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The Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026

S.I. 2026/258 · Made 11 March 2026

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

MERCHANT SHIPPING

Made 11th March 2026

Coming into force 12th March 2026

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 216(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“the Act”)f1, and with the approval of the Treasury.

In accordance with section 216(3) of the Act, a draft of this Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1995 c. 21.

Contents

  1. 1Citation, commencement and extent
  2. 2Increase of borrowing limit
  3. Signature
  4. Explanatory note

1Citation, commencement and extent

This Order—

(a)

may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026;

(b)

comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made; and

(c)

extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

2Increase of borrowing limit

The limit specified in section 216(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is increased with effect from 12:01 a.m. on 31st March 2026 to £166 million.

Signature

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Simon Lightwood

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

11th March 2026

We approve the making of this Order

Christian Wakeford

Gen Kitchen

Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury

10th March 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Under section 215 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”), general lighthouse authorities may borrow money for certain purposes and subject to obtaining the necessary consents. Under section 216(1) of the 1995 Act, the aggregate amount that may be outstanding in respect of the principal of any sums borrowed is limited to £100 million. This limit was increased to £133 million on the 31st December 2024 by the Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2024 (S.I. 2024/1274).

This Order increases that limit by a further £33 million, i.e. to £166 million, with effect from 31st March 2026, in accordance with section 216(2) of the 1995 Act.

No impact assessment has been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

An Explanatory Memorandum and a de minimis assessment have been prepared and are published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.