Coal industry Act 1994 (c. 21)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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(iii) any other matters which, in the Authority's opinion, justify the making or confirmation of the order;

and

(c) specifying the period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the date of the service of the notice on the person to whom it relates) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed order or proposed confirmation may be made;

and, before making or confirming the order, the Authority shall consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn.

(2) A notice under subsection (1) above shall be given--

(a) by serving it, together with a copy of the proposed order or of the order as proposed to be confirmed, on the person to whom the order relates; and

(b) by taking such steps (if any) for publishing a copy of the notice as the Authority considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the matters to which the notice relates to the attention of persons likely to be affected by them and of enabling them to make representations and objections within the period specified in the notice.

(3) The Authority, having given notice under subsection (1) above, shall not make the final enforcement order with modifications that are not contained in the notice or confirm the provisional enforcement order with any such modifications, except--

(a) with the consent to the modifications of the person to whom the order relates; or

(b) after complying with the requirements of subsection (4) below.

(4) The requirements mentioned in subsection (3) above are that the Authority shall--

(a) serve on the person to whom the order relates such notice as appears to the Authority requisite of its proposal to make or confirm the order with modifications;

(b) in that notice specify the period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the date of its service on the person to whom the order relates) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed modifications may be made;

(c) take such steps (if any) for publishing a copy of the notice as it considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the proposal to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it and of enabling them to make representations and objections within the period specified in the notice; and

(d) consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn.

(5) As soon as practicable after making a final enforcement order or making or confirming a provisional enforcement order, the Authority shall--

(a) serve a copy of the order or, as the case may be, of the order as confirmed on the person to whom it relates; and

(b) take such steps (if any) for publishing notice of the order and, where the case so requires, of its confirmation and any modifications subject to which it is confirmed as the Authority considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the matters contained in the notice to the attention of persons likely to be affected by them.

(6) Before revoking an enforcement order, other than an unconfirmed provisional enforcement order, the Authority shall give notice--

(a) stating that it proposes to revoke the order and setting out the effect of the order; and

(b) specifying the period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the date of the service of the notice on the person to whom the order relates) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposed revocation may be made;

and, before revoking the order, the Authority shall consider any representations or objections which are duly made and not withdrawn.

(7) If, after giving a notice under subsection (6) above, the Authority decides not to revoke the order to which the notice relates, it shall give notice of its decision.

(8) A notice under subsection (6) or (7) above shall be given--

(a) by serving it on the person to whom the order relates; and

(b) by taking such steps (if any) for publishing a copy of the notice as the Authority considers appropriate for the purpose of bringing the matters contained in the notice to the attention of persons likely to be affected by them and, in the case of a notice under subsection (6) above, of enabling them to make representations and objections within the period specified in the notice.

33 Validity and effect of enforcement orders

(1) If the person to whom an enforcement order relates is aggrieved by the order and desires to question its validity on the ground--

(a) that its making or confirmation was not within the powers conferred by section 31 above, or

(b) that any of the requirements of section 32 above have not been complied with in relation to it,

he may, within forty-two days from the date of service on him of a copy of the order or, as the case may be, of the order as confirmed, make an application to the court under this section.

(2) On any such application the court may, if satisfied that the making or confirmation of the order was not within those powers or that the interests of the applicant have been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with those requirements, quash the order or any provision of the order.

(3) Except as provided by this section, the validity of an enforcement order shall not be questioned by any legal proceedings whatever.

(4) The obligation to comply with an enforcement order shall be a duty owed to any person who may be affected by a contravention of the order.

(5) Where a duty is owed by any person to another person by virtue of subsection (4) above, any breach of the duty which causes that other person to sustain loss or damage shall be actionable against the person in breach at the suit or instance of that other person.

(6) In any proceedings brought against any person in pursuance of subsection (5) above, it shall be a defence for him to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the contravention of the order.

(7) Without prejudice to any right which any person may have by virtue of subsection (4) or (5) above to bring civil proceedings in respect of any contravention or apprehended contravention of an enforcement order, compliance with any such order shall be enforceable by civil proceedings by the Authority for an injunction or for interdict or for any other appropriate relief.

(8) In this section and section 34 below "the court" means the High Court in relation to England and Wales and the Court of Session in relation to Scotland.

34 Power to require information for the purposes of enforcement

(1) Where it appears to the Authority--

(a) that there is or may have been a contravention of section 25(1) above, or

(b) that any person is contravening, or may have contravened, any condition of a licence under this Part,

the Authority may, for any purpose connected with such of its functions under section 31 above as are exercisable in relation to that matter, serve a notice under subsection (2) below on any person.

(2) A notice under this subsection is a notice which--

(a) requires the person on whom it is served to produce, at a time and place specified in the notice, to the Authority or to any person appointed by the Authority for the purpose, any documents which are specified or described in the notice and are in that person's possession or under his control; or

(b) requires that person, if he is carrying on a business, to furnish the Authority, at a time and place and in the form and manner specified in the notice, with such information as may be specified or described in the notice.

(3) No person shall be required under this section to produce any documents which he could not be compelled to produce in civil proceedings in the court or, in complying with any requirement for the furnishing of information, to disclose any information which he could not be compelled to give in evidence in any such proceedings.

(4) A person who without reasonable excuse fails to do anything required of him by a notice under subsection (2) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(5) A person who intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he has been required by any notice under subsection (2) above to produce shall be guilty of an offence and liable--

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(6) If a person makes default in complying with a notice under subsection (2) above, the court may, on the application of the Authority, make such order as the court thinks fit for requiring the default to be made good; and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application shall be borne by the person in default or by any officers of a company or other association who are responsible for its default.

(7) No proceedings shall be instituted in England and Wales in respect of an offence under this section except by or on behalf of the Authority or the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Supplemental

35 Register of licences and orders

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, the Authority shall establish and maintain a register in which it shall enter particulars of--

(a) every licence granted under this Part and every pending application for such a licence;

(b) every licence in pursuance of which any person is or has been entitled to carry on coal-mining operations by virtue of section 25(3) above;

(c) every transfer, in accordance with the provisions of a licence under this Part, of the rights and obligations of any person as the holder of that licence;

(d) every revocation of, or of the authorisation contained in, a licence falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above;

(e) every other such modification of a licence falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above as relates to the particulars of that licence which are entered in the register;

(f) such trusts and other arrangements as for the time being have effect for the purposes of any security provided under the conditions included in licences under this Part in pursuance of the Authority's duty under section 2(1)(c) above; and

(g) every enforcement order made under section 31 above, every confirmation of a provisional enforcement order, the terms on which every confirmed order is confirmed and every revocation of an enforcement order.

(2) The particulars entered in the register in relation to any licence shall be confined to--

(a) the date of the grant of the licence and the time of the coming into force of the authorisation contained in the licence;

(b) the identity of the person to whom the licence is granted and a description of any other persons who are entitled, under the licence, to carry on the coal-mining operations to which it relates;

(d) any restrictions contained in the licence as to the depth at which the coal-mining operations authorised by the licence may be carried on;

(e) any other provisions of the licence restricting the coal-mining operations that are authorised by the licence to specified descriptions of operations;

(f) any area designated by the licence under section 37 below as the area of responsibility of the holder of the licence;

(g) any provision included in the licence for the purposes of section 58 below and any conditions requiring the disclosure of information which may be of the description specified for those purposes; and

(h) any provisions of the licence for the expiry of the authorisation contained in the licence or for determining when an area ceases to be the area of responsibility of the holder of the licence.

(3) The particulars entered in the register in relation to any pending application for a licence under this Part shall be confined to so much of the application as contains proposals with respect to any of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) above.

(4) The particulars entered in the register in relation to any trust or other arrangements falling within subsection (1)(f) above shall be confined to particulars identifying the form (but not the value or amount) of the security in question, the person who provided the security and the trustees or other person responsible for administering the security or determining the use to which it is put.

36 Insolvency of licensed operators etc

(1) A licence under this Part and the obligations arising out of, or incidental to, such a licence shall not be treated as property for any of the purposes of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 ("the 1986 Act"); but this subsection shall be without prejudice to so much of any licence as, by virtue of section 27(4) or (5) above, authorises the official receiver or any person who is for the time being acting as an insolvency practitioner in relation to the holder of the licence to carry on any of the coal-mining operations to which the licence relates or to transfer the rights and obligations of the holder of the licence to another person.

(2) Where, in the case of the winding up of a company which is or has been a licensed operator, the liquidator or official receiver sends to the registrar of companies--

(a) any such account or return as is mentioned in section 94(3) or 106(3) of the 1986 Act (account of the winding up and return of final meeting or meetings),

(b) any notice for the purposes of section 172(8) of that Act (notice of final meeting and of its decisions),

(d) a copy of such an order for dissolution of the company as is mentioned in section 204(4) of that Act (order for early dissolution in Scotland), or

(e) such a notice as is mentioned in section 205(1)(b) of that Act (notice that winding up complete),

the liquidator or official receiver, on sending it to the registrar of companies, shall also send a copy to the Authority.

(3) A liquidator who contravenes subsection (2) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(4) In any proceedings against any person for an offence under subsection (3) above it shall be a defence for that person to show that at the time of the contravention he did not know and had no grounds for suspecting that the company in question had ever been a licensed operator.

(5) In the case of any company which is either--

(a) the holder of a licence under this Part, or

(b) a licensed operator by virtue of section 25(3) above,

the Authority shall be included in the persons who are entitled to make an application under section 651(1) or 653(2) of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 (application to cancel the dissolution of a company) or under section 201(3), 202(5), 204(5) or 205(3) or (5) of the 1986 Act (applications in the case of a winding up for the deferment of a company's dissolution).

(6) Accordingly, subsection (1) of section 653 of that Act of 1985 (section to apply where specified persons feel aggrieved) shall be disregarded where an application under subsection (2) of that section is made by virtue of subsection (5) above.

(7) In this section "registrar of companies" has the same meaning as in the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985; and the reference in subsection (1) above to a person's acting as an insolvency practitioner shall be construed in accordance with section 388 of the 1986 Act.

Part III Rights and Obligations in connection with Coal Mining

Areas of responsibility

37 Areas of responsibility

(1) A licence under Part II of this Act may designate, in relation to the person who is the holder of the licence, the area which is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as that person's area of responsibility.

(2) The area designated under this section may comprise--

(a) the whole or any one or more parts of the area where the operations to which the licence relates are to be carried on; or

(b) the whole or any parts of that area together with such other areas appearing to the Authority to be capable of being affected by those operations as may be described in the licence.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, an area designated under this section as an area of responsibility shall continue to be treated for the purposes of this Part as the area of responsibility of the holder of the licence in question until such time as may be determined, in accordance with the provisions of the licence, to be the time for responsibilities in respect of the designated area to revert (subject to any further designation of the whole or any part of that area) to the Authority.

(4) The conditions included in a licence under Part II of this Act may provide for the modification from time to time of the area of responsibility of the holder of the licence.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3) above it shall be immaterial that the authorisation contained in the licence in question is revoked or otherwise ceases to have effect before the time determined for the purposes of that subsection.

Withdrawal of support from land

38 Rights to withdraw support

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, on and after the restructuring date, any licensed operator shall be entitled, so far as may be reasonably requisite for the carrying on of any coal-mining operations to which section 25 above applies, to withdraw support from any land to which this section applies.

(2) This section applies to any land, not being land comprised in an underground coal mine, if--

(a) a notice under this section relating to that land has been given in accordance with section 39 below and has come into force;

(b) immediately before the restructuring date the Corporation was entitled under and in accordance with section 2 of the 1975 Act (rights to withdraw support) to withdraw support from that land; or

(i) the relevant date of publication of a notice under section 2 of the 1975 Act relating to that land is a date not more than three months before the restructuring date;

(ii) the Corporation would (apart from subsection (7) below) have become entitled as mentioned in paragraph (b) above at the end of the period of three months beginning on the relevant date of publication; and

(iii) that period has expired;

and a right under this section shall have effect whether the coal in relation to which the operations concerned are carried on lies under the land to which this section applies or under adjacent land.

(3) A notice under this section shall come into force with whichever is the later of the following, that is to say--

(a) the expiry of the period of three months beginning with the day after the relevant date of publication; and

(b) the time when particulars of the notice are first registered by the Authority in accordance with section 56 below.

(4) In the case of any licensed operator who is entitled by virtue of this section to withdraw support from any land, the rights comprised in his entitlement shall also be exercisable by any person authorised as mentioned in section 27(4) above to act on his behalf in the carrying on of any of the operations which the operator is authorised to carry on.

(5) In this section and section 39 below "relevant date of publication"--

(a) in relation to a notice under section 2 of the 1975 Act, has the same meaning as in that section; and

(b) in relation to a notice under this section, means whichever is the later of--

(i) the date of the publication of the notice in the London or Edinburgh Gazette; and

(ii) the date of the first of the publications for the purposes of section 39(3)(b) below.

(6) In this section "underground coal mine" means any coal mine which is a mine within the meaning of the [1954 c. 70.] Mines and Quarries Act 1954.

(7) Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, the rights conferred on the Corporation by section 2 of the 1975 Act shall not be exercisable at any time on or after the restructuring date.

39 Notices under section 38

(1) A notice under section 38 above shall not be given except--

(a) by a person who on the relevant date of publication is a licensed operator and, as the holder of a licence under Part II of this Act, has an area of responsibility that consists of or includes all the land to which the notice relates; or

(b) by a person who on that date--

(i) is authorised by such a licence, or by virtue of subsection (3) of section 25 above, to carry on coal-mining operations to which that section applies; and

(ii) has the approval of the Authority for the giving of a notice relating to the land in question.

(2) A notice under section 38 above--

(a) shall indicate the land to which it relates either by reference to a map or in any other manner which, in the circumstances, is sufficient to identify it;

(b) shall identify the person by whom the notice is given and summarise the respects in which the requirements of subsection (1) above are satisfied in relation to that person; and

(c) shall state that there are proposals to carry on coal-mining operations which may require the exercise in relation to that land of such a right as is mentioned in section 38(1) above.

(3) A notice under section 38 above shall be given by being published--

(a) in the London Gazette or the Edinburgh Gazette, according to whether the land to which the notice relates is in England and Wales or in Scotland; and

(b) at least once in each of two successive weeks, in newspapers circulating in the locality where that land is situated.

(4) Not later than the relevant date of publication of a notice under section 38 above, the person giving that notice shall--

(a) serve a copy of the notice on every planning authority within whose area or district any part of the land to which the notice relates is situated; and

(b) post a copy or copies of the notice in some conspicuous place or places on that land.

(5) In subsection (4) above "planning authority" means any local planning authority within the meaning of the [1990 c. 8.] Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or any planning authority within the meaning of Part IX of the [1973 c. 65.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

40 Savings for special cases

(1) Where the Corporation is bound, immediately before the restructuring date, by--

(a) the provisions of an agreement which--

(i) was made between the Corporation or any predecessor of the Corporation and a person who (within the meaning of the [1938 c. 52.] Coal Act 1938) was interested in any land, and

(ii) has effect so as to require the Corporation to comply with an undertaking which is contained in the agreement and is an undertaking not to work any coal, not to work minerals or not to withdraw support from any land,

(b) any provisions containing any restriction, terms or conditions applicable to the working of coal by virtue of any agreement entered into after 1st July 1942 and before the restructuring date, or

(c) the provisions of any coal-mining lease (within the meaning of that Act of 1938) prohibiting the withdrawal of support from any land specified in the lease,

section 38 above shall have effect subject to those provisions, but only so far as they have effect in relation to the Corporation or any other person who is for the time being bound by them.

(2) Section 38 above shall not affect any restrictions, terms or conditions applicable to the working of coal by virtue of--

(a) any order made (whether before or after the restructuring date) under section 1 or 7 of the [1966 c. 4.] Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966 (acquisition of rights to work minerals); or

(b) section 33 of the [1938 c. 52.] Coal Act 1938 (restriction on working of coal vested in statutory undertakers) or any consent required by virtue of that section;

and section 38 above shall be without prejudice to the effect in relation to any restrictions, terms or conditions falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above of the provisions of any restructuring scheme.

(3) Section 38 above shall have effect subject to any such right as was referred to in section 34(1) of the [1938 c. 34.] Coal Act 1938 (statutory and corresponding rights of the Crown, local authorities and statutory undertakers) and is a right to which the activities of the Corporation were subject immediately before the restructuring date.

(4) Nothing in section 38 above shall confer any entitlement to withdraw support in connection with the working of any coal or coal mines comprised in land in the Forest of Dean or any other part of the area of what was the Hundred of Saint Briavels in the county of Gloucester, being land in respect of which the privileges of free miners are exercisable.

(5) References in this section, in relation to an agreement which has effect with respect to the working of any coal, to a predecessor of the Corporation are references to the Coal Commission or the person in whom the fee simple of the coal (or, in Scotland, the interest of proprietor of the dominium utile of the coal) was vested when the agreement was entered into.

(6) The reference in subsection (5) above to a person in whom the interest of proprietor of the dominium utile was vested when the agreement was entered into shall, as regards coal in the undivided ownership of the Crown at that time, be construed as a reference to the Crown.

(7) Nothing in this Act or in any other enactment shall be taken as preventing any person from entering, at any time on or after the restructuring date, into an agreement by virtue of which he accepts a prohibition or restriction on the exercise of his rights under section 38 above.

41 Revocation of right to withdraw support

(1) Where the Authority gives a notice under this section in relation to any land to which section 38 above applies, that section shall cease to apply to that land in relation to any coal-mining operations carried on after the relevant date of publication.

(2) The Authority shall not give a notice under this section unless it appears to the Authority that there is not for the time being any person who is authorised, by a licence under Part II of this Act or by virtue of section 25(3) above, to carry on coal-mining operations which might involve the withdrawal of support from the land in question.

(3) A notice under this section--

(a) shall indicate the land to which it relates either by reference to a map or in any other manner which, in the circumstances, is sufficient to identify it;

(b) shall state that section 38 above is to cease to apply to the land; and

(i) in the London Gazette or the Edinburgh Gazette, according to whether the land to which the notice relates is in England and Wales or in Scotland; and

(ii) at least once in each of two successive weeks, in newspapers circulating in the locality where that land is situated.

(4) Not later than the relevant date of publication of a notice under this section, the Authority shall serve a copy of the notice on every planning authority within whose area or district any part of the land to which the notice relates is situated.

(5) Subsection (1) above shall be subject to the effect of any notice under section 38 above which is given at any time after the relevant date of publication of the notice under this section.

(6) In this section--

"planning authority" means any local planning authority within the meaning of the [1990 c. 8.] Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or any planning authority within the meaning of Part IX of the [1973 c. 65.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973; and
"relevant date of publication", in relation to a notice under this section, means whichever is the later of--
(a)
the date of the publication of the notice in the London or Edinburgh Gazette; and
(b)
the date of the first of the publications of that notice for the purposes of subsection (3)(c)(ii) above.

Subsidence

42 Subsidence damage to which 1991 Act applies

(1) Section 1 of the 1991 Act (preliminary) shall have effect so far as it relates to operations carried on at any time on or after the restructuring date with the substitution for subsection (3) (meaning of "lawful coal-mining operations") of the following subsection, that is to say--

" (3) In subsection (1) above "lawful coal-mining operations" means any coal-mining operations to which section 25 of the Coal Industry Act 1994 applies (including operations carried on in contravention of subsection (1) of that section and those that are actionable apart from this Act) which--

(a) are carried on by a person who is for the time being a licensed operator within the meaning of that Act; or

(b) are carried on by a person who has been such a licensed operator and in continuation of operations begun by that person before he ceased to be such an operator;

but for the purposes of this subsection any operations carried on or begun by any person as a person who is for the time being authorised to carry on coal-mining operations on behalf of a person who is or has been a licensed operator shall be treated as carried on or begun by the latter person, whether or not the authorisation extends to the operations in question. "

(2) Sections 34 and 35 of the 1991 Act (which make provision with respect to the construction of any building, structure or works on land from which the Corporation is entitled to withdraw support) shall cease to have effect on the restructuring date.

43 Persons responsible for subsidence

(1) Except where Schedule 6 to this Act otherwise provides, the 1991 Act and the regulations under that Act which are in force immediately before the restructuring date shall have effect on and after that date with the substitution, in relation to any subsidence damage, for references to the Corporation of references to the person who is the responsible person in relation to that damage.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 44 below, the responsible person, in relation to any subsidence damage, shall for the purposes of this Part be--

(a) the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land which has been damaged or, as the case may be, the damaged part of it; or

(b) in the case of damage to other property, the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land where that property or, as the case may be, the damaged part of it was situated at the time of the damage.

(3) For the purposes of this Part, the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land shall be--

(a) where that land is for the time being within the area of responsibility of any person as the holder of a licence under Part II of this Act, that person; and

(b) in any other case, the Authority.

(4) For the purposes of this Part a person is the responsible person in relation to any subsidence damage whether that damage was caused or occurred before or after the time when that person became the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land in question.

(5) Accordingly, but subject to section 44 below, where, by virtue of any designation or of any transfer of rights and obligations or of the operation of any such provision as is mentioned in section 37(3) above, any person ("the successor") becomes the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land--

(a) all the rights and liabilities under the 1991 Act, or under any regulations made under that Act or this Part, of the successor's predecessor as the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting that land ("the predecessor") shall be transferred, by virtue only of his becoming the person with responsibility, to the successor; and

(b) anything which--

(i) has been done under or for any of the purposes of the 1991 Act or those regulations by or in relation to the predecessor, or

(ii) is deemed to have been so done,

shall be deemed, so far as necessary for that purpose and for the purposes of the continuation by or against the successor of any proceedings under or for the purposes of that Act or those regulations, to have been done by or in relation to the successor.

(6) It shall be the duty of a person who becomes as mentioned in subsection (5) above the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land to take all reasonable steps to secure that the change in the person with that responsibility does not result in any undue delay in the performance of any obligations falling by virtue of that change to be performed by that person.

(7) Subsections (5) and (6) above shall have effect in relation to the coming into force of subsection (1) above on the restructuring date as they have effect in relation to any other transfer of rights and obligations but as if the references to the predecessor were references to the Corporation.

(8) Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect for making provision, in addition to or instead of that made by subsection (1) above, for or in connection with the modification of references to the Corporation in the 1991 Act.

44 Cases where there is more than one responsible person

(1) Where, in the case of any subsidence damage, the area of responsibility of any person as holder of a licence under Part II of this Act includes only part of the damaged land or, as the case may be, of the land where the damaged property was situated, then for the purposes of this Part--

(a) that person, together with--

(i) every other person within whose area of responsibility any part of that land is situated, and

(ii) if any part of that land is not situated within the area of responsibility of any person, the Authority,

shall be the responsible persons in relation to that damage; and

(b) the obligations and liabilities by virtue of section 43 above of the responsible person shall be obligations and liabilities imposed jointly and severally on the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) above.

(2) Subsection (5) of section 43 above shall have effect as modified by subsection (3) below in any case where--

(a) a person ceases at any time to be the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land but continues, after that time, to be the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting other land; and

(b) the effect of subsection (1) above in relation to the circumstances specified in paragraph (a) above is that both the predecessor and the successor are responsible persons in relation to any subsidence damage to which any of the predecessor's rights or liabilities relate.

(3) In any case where, by virtue of subsection (2) above, this subsection has effect--

(a) the rights and liabilities of the predecessor, so far as they relate to subsidence damage in relation to which the predecessor continues to be a responsible person, shall continue to be vested in the predecessor, as well as being vested in the successor; and

(b) subsection (5) of section 43 above shall not authorise the continuation against the successor of any proceedings under or for the purposes of the 1991 Act which--

(i) have been begun, or are deemed to have been begun, against the predecessor; and

(ii) may be continued against the predecessor by virtue of paragraph (a) above;

but paragraph (b) above shall be without prejudice to any rules of court in accordance with which the successor may be joined as a party to any proceedings in respect of any such rights or liabilities as are mentioned in paragraph (a) above.

(4) In subsection (1) above the reference to the damaged land and to the damaged property are references, where only part of the land or property has been damaged, to the damaged part of that land or property.

45 Information to be provided by responsible persons

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision imposing requirements on a person with responsibility for subsidence affecting any land--

(a) to furnish information, on request, to the owner or occupier of any part of that land;

(b) to furnish information to the Authority about any such request for information relating to, or to the possibility of, subsidence damage as is made otherwise than by the owner or occupier of any part of that land;

(c) to notify a person who has made a request to which regulations made by virtue of paragraph (b) above apply of its being forwarded to the Authority in pursuance of those regulations; and

(d) to ensure that such forms and documents as may be described in the regulations accompany information furnished under the regulations.

(2) Regulations under this section may contain such provision as the Secretary of State thinks fit with respect to--

(a) the descriptions of information to which any request made for the purposes of any such regulations is to be confined; and

(b) the particulars to be included in, or omitted from, information furnished in accordance with any such regulations.

(3) In this section the reference to an owner, in relation to any land, shall be construed in accordance with section 52(1) of the 1991 Act (interpretation); and section 50 of the 1991 Act (regulations and orders) shall apply in relation to the power to make regulations under this section as it applies in relation to any power of the Secretary of State to make regulations under that Act.

(4) In subsection (5)(c) of section 46 of the 1991 Act and subsection (4)(c) of section 47 of that Act (regulations with respect to information which is to accompany notices), for "which is", in each case, there shall be substituted ", forms and documents which are".

46 The subsidence adviser

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such provision as he considers necessary or expedient--

(a) for the appointment of an independent person ("the subsidence adviser") to carry out, in prescribed cases, the functions specified in subsection (2) below; and

(b) for regulating and facilitating the carrying out of those functions by the subsidence adviser.

(2) The functions referred to in subsection (1) above are--

(a) the provision of advice and assistance to persons (other than those with responsibility for subsidence affecting land) in connection with the making of complaints, or the taking of any other steps, in relation to any matter arising under the 1991 Act or any question falling within section 47(1) below;

(b) the making to persons with responsibility for subsidence affecting land of recommendations as to the manner in which they conduct themselves where such a matter has arisen or any such question falls to be determined;

(c) the making of reports dealing generally with the way in which persons with responsibility for subsidence affecting land conduct themselves where such matters arise or such questions fall to be determined; and

(d) the making of reports about the carrying out by the subsidence adviser of his functions, whether in particular cases or generally.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may contain provision which, in prescribed cases, requires--

(a) the publication by the subsidence adviser of his recommendations and reports; and

(b) the giving, to persons concerned with any matter being handled by the subsidence adviser, of opportunities for making representations and objections.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Authority to furnish the subsidence adviser with all such information and assistance as he may reasonably require in respect of any case in which the Authority is the person with responsibility for subsidence affecting the land in question.

(5) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for--

(a) expenses incurred by the subsidence adviser in the carrying out of his functions, and

(b) the expense of making payments to or in respect of him by way of remuneration or otherwise,

to be met, in whole or in part, by some or all of the persons with responsibility for subsidence affecting land or in such other manner as may be prescribed.

(6) The provision that may be contained in regulations under this section shall include--

(a) provision for any matter to which the regulations relate to be determined by the Authority in such manner, and by reference to such factors, as may be described in the regulations; and

(b) provision, where any expenses are to be met by the Authority in accordance with the regulations, for amounts in respect of those expenses to be recoverable by the Authority from other persons with responsibility for subsidence affecting land.

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