Commentary on Sections Schedule 11: Postal transfer schemes
492.This Schedule contains provisions for transfer schemes to achieve the objective of a postal administration (see Section 73).
493.The Schedule sets out the content, effect and process for transfer schemes that can be made under section 69(3) where the postal administrator transfers a universal service provider’s undertaking or part of their undertaking to another company or several companies. The transfer may include any of the property, rights or liabilities of the universal service provider. This could include mail operations such as mail centres or delivery offices as well as the transfer of contracts or leases involving vehicles and machinery. It may be the case that all the property etc is transferred to one company (or divided up between several). All transfers are subject to veto or amendment by the Secretary of State.
494.Paragraphs 1 to 3 of Schedule 11 enable a universal service provider (through its postal administrator) to make a scheme or schemes for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities to a new company subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, who in turn must consult OFCOM. The Secretary of State can also modify transfer schemes (paragraph 4).
495.Paragraphs 5 and 6 set out what is covered by property, rights and liabilities and paragraph 7 allows for dividing these so that those relating to the universal postal service could, where appropriate, be split from those for non-universal postal services. It also allows for the creation of new rights and liabilities.
496.Paragraph 8 permits the new company to be treated as having been designated by OFCOM as a universal service provider and provides for the transfer of obligations under regulatory conditions from the old company to the new company.
497.Paragraph 9 permits the transfer of statutory functions, e.g. those relating to the acquisition of land, to a new company or for those functions to be carried out concurrently by the old and the new company.
498.Paragraphs 11 to 18 deal with a number of matters which provide for the smooth transition of property, rights etc from the universal service provider to the new company. These set out for example that the new company may be treated as the same person in law as the old company and references in agreements, instruments etc in relation to the old company can be treated as if these were to the new company. They include (at paragraph 15) a provision that a postal transfer scheme may contain provision for the payment of compensation to third parties if their property, rights, interests or liabilities have been affected by (or as a result of) a postal transfer scheme.
499.Paragraphs 19 and 20 deal with the transfer of employees and paragraph 21 deals with the case where the old company is a foreign company.
500.Paragraph 22 deals with the situation where there are two or more postal transfer schemes making transfers to new companies.