Government Trading Act 1990 (c. 30)

(1) For sections 1 and 2 of the M1 Government Trading Funds Act 1973 (establishment of funds and finance) there is substituted— (1) If it appears to any Minister of the Crown— (a) that any operations of a department of the government for which he is responsible are suitable to be financed by means of a fund established under this Act (referred to in this Act as a “trading fund”) and, in particular, to be so managed that the revenue of the fund would consist principally of receipts in respect of goods or services provided in the course of the operations in question, and (b) that the financing of the operations in question by means of a trading fund would be in the interests of the improved efficiency and effectiveness of the management of those operations, he may by order establish a trading fund for the operations in question as from a day appointed by the order. (2) The power to make an order under this section is exercisable only with Treasury concurrence. (3) Where a Minister of the Crown proposes to make an order in respect of any operations (not being operations then financed by means of a trading fund) and considers that— (a) the operations in question consist substantially in the provision of goods or services in the United Kingdom otherwise than to departments of the government, and (b) an opportunity to make representations to him should be given, he shall take such steps as appear to him to be appropriate to give such an opportunity to such persons as appear to him to be appropriate. (4) An order establishing a trading fund shall designate either— (a) the National Loans Fund, or (b) the responsible Minister, as the source of issues to the fund by way of loan (referred to in this Act as the “ authorised lender ”). (5) Issues to the fund by way of loan by the responsible Minister shall be made out of money provided by Parliament, and the right to repayment of such issues ranks as an asset of the Consolidated Fund. (6) An order establishing a trading fund for operations carried on by a person appointed in pursuance of any enactment may provide— (a) for the fund to be under the control and management of that person instead of the responsible Minister and, accordingly, (b) for this Act to have effect as if— (i) the reference to the responsible Minister in section 3(1) of this Act and the first reference to him in section 4(1), and (ii) such other references in this Act to the responsible Minister as may be specified in the order, where they are references to him in the exercise of his function of controlling or managing the fund, were references to that person. (7) In this Act— “ the funded operations ”, in relation to a trading fund, means the operations for which the fund is established, “ liabilities ”, in relation to a trading fund, does not include liabilities in respect of any amount issued to the fund under section 2B of this Act, “ Minister of the Crown ” means the holder of an office in Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, and includes the Treasury, “ order ” except in section 2B(8) of this Act means an order under this section, “ originating debt ”, in relation to a trading fund, means any amount remaining after any repayment or reduction of the amount which, by virtue of section 2(3) and (4) of this Act, is the originating debt of the fund, and “ the responsible Minister ”, in relation to any operations of a department of the government, means the Minister of the Crown responsible for that department. (8) References in this Act to the provision of services include— (a) the provision of any authority required for carrying on any activity or exercising any right, and (b) the performance of any other functions in connection with the regulation of any activity or right. (9) References in this Act to a Minister of the Crown include Ministers acting jointly, but an order may not designate more than one Minister as the authorised lender.

(1) An order providing for any assets and liabilities to be appropriated as assets and liabilities of a trading fund may provide for any part of the amount by which the values of the assets exceed the amounts of the liabilities to be treated as public dividend capital of the fund. (2) Where the responsible Minister— (a) repays out of a trading fund before the due date any amount outstanding in respect of the principal of any sums issued to the fund by the authorised lender by way of loan, or (b) pays any amount standing in the reserves of a trading fund into the Consolidated Fund, he may with Treasury concurrence issue out of money provided by Parliament a corresponding amount to the fund as public dividend capital. (3) Where any sum is issued to a trading fund under section 2B of this Act, the responsible Minister may with Treasury concurrence pay out of the fund into the Consolidated Fund a corresponding sum in reduction or extinguishment of any public dividend capital. (4) Public dividend capital ranks as an asset of the Consolidated Fund. (5) For any financial year in which a trading fund has public dividend capital, there shall be paid out of the fund into the Consolidated Fund such sums (if any) by way of return on that capital and its reserves as the responsible Minister may determine, with Treasury concurrence, having regard to any balance in the fund at the end of that year and the amount of the balance which appears to the responsible Minister and the Treasury to be in the nature of distributable profit.