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SCOTTISH STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2007 No. 439

AGRICULTURE

The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2007

  Made 27th September 2007 
  Laid before the Scottish Parliament 27th September 2007 
  Coming into force 28th September 2007 


CONTENTS

1. Citation, commencement and application
2. Interpretation
3. Applications for payment of less favoured area support
4. Eligibility for payment of less favoured area support
5. Payment of less favoured area support
6. Eligible land
7. Transfer of a holding
8. Amount of less favoured area support
9. Determination of Payable Area
10. Stocking density outwith maximum and minimum parameters
11. Enterprise mix
12. Rate of Payment of less favoured area support
13. Minimum payment
14. Powers of authorised persons
15. Assistance to authorised persons
16. Withholding or recovery of less favoured area support
17. Rate of interest
18. Cross-border holdings
19. Offences
20. Penalties
21. Time limit for prosecutions
22. Offences by bodies corporate
23. Appeal against decision as to eligibility of holding
24. Review
25. Amendment of the Agricultural Subsidies (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2004
26. Revocation and savings provisions

  SCHEDULE 1 — LAND USE CODES ELIGIBLE FOR LESS FAVOURED AREA SUPPORT SCHEME

  SCHEDULE 2  

  SCHEDULE 3 — RATES OF PAYMENT FOR LESS FAVOURED AREA SUPPORT
 PART I — RATES DISADVANTAGED LAND
 PART II — LESS DISADVANTAGED LAND

  SCHEDULE 4 — FRAGILITY CATEGORIES

  SCHEDULE 5 — AGENCY ARRANGEMENTS AND CROSS BORDER HOLDINGS

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[
1] and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation, commencement and application
     1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2007 and come into force on 28th September 2007.

    (2) These Regulations apply to holdings in respect of which the Scottish Ministers are the competent authority, in accordance with the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Integrated Administration and Control System) Regulations 2005[
2].

Interpretation
     2. —(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

    (2) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or paragraph or to a Schedule is a reference to the regulation or paragraph of the regulation or the Schedule so numbered in these Regulations.

    (3) Any reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication, as defined in section 15 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000[17], which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.

Applications for payment of less favoured area support
     3. —(1) An application for less favoured area support must be in such form and contain such particulars relating to that application as the Scottish Ministers may reasonably require.

    (2) An applicant may submit the application for less favoured area support in respect of the Scheme Year in question to the Scottish Ministers on or before a date each year which the Scottish Ministers determine from time to time.

    (3) If an applicant submits an application for less favoured area support in respect of the relevant Scheme Year later than the date determined by the Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Ministers must reduce, or as the case may be exclude the applicant from, payment of less favoured area support in accordance with Article 21 of Commission Regulation 796/2004.

Eligibility for payment of less favoured area support
    
4. —(1) Payment of less favoured area support may be made to an applicant in respect of a Scheme Year only if–

    (2) An applicant may be released from the undertaking referred to in paragraph (1)(a)–

    (3) In the event that the applicant has ceased farming and the applicant's successor does not agree to be bound by the undertaking referred to in paragraph (1), the Scottish Ministers may, if satisfied that the applicant has, at the time of the cessation of farming, honoured a significant proportion of the undertaking, release the applicant from that undertaking.

Payment of less favoured area support
    
5. The Scottish Ministers may pay, on such occasions as they consider fit, in respect of the Scheme Year in question less favoured area support to an applicant who, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, actively farms eligible land which is not less than 3 hectares.

Eligible land
    
6. —(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), eligible land comprises the number of hectares of forage area in a less favoured area with a less favoured area support grazing category value attributed to it by 31st December 2006, as declared by the applicant in a single application submitted by the applicant in accordance with article 11 of Council Regulation 796/2007 to the Scottish Ministers on or before 15th May in the Scheme Year for which the payment is to be made.

    (2) Where an applicant has not received a Scheme 2005 payment and a Scheme 2006 payment of less favoured area support, to be eligible, not less than 3 hectares of the land declared must also have been declared in a single application submitted to the Scottish Ministers on or before 15th May 2005, by an applicant under the 2006 Scheme who received a Scheme 2006 payment in respect of the land in question.

    (3) Only land which has been declared in a single application in the Scheme Year to which the payment relates as having one of the land use codes in Schedule 1 qualifies as eligible land.

    (4) Eligible land includes land in respect of which the applicant has a right of use pursuant to arrangements such as short term lets, seasonal grazing and common grazing.

    (5) Subject to paragraph (6) where the Scottish Ministers determined for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment the number of eligible forage hectares in accordance with regulation 6(4) of the 2005 Regulations, in respect of land also declared in accordance with paragraph (1), the area deemed ineligible under the 2005 Regulations shall also be deducted from the area of eligible land determined in accordance with paragraph (1).

    (6) If the ineligible area referred to in paragraph (5) related to a holding for the purposes of the 2005 Regulations which was subsequently sub-divided and is declared in accordance with paragraph (1) by more than one applicant, the Scottish Ministers shall determine the share of the ineligible area to be deducted from the eligible hectares of each applicant who did not receive a Scheme 2006 payment.

Transfer of a holding
    
7. —(1) In determining eligible land under regulation 6(1), the decision of the Scottish Ministers shall be in accordance with Article 74 of Commission Regulation 796/2004.

    (2) For the purpose of paragraph 6 of Article 74 of Commission Regulation 796/2004, the Scottish Ministers must grant less favoured area support to the transferor of a holding, if the transferor–

Amount of less favoured area support
    
8. —(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and regulation 13 (minimum payment), the amount of less favoured area support is calculated in accordance with the following formula:–

LFAS =P × R
Where–

    (2) Where an applicant has eligible land in more than one grazing category (as determined for the purposes of regulation 9) then–

Determination of Payable Area
    
9. —(1) Subject to regulation 10, the payable area is the total of the areas of eligible land of the applicant in each grazing category, adjusted in accordance with the following formula:–

P =E × V
Where–

    (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1) the hectare value is the entry in the third column of Schedule 2 corresponding to the grazing category in the second column of that Schedule.

    (3) For the purposes of this regulation the grazing category of each field or shared grazing of the applicant is the entry in the second column of Schedule 2 corresponding to the entry in the first column of that Schedule relating to the stocking density of the applicant who declared the field or shared grazing in an area aid application[
18] submitted in 2001 on or before 15th May 2001.

    (4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), the stocking density for each field or shared grazing is either–

Stocking density outwith maximum and minimum parameters
     10. —(1) Subject to paragraphs (4), (5) and (6), where the applicant was also the applicant for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment, the following provisions of this regulation apply where the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4) of and Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations for the purposes of the 2006 Scheme payment, was either less than the minimum stocking density or greater than the maximum stocking density.

    (2) Where the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4) of and Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment is less than the minimum stocking density, the eligible land for the purposes of the calculation at regulation 9(1) is the number of hectares calculated in accordance with the following formula:–

E1 =(F × S) ÷ M
Where–

    (3) Where the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4) of and Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment is greater than the maximum stocking density, the eligible land for the purposes of the calculation at regulation 9(1) is the number of hectares calculated in accordance with the following formula:–

E2 =(F × M) ÷ S
Where–

    (4) Where–

the Scottish Ministers must apply that reduction in eligible land proportionately to the total of the eligible land in each grazing category for the purpose of the calculation in regulation 9(1).

    (5) Where an applicant has not received a Scheme 2005 payment and a Scheme 2006 payment of less favoured area support, the stocking density for the purposes of the formulae at paragraphs (2) and (3) is the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4) of and Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations, for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment of the person who was the applicant in respect of the land in question, under the 2005 Regulations.

    (6) Where an applicant received a Scheme 2005 payment but did not receive a Scheme 2006 payment, the stocking density for the purposes of the formulae at paragraphs (2) and (3) is the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 10(4) of and Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to the 2005 Regulations, for the purposes of the Scheme 2005 payment of the applicant.

    (7) Where the stocking density for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment of either–

was less than the minimum stocking density, due to the culling of the stock on the land in question in the context of the control of an outbreak of an epizootic disease during or prior to 2004, the applicant may request that Scottish Ministers make a decision determining the stocking density to be used for the purposes of the formulae at paragraph (2).

Enterprise mix
    
11. —(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), where one of the hectare multipliers contained in the second column of Schedule 6 to the 2005 Regulations, under regulation 11 of those Regulations, applied to the Scheme 2006 payment of the applicant, the payable area calculated in accordance with regulation 9 is adjusted in accordance with the following formula:–

P1 =P2 × Z
Where–

    (2) Where an applicant has not received a Scheme 2005 payment and a Scheme 2006 payment of less favoured area support, the hectare multiplier for the purposes of the formulae at paragraph (1) is the hectare multiplier contained the second column of Schedule 6 to the 2005 Regulations, under regulation 11 of those Regulations, which applied for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment of the person who was the applicant in respect of the land in question, under the 2005 Regulations.

    (3) Where an applicant received a Scheme 2005 payment, but did not receive a Scheme 2006 payment, the hectare multiplier for the purposes of the formulae at paragraph (1) is the multiplier contained in the second column of Schedule 2 to the 2004 Regulations, under regulation 11 of those Regulations, which applied for the purposes of the Scheme 2005 payment of the applicant.

    (4) Where the hectare multiplier for the purposes of the Scheme 2006 payment of either–

was unrepresentative of the usual enterprise mix of the applicant, due to the culling of stock on the land in question in the context of the control of an outbreak of an epizootic disease during or prior to 2004, the applicant may request that Scottish Ministers make a decision determining the hectare multiplier contained in second column of Schedule 6 to the 2005 Regulations to be used for the purposes of the formula at paragraph (1).

Rate of Payment of less favoured area support
    
12. —(1) For the purposes of regulation 8, the rate of payment of less favoured area support is determined in accordance with this regulation.

    (2) Where, for the purposes of regulation 9, the grazing category of land, as specified in Schedule 2, is A or B, the rate of payment is the rate per hectare of the payable area set out in the entry in the second column in Part I (More Disadvantaged Land) of Schedule 3 corresponding to the fragility category in the first column of that Part of that Schedule applicable to the applicant in terms of paragraph (4).

    (3) Where, for the purposes of regulation 9, the grazing category of land, as specified in Schedule 2, is C or D, the rate of payment is the rate per hectare of the payable area set out in the entry in the second column in Part II (Less Disadvantaged Land) of Schedule 3 corresponding to the fragility category in the first column of that Part of that Schedule applicable to the applicant in terms of paragraph (4).

    (4) For the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3), the fragility category applicable to the applicant is determined according to the fragility category of the parish in which the main farm of the applicant lies as set out in Schedule 4.

    (5) For the purpose of paragraph (4), the main farm of the applicant is the farm identified as the main farm in the application for less favoured area support submitted by the applicant in accordance with regulation 3.

Minimum payment
    
13. The amount of less favoured area support paid by the Scottish Ministers under these Regulations must not be less than £385–

Powers of authorised persons
    
14. —(1) An authorised person may, at all reasonable hours and on producing if so required a duly authenticated document showing the authority of that person, exercise the powers specified in this regulation for the purposes of–

and in doing so may be accompanied by a person assigned to assist the authorised person for those purposes.

    (2) An authorised person may enter any land or premises (other than dwelling houses not being used in connection with these Regulations).

    (3) An authorised person who has entered any land or premises by virtue of this regulation may–

    (4) An authorised person may require, where any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with any such records mentioned in paragraph (3)(c), wherever situated, records which are kept by means of such computer or associated apparatus or material to be produced in a visible and legible form in which they may be taken away.

Assistance to authorised persons
    
15. An applicant, any employee or agent of an applicant or any person having, or appearing to have, charge of animals on the land must give to an authorised person such assistance as the authorised person may reasonably request so as to enable that person to exercise any power conferred by regulation 14.

Withholding or recovery of less favoured area support
    
16. The Scottish Ministers may withhold or recover the whole or any part of any payment of less favoured area support payable or paid to an applicant in any of the following circumstances:–

Rate of interest
    
17. For the purpose of Article 73 of Commission Regulation 796/2004, interest shall be charged thereon at the rate of one percentage point above the sterling three month London Interbank Offered Rate on a day-to-day basis for the period specified in that Article.

Cross-border holdings
    
18. Schedule 5 applies to agency arrangements and to cross-border holdings.

Offences
    
19. —(1) Any person who, for the purposes of obtaining for the benefit of that or any other person part of, or the whole of, a payment of less favoured area support under these Regulations, knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false in any material particular, is guilty of an offence.

    (2) Any person who intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or a person assisting that authorised person in accordance with regulation 15) in the exercise of the powers conferred by regulation 14 is guilty of an offence.

    (3) Any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a requirement made under regulation 14 or request under regulation 15 is guilty of an offence.

Penalties
    
20. —(1) A person guilty of an offence under regulation 19(1) or (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

    (2) A person guilty of an offence under regulation 19(3) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Time limit for prosecutions
    
21. —(1) Summary proceedings for an offence under regulation 19 may be commenced within the period of 12 months from the date on which the offence was committed.

    (2) Subsection (3) of section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995[
19] (date of commencement of proceedings) applies for the purposes of this regulation as it does for the purposes of that section.

Offences by bodies corporate
     22. —(1) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate or a partnership and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity (or, in the case of a partnership, a partner or any person who was purporting to act as such), that person as well as the body corporate or the partnership, as the case may be, is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

    (2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) applies in relation to the acts or defaults of a member in connection with the member's management functions as if that member were a director of the body corporate.

Appeal against decision as to eligibility of holding
    
23. —(1) An applicant may, no later than 60 days following the date of intimation of the Scottish Ministers' decision as to the eligibility of the holding under regulation 6(1), make an application in writing to the Scottish Ministers to have that decision reviewed by persons appointed by the Scottish Ministers for that purpose.

    (2) An application under this regulation is to be treated as made if it is received by the Scottish Ministers.

    (3) The application must be accompanied by such information as the persons appointed consider necessary.

    (4) Such persons appointed under paragraph (1) must review the decision and notify their determination to the Scottish Ministers, and by recorded delivery mail to the applicant, within 10 days of reaching that determination.

    (5) Subject to regulation 24, the determination of such persons appointed is binding on the Scottish Ministers.

    (6) The Scottish Ministers may make such payment, by way of fee or reimbursement of expenses, to any such persons appointed under paragraph (1), as appears to them to be appropriate.

Review
    
24. —(1) An applicant may apply to the Scottish Ministers in writing for review of the determination referred to in regulation 23(4).

    (2) The applicant must apply to the Scottish Ministers for review within 60 days of the date of the determination referred to in regulation 23(4).

    (3) On an application for a review under this regulation, the Scottish Ministers must refer the matter to a person appointed by the Chairman of the Scottish Branch of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

    (4) The person appointed for the purpose of this regulation reviews the determination and may–

    (5) The person appointed to review the determination makes a decision confirming or refusing that determination, and intimates that decision to the Scottish Ministers and to the applicant in writing.

    (6) The person appointed is entitled to require the reasonable costs of the review to be paid by such party as that person may direct, and the person appointed determines the amount of such costs.

Amendment of the Agricultural Subsidies (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2004
    
25. —(1) The Agricultural Subsidies (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2004[20] are amended in accordance with this regulation.

    (2) In regulation 3 (Application in relation to IACS matters) for "(ga)" substitute "(g)".

    (3) In regulation 4 (decisions amenable to review and appeal), for paragraphs (g) and (ga) substitute–

Revocation and savings provisions
     26. —(1) Subject to the savings referred to in paragraph (2), the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2005[21], the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005[22], the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2005[23] and the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006[24] are revoked.

    (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in respect of a Scheme 2005 payment or a Scheme 2006 payment, within the meaning of the 2005 Regulations, the 2005 Regulations shall continue to have effect as if those Regulations had not been revoked.


RICHARD LOCHHEAD
A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew's House, Edinburgh
27th September 2007



SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 6(3)


LAND USE CODES ELIGIBLE FOR LESS FAVOURED AREA SUPPORT SCHEME


CROPS CODE
Other crops for stock feed OCS
Grass over 5 years PGRS
Rape for stock feed RAST
Rough Grazing RGR
Grass under 5 years TGRS
Turnips, swedes for stock feed TSWS
Open woodland (grazed) WDG
Arable silage for stock feed CMIX
Agri-environment areas under the Organic Aid Scheme, the Rural Stewardship Scheme, Environmentally Sensitive Areas, the Habitats Scheme or the Countryside Premium Scheme AGRI



SCHEDULE 2
Regulations 9(2) and 12


GRAZING CATEGORY: HECTARE VALUES


STOCKING DENSITY GRAZING CATEGORY HECTARE VALUE
Up to and including 0.19 LU/ha A 0.167
0.2 to 0.39 LU/ha B 0.333
0.4 to 0.59 LU/ha C 0.667
0.6 or more LU/ha D 0.8



SCHEDULE 3
Regulation 12


RATES OF PAYMENT FOR LESS FAVOURED AREA SUPPORT




PART I

MORE DISADVANTAGED LAND

FRAGILITY CATEGORY RATE
Very Fragile (Islands) £51.70
Fragile (Mainland) £45.00
Standard £37.80



PART II

LESS DISADVANTAGED LAND

FRAGILITY CATEGORY RATE
Very Fragile (Islands) £45.65
Fragile (Mainland) £39.50
Standard £32.50



SCHEDULE 4
Regulation 12(4)


FRAGILITY CATEGORIES


FRAGILITY MARKERS FOR PARISH CODE NUMBERS


Standard

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 28 30 31 32 35 36 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91
92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112
113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133
134 135 136 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193
194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214
215 216 217 218 219 220 221 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255
256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 290 291 292
293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313
314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334
335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355
356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376
377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397
398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418
419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 445 449 451 466 467 468 469
470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490
491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511
512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532
533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553
554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574
575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 598 600 601 606 609 635 636 637 638 639
640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660
661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681
682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702
703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723
724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777
778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798
799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819
820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 853 854
855 856 859 860 861 863 864 865 866 868                                                                                                                         


Fragile
25 26 27 29 33 34 37 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 152 154 155 156
157 158 159 160 161 162 163 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 222 223 224 225 226 227 228
229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287
288 289 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 446 447 448 450 452 453 454 455 586
587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 599 602 603 604 605 607 608 736 737 738
739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 757 758 759 760 761 762 763
764 765 766 767 768 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 852 857 858
862 867                                                                                                                                                                                                                 


Very Fragile
147 148 149 150 151 153 164 165 166 167 168 274 275 276 277 278 279 443 444 456 457
458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622
623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 753 754 755 756 869 870 871 872 873
874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891                                 



SCHEDULE 5
Regulation 18


AGENCY ARRANGEMENTS AND CROSS BORDER HOLDINGS


Agency arrangements
     1. The Scottish Ministers may, with the agreement of any competent authority, arrange for any of their functions under these Regulations in relation to any claim to be exercised on their behalf by that competent authority.

     2. The Scottish Ministers may also agree to exercise functions on behalf of another competent authority corresponding to those which are exercisable by the Scottish Ministers under these Regulations.

     3. Any such arrangement shall be in writing and be signed by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers and the competent authority and any such arrangement may be subject to such conditions (including conditions as to the costs and charge for costs) as may be agreed from time to time.

Set off
     4. Without prejudice to the amount of any sum payable by the Scottish Ministers to any other competent authority, the amount of any sum payable by the Scottish Ministers, whether as principal or agent, by way of a specified payment may be set off against the amount of any sum recoverable by the Scottish Ministers, whether as principal or agent.

Calculation of payments in respect of cross border holdings
     5. Where any holding in respect of which a claim has been made is a cross border holding, the Scottish Ministers may pay, on such occasions as they consider fit, in respect of the Scheme Year in question to an applicant less favoured area support for carrying out eligible agricultural activity on eligible land, providing the applicant has declared the eligible land in a single application which has been treated as a valid application by the competent authority concerned.

     6. Whether the eligible agricultural activity undertaken on the eligible land is an integral part of the management of the whole holding or independently managed, the Scottish Ministers will only pay less favoured area support in respect of the eligible agricultural activity actually undertaken on eligible land defined as a less favoured area for the purposes of this instrument.

     7. For cross-border holdings where the applicant has submitted a declaration of eligible land to another competent authority, the Scottish Ministers will apply the standard rate of payment.

     8. Applicants in respect of cross border holdings are required to supply such information as authorised persons may reasonably require to assess the eligible agricultural activity actually undertaken on eligible land defined as a less favoured area for the purposes of this instrument.

     9. All conditions applying to applicants in respect of holdings lying wholly within the less favoured areas apply equally to applicants in respect of cross border holdings.



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations, which replace the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2005 ("the 2005 Regulations"), make provision for the purposes of implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Commission Regulations (EC) Nos. 1974/2006 and 1975/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation No. 1698/2005. Regulation 1689/2005 will preserve, until 2010, elements of Regulation (EC) 1257/1999 which apply to Less Favoured Area Support.

They apply to holdings in respect of which the Scottish Ministers are the competent authority under the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Integrated Administration and Control System) Regulations 2005 (regulation 1(2)).

Applications for less favoured area support ("LFAS") are to be made to the Scottish Ministers on a date which they shall determine each year. Failure to meet the deadline will result in reduction of the payment of support (regulation 3).

Eligibility for payment of LFAS is dependent upon the applicant meeting the criteria set out in regulation 4. It can only be paid to an applicant who actively farms eligible land (‘actively farms' is defined in regulation 2(1) and ‘eligible land' is defined in regulation 6). No payment will be made where the amount of eligible land is less than 3 hectares (regulation 5). There is provision at regulation 7 to determine to whom payment should be made where a holding is transferred during a Scheme Year.

LFAS is paid for eligible hectares on farms in Scottish less favoured areas at specified rates (regulations 8 and 12). The rate is fixed according to the grazing category (regulation 9 and Schedule 2) and the fragility of the parish in which the main farm of the applicant lies (regulation 12 and Schedule 4).

The area of land on which LFAS is paid is normally the area of eligible land which the applicant has, adjusted in accordance with a formula set out in regulation 9(1). The manner in which the area of eligible land is adjusted will depend on the grazing category of that land (regulation 9(2)). The grazing category is allocated according to the historical stocking density of the applicant's land (regulation 9(3)).

In previous years a separate stocking density was calculated annually, and was based upon eligible land and eligible agricultural activity in the previous year. For the 2007 scheme and beyond, historic stocking density values, calculated in accordance with the 2005 Regulations, will be used. Where the applicant has a stocking density which is above the maximum stocking density or below the minimum stocking density, then the area of land on which LFAS is to be paid is instead calculated in accordance with formulae set out in regulation 10. The maximum and minimum stocking densities are laid out in regulation 2(1). There are alternative arrangements at regulations 10(4) and 10(5) for those who are actively farming eligible land but did not receive a payment under the 2005 Regulations. There is provision at regulation 10(6) to allow the Scottish Ministers to determine the stocking density where an applicant has not been able to achieve the minimum stocking density because of slaughter in consequence of foot and mouth disease.

Where more than 10% of the livestock maintained by the applicant under the 2005 Regulations was made up of cattle, the area of land on which LFAS will be paid to the applicant under the 2007 Scheme will be increased in accordance with the adjustment set out in regulation 11 read with Schedule 6 of the 2005 Regulations.

Regulation 13 fixes a minimum payment of £385. Regulation 14 contains powers of enforcement. Regulation 16 provides for withholding or recovery of LFAS where there is a breach of the rules of the LFAS Scheme for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. Regulations 19 to 22 deal with offences and penalties.

Regulations 23 and 24 deal with an applicant's right of appeal against decisions taken by the Scottish Ministers as regards eligibility of the holding. Regulation 25 makes amendments to the Agricultural Subsidies (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 to provide for an applicant's right of appeal against decisions taken by the Scottish Ministers on other specified grounds.

Regulation 26 revokes the 2005 Regulations (and also those instruments which amended the 2005 Regulations) (regulation 26(1)). Regulation 26 also makes a saving provision to ensure that the 2005 Regulations continue to apply to Scheme 2005 payments and Scheme 2006 payments made under the 2005 Regulations (regulation 26(2)).

No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations.


Notes:

[1] 1972 c.68. Section 2(2) was amended by the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46), Schedule 8, paragraph 15(3). The function conferred upon the Minister of the Crown under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, insofar as within devolved competence, was transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998.back

[2] S.I. 2005/218.back

[3] O.J. No. L 141, 30.4.04, p.18 as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 239/2005, O.J. No. L 42, 12.2.05, p.3.back

[4] O.J. No. L 153, 30.4.04, p.30 as corrected by Corrigendum O.J. No. L 231, 29.4.2004, p.24.back

[5] O.J. No. L 277, 21.10.05, p.1, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) 1944/2006, O.J. No. L 367, 22.12.06, p.23 and Council Regulation 2012/2006, O.J. No. L 384, 29.12.06, p.8.back

[6] O.J. No. L 368, 23.12.06, p.15.back

[7] O.J. No. L 368, 23.12.06, p.74.back

[8] O.J. No. L 270, 21.10.03, p.1, as corrected by Corrigendum, O.J. No. L 94, 31.3.04, p.70 and as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004, L 91 30.3.04, p.1, Council Regulation (EC) No. 864/2004, O.J. No. L 161, 30.4.04, p.48, Council Regulation (EC) No. 2217/2004, O.J. No. L 375 23.12.04, p.1, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 118/2005, O.J. No. L 24, 27.1.05, p.15, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2183/2005, O.J. No. L 347, 30.12.05, p.56, Council Regulation (EC) No. 247/2006, O.J. No. L 42, 14.2.06, p.1 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 319/2006, O.J. No. L 58, 28.2.06, p.32.back

[9] O.J. No. L 160, 26.6.99, p.80 as corrected by Corrigendum to Commission Regulation 1257/1999, O.J. No. L 302, 1.12. 00, p.72 and Corrigendum to Commission Regulation 1783/2003, O.J. No. L 94, 31.3.04, p.71 and as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1783/2003, O.J. No. L 270, 21.10.03, p.70, Council Regulation (EC) No. 567/2004, O.J. No. L 90 27.3.04, p.1 and Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004, O.J. No. L 91 30.3.04, p.1, Council Regulation (EC) No. 2223/2004, O.J. No. L 379, 24.12.04, p.1 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005, O.J. No. L 277, 21.10.05, p.1.back

[10] O.J. No. L 82, 26.03.04, p.67.back

[11] Council Regulation (EC) No. 950/97 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures (O.J. No. L 142, 2.6.97, p.1) was repealed by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), subject to Article 55(4) which provided that Directives adopting lists of less favoured areas or amending such lists in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation No. 950/97 shall remain in force.back

[12] S.S.I. 2001/50; revoked by S.S.I. 2002/139, regulation 26, subject to the savings provision contained in that regulation.back

[13] S.S.I. 2002/139; revoked by S.S.I. 2003/129, regulation 28, subject to the savings provision contained in that regulation.back

[14] S.S.I. 2003/129; revoked by S.S.I. 2004/70, regulation 27, subject to the savings provision contained in that regulation.back

[15] S.S.I. 2004/70, as amended by S.S.I. 2004/128 and S.S.I. 2005/64.back

[16] S.S.I. 2005/569, as amended by S.S.I. 2005/64, S.S.I. 2005624 and S.S.I. 2006/601.back

[17] 2000 c.7.back

[18] Area aid application has the same meaning as in Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) 3508/1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes (O.J. No. L 355, 05.12.1992, p.1.)back

[19] 1995 c.46.back

[20] S.S.I. 2004/381, amended by S.S.I. 2005/117, S.S.I. 2005/225 and S.S.I. 2005/569.back

[21] S.S.I. 2005/569 amended by S.S.I. 2005/64, S.S.I. 2005/624 and S.S.I. 2006/601.back

[22] S.S.I. 2005/64.back

[23] S.S.I. 2005/624.back

[24] S.S.I. 2006/601.back



ISBN 978 0 11 078445 8


 © Crown copyright 2007

Prepared 3 October 2007


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