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United Kingdom Statutory Instruments


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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2006 No. 225

AGRICULTURE, ENGLAND

The Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2006

  Made 1st February 2006 
  Laid before Parliament 6th February 2006 
  Coming into force 1st March 2006 

The Secretary of State, being designated[1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[2] in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by that section[3], makes the following Regulations:

Title, commencement and application
     1. These Regulations may be cited as the Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2006, come into force on 1st March 2006, and apply only in relation to holdings situated wholly or partly in England.

Interpretation
    
2. —(1) In these Regulations—

    (2) Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date on which these Regulations are made.

    (3) A reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is capable of being subsequently reproduced.

Payment of hill farm allowance
     3. —(1) The Secretary of State shall, subject to regulation 5, pay hill farm allowance in respect of 2006 to any claimant who is eligible under regulation 4.

    (2) Hill farm allowance is payable to a claimant in respect of eligible forage area not exceeding 700 hectares.

Eligibility for hill farm allowance
    
4. —(1) Subject to Article 14(2) (third indent) and Article 14(3) of Council Regulation 1257/1999 a claimant is eligible for hill farm allowance provided—

    (2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(i) are—

    (3) The Secretary of State may determine that a notional livestock density of less than 0.15 is sufficient for the purposes of paragraph (1) if she is reasonably satisfied that it is appropriate to do so in all the circumstances of the case, including any obligation of the claimant as to the number of animals that may be kept on the land comprising the eligible forage area.

    (4) In order to enable the Secretary of State to consider whether to exercise her discretion under paragraph (3), the claimant shall provide the Secretary of State with such information as she reasonably requires.

Condition as to continued use of land for the purposes of agriculture
    
5. Hill farm allowance shall not be paid to a claimant unless—

Release from undertaking
    
6. A claimant is not in breach of the undertaking referred to in regulation 5—

Amount of payment
    
7. —(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and regulation 8, payment of hill farm allowance in respect of the descriptions of land specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 shall be made—

    (2) The amount of the payment shall be increased by 10 per cent if the claimant satisfies any one of the following criteria, and by 20 per cent if he satisfies any two or more such criteria—

    (3) If the claimant submitted or amended his single payment scheme application after 16th May 2005, the amount of the payment shall be reduced in accordance with Article 21 of Commission Regulation 796/2004 as if that Article applied in relation to hill farm allowance.

    (4) In sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (2), "other financial support" does not include financial support from the single payment scheme.

Deductions from relevant forage area
    
8. In relation to any claimant who has an individual reference quantity of milk available to him, the deductions specified in Schedule 3 apply to the relevant forage area for the purposes of determining the qualifying forage area.

Holdings situated partly outside England
    
9. The provisions of Schedule 4 apply in relation to holdings situated partly outside England.

Amendment of the England Rural Development Programme (Enforcement) Regulations 2000
    
10. In Part II of the Schedule to the England Rural Development Programme (Enforcement) Regulations 2000[18], at the end, add "The Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2006".


Jim Knight
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

1st February 2006



SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 2(1)


Notional Livestock Density


Notional livestock density shall be calculated as follows—

NLD = (A – B) ÷ C
where—



SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 7(1)


Payment Rates Per Hectare


Column 1 Column 2
     1. Severely disadvantaged land (other than moorland or common land)

£30.82
     2. Disadvantaged land (other than moorland or common land)

£16.66
     3. Moorland or common land

£11.66



SCHEDULE 3
Regulation 8


Deductions from Relevant Forage Area


     1. If, on 31st March 2005, a claimant had available to him an individual reference quantity of milk, the relevant forage area shall, subject to paragraph 5 of Schedule 4, be subject to the deductions specified in paragraph 4 of this Schedule.

     2. The deductions shall be calculated by reference to the number of livestock units deemed to constitute the dairy herd kept by the claimant on land in England ("the notional dairy herd"), determined in accordance with paragraph 3.

     3. The notional dairy herd shall be calculated as follows—

TLU = IRQ ÷ 5730
where—

     4. The deductions to relevant forage area shall be made as follows—



SCHEDULE 4
Regulation 9


Holdings situated partly outside England


Agency arrangements
     1. In relation to holdings situated partly in Scotland, the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers may, with the agreement of the other, arrange for—

     2. Any such arrangement must be in writing and be signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers and any such arrangement may be subject to such conditions (including conditions as to costs and charges for costs) as may be agreed from time to time.

Set-off
     3. In relation to a holding situated partly outside England, the amount of any sum payable by the Secretary of State by way of hill farm allowance or related less favoured area allowance, whether as principal or on behalf of any other competent authority, may, without prejudice to the amount of any sum payable by the Secretary of State to any other competent authority, be set off against the amount of any sum recoverable by the Secretary of State, whether as principal or on behalf of such competent authority.

Apportionment of livestock units
     4. Where any holding in respect of which a claim has been made is situated partly outside England, the number of livestock units grazed on that part of the holding which is situated in England shall be calculated as follows—

N = TLU × X ÷ Y
where—

Apportionment of individual reference quantity of milk
     5. Where any holding in respect of which a claim has been made is situated partly outside England, the individual reference quantity of milk which shall be treated as available to a claimant in relation to his land in England shall be calculated as follows—

IRQ = TIRQ × X ÷ Y
where—



SCHEDULE 5
Regulation 2(1)


Relevant animals


Breeding cows
     1. —(1) Subject to paragraph 4, a breeding cow is a relevant animal for the purposes of these Regulations if—

    (2) In this paragraph—

    (3) In this paragraph and in paragraph 3, "the relevant period" means a period of six consecutive months, starting on any date between 1st July 2005 and 31st December 2005 inclusive.

     2. —(1) For the purposes of paragraph 1(1)(e), a claimant had economic responsibility for a breeding cow if he—

    (2) In this paragraph, "cattle passport" and "keeper" have the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Cattle Identification Regulations 1998[20].

     3. The condition in paragraph 1(1)(f) continues to be met if—

     4. Where—

the number of heifers which are relevant animals shall be reduced so that no more than 40% , expressed in livestock units, of the claimant's breeding cows which are relevant animals are heifers.

Ewes
     5. A ewe is a relevant animal for the purposes of these Regulations if—



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations implement Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 (O.J. L160, 26.6.1999, p.80) on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations ("the Rural Development Regulation"), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1783/2003 (O.J. No. L270, 21.10.2003, p.70), in so far as the Rural Development Regulation relates to less favoured areas. These Regulations also implement Chapter 9 of the England Rural Development Programme approved by the European Commission (Commission Decision No. C(2000) 3003) under Article 44 of the Rural Development Regulation.

In particular, these Regulations implement Articles 13, 14 and 15 of the Rural Development Regulation (which deal with support for less favoured areas) by defining the conditions of eligibility for hill farm allowance (regulations 3-6) and giving the rates at which it is to be paid (regulation 7 and Schedule 2).

One of the eligibility conditions is that the notional livestock density must be not less than 0.15, unless the Secretary of State exercises her discretion to allow a notional livestock density of less than 0.15 (regulation 4). In previous years, only suckler cows, heifers and ewes which had received suckler cow premium or sheep annual premium in the preceding year counted towards the notional livestock density. As these schemes were replaced in 2005 by the single payment scheme, the eligibility conditions for suckler cows, heifers and ewes are now set out expressly in Schedule 5.

The Regulations apply only in relation to holdings situated wholly or partly in England. Schedule 4 makes provision for holdings situated partly outside England. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 4 enable the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers, in respect of holdings that are situated partly in Scotland, to agree that the Secretary of State's functions under these Regulations be exercised on her behalf by the Scottish Ministers, and to agree that the Scottish Ministers' functions under the regulations which implement the relevant provisions of the Rural Development Regulation in Scotland, be exercised on their behalf by the Secretary of State.

Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 provides for the setting off of sums payable to the Secretary of State, as principal or agent, against hill farm allowance, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, payable by her as principal or agent. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Schedule 4 provide for the apportionment of livestock units and individual reference quantity of milk in relation to the part of the holding situated in England.

These Regulations also amend the England Rural Development Programme (Enforcement) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/3044, amended by S.I. 2001/431) ("the ERDP Regulations") by adding a reference to these Regulations to Part II of the Schedule to the ERDP Regulations. The ERDP Regulations thus apply to these Regulations and, amongst other things, give authorised officers powers of entry to verify compliance, give the Secretary of State power to recover payments in the event of a breach of requirements under the Rural Development Regulation and these Regulations, and create offences of, and stipulate penalties for, making false or misleading statements and obstruction of an authorised officer.

Copies of the England Rural Development Programme, and Commission Decision No. C(2000) 3003 approving it, are available for inspection at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR or on the internet at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as it has no impact on the costs of business.


Notes:

[1] S.I. 1972/1811 and S.I. 1995/751.back

[2] 1972 c.68.back

[3] The power of the Secretary of State to make regulations in relation to matters in or as regards Scotland is preserved by section 57(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46).back

[4] O.J. No. L141, 30.4.2004, p.18, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2184/2005, O.J. No. L347, 30.12.2005, p.61.back

[5] O.J. No. L345, 20.11.2004, p.1, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2184/2005, O.J. No. L347, 30.12.2005, p.61.back

[6] 1965 c.64.back

[7] S.I. 2005/154.back

[8] S.I. 2004/145.back

[9] S.I. 2003/289.back

[10] S.I. 2002/271.back

[11] S.I. 2001/476.back

[12] S.I. 1999/3316.back

[13] S.I. 1996/1500, amended by S.I. 1997/33, 1998/206, 1999/375. S.I. 1996/1500 ceased to apply by virtue of S.I. 1999/3316.back

[14] S.I. 1994/2740, amended by S.I. 1995/100, 1995/1481, 1995/2778 and 1996/27 and revoked by S.I. 1996/1500.back

[15] O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p.80, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2223/2004, O.J. No. L379, 24.12.2004, p.1.back

[16] O.J. No. L270, 21.10.2003, p.1, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2183/2005, O.J. No. L347, 30.12.2005, p.56.back

[17] O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003, O.J. No. L270, 21.10.2003, p.1.back

[18] S.I. 2000/3044, amended by S.I. 2001/431; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.back

[19] S.I. 1998/871, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.back

[20] S.I. 1998/871, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.back

[21] S.I. 2002/2153, amended by S.I. 2003/29, 2003/502, 2003/1728.back

[22] S.I. 2005/3100.back



ISBN 0 11 073998 1


 © Crown copyright 2006

Prepared 9 February 2006


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URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_reg/2006/20060225.html