council; or a community council.
"ordinary functions", in relation to a relevant authority, means functions of the authority which are not functions under this section.

Section 95: Power to trade in function-related activities through a company

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