Local Government Act, 1991

Power to amend, repeal, etc., enactments and to dispense with certain controls affecting local authorities.

52.—(1) Where—

(a) the performance of a function by a local authority or an officer of a local authority is, by any enactment, made subject—

(i) to notification of or consultation with, or

(ii) to the approval or consent of or confirmation by,

the Minister or to compliance with any other requirement that is of a similar kind and confers a function on the Minister that is similar to those conferred on him by the requirements specified in paragraphs (i) and (ii),

and

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the requirement has become unnecessary and that the function would be properly performed without compliance with the requirement,

he may, by regulations, provide that the function may be performed in all cases or in specified cases without compliance with the requirement but subject to compliance with such conditions (if any) as may be specified and, whenever regulations so providing are in force, the function concerned may be performed without compliance with the requirement concerned but in accordance with the provisions of the regulations.

(2) Where it appears to the Minister—

(a) to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of remedying an inconsistency between a provision of an enactment and this Act, or

(b) to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling such a provision to have effect in conformity with this Act,

the Minister may in relation to such a provision by regulations provide for—

(i) its application with any modification or adaptation specified in the regulations,

(ii) its amendment otherwise or its repeal, revocation or termination.

(3) If in any respect any difficulty arises in bringing any provision of this Act into operation or in relation to the operation of any such provision, the Minister may by regulations do anything which appears to him to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing that difficulty, for bringing that provision into operation or for securing or facilitating its operation and any such regulations may modify any provision of this Act or any other enactment so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes aforesaid but no regulations shall be made under this subsection in relation to a provision of this Act after the expiration of 2 years from the commencement of that provision.