(1)The Secretary of State may give financial assistance to a person for use in respect of activities that are intended to benefit the armed forces community or any part of that community (whether or not they might also benefit other persons).
(2)“The armed forces community” means—
(a)members or former members of the regular or reserve forces,
(b)partners, former partners and children of persons within paragraph (a), and
(c)such other persons connected with persons within paragraph (a) as the Secretary of State considers appropriate,
whether in the British Islands or elsewhere.
(3)Financial assistance may only be given under subsection (1)—
(a)to a public authority, in respect of activities that are carried out in the exercise of functions of the authority that are functions of a public nature;
(b)to a person other than a public authority, in respect of activities that are carried out for a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose.
(4)Financial assistance under subsection (1) may be given in any form and may, in particular, be given by way of—
(a)grants,
(b)loans,
(c)guarantees, or
(d)incurring expenditure for the benefit of the authority or other person assisted.
(5)Financial assistance under subsection (1) may be given subject to conditions, including conditions as to—
(a)the purposes for which the assistance may be used;
(b)circumstances in which the assistance is to be repaid to the Secretary of State, and the way in which that is to be done;
(c)the making of reports to the Secretary of State regarding the uses to which the assistance has been put;
(d)the keeping, and making available for inspection, of accounts and other records;
(e)the carrying out of examinations by the Comptroller and Auditor General into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the assistance has been used.
(6)In this section—
(a)“public authority” means a person with functions of a public nature;
(b)references to a public authority include a public authority in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.