Page:Broadcasting Act 19810068 en.pdf/7

Rh (6) Any order under subsection (5) shall be made by statutory instrument; but no such order shall be made unless a draft of it has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.

Powers of authority

3.—(1) The Authority shall (subject to the provisions of Powers of this Act) have power to do all such things as are in their opinion necessary for or conducive to the proper discharge of their function under section 2(1) and, in particular, they shall for the purpose of discharging that function have power—

(a) to establish, install and use stations for wireless telegraphy;

(b) to arrange for the provision and equipment of, or (if need be) themselves to provide and equip, studios and other premises for television and sound broadcasting purposes;

(c) by arrangements made for the purpose with British Telecommunications and persons carrying on broadcast relay stations, to provide for the distribution from broadcast relay stations of programmes broadcast by the Authority.

(2) Notwithstanding section 2(3) the Authority may—

(a) arrange for the provision of parts of programmes otherwise than by programme contractors for the purpose of securing the inclusion in the programmes broadcast by the Authority of items of particular classes which in their opinion are necessary for securing a proper balance in the subject-matter of the programmes and cannot, or cannot as suitably, be provided by programme contractors;

(b) apart from the provision of such items, arrange for the provision (by programme contractors or otherwise) of, or (if need be) themselves provide, programmes or parts of programmes so far as may be necessary—

(i) by reason of any temporary lack of suitable persons able and willing to become or continue as programme contractors on suitable terms and to perform their obligations as such, or

(ii) by reason of any interval between the expiration or termination of one contract with a programme contractor and the commencement of another contract with that or another programme contractor; and