The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010 (“the principal Regulations”). As amended by these Regulations, the principal Regulations make provision for the purposes of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (“the Rural Development Regulation” - OJ L 347, 20.12.2013 p.487), in particular Articles 31 and 32, and make provision for less favoured area support (”LFAS”) payments for the period 2015 to 2017 under the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) (see http://www.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/SRDP). By 2018, the LFAS Scheme will be replaced by a new scheme for payments in respect of areas facing natural or other specific constraints in accordance with the Rural Development Regulation.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulation to insert new definitions and amend existing definitions, in particular, to reflect the EU instruments under the Common Agricultural Policy which now apply to the LFAS Scheme and to insert definitions for Scheme payments in respect of Scheme Years 2015 to 2017.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 3 of the principal Regulations in its application to Scheme Years on or after 1st January 2014.

Regulation 5 substitutes regulation 4 of the principal Regulations, which requires that LFAS payments can only be made to active farmers within the meaning of Article 9 of the Direct Payments Regulation (see the definition inserted by regulation 3), as required by Article 31(2) of the Rural Development Regulation. Regulations 15 (which amends regulation 15 of the principal Regulations) and 19 (which amends Schedule 7 to the principal Regulations) also make further provision to take account of the active farmers provisions in the Direct Payments Regulation.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 5 of the principal Regulations to make provision for the determination of ineligible land attributable to dairy activity in the applicable year (as construed in accordance with regulation 9(8) of the principal Regulations, as amended by regulation 9 of these Regulations.

Regulation 7 substitutes regulation 6 of the principal Regulations to make provision for the transfer of holdings in light of the applicable EU instruments (including those applying as from 1st January 2015).

Regulation 9 amends regulation 9 of the principal Regulations—

• to make provision for the calculation of stocking density by reference to livestock maintained or land declared in applicable years, which now includes 2013 where the circumstances in the new regulation 9(9) of the principal Regulations apply to an applicant for LFAS support; and

• to make provision for the possible application of an alternative calculation as a result of force majeure or exceptional circumstances (see the definition inserted by regulation 3).

Regulation 10 amends regulation 10 of the principal Regulations to deal with its application to Scheme Years commencing on or after 1st January 2015 as well as to make provision for alternative calculations of the adjustment of payable areas as a result of force majeure or exceptional circumstances (see the definition inserted by regulation 3).

Regulations 12 and 14 amend regulations 12 and 13 respectively of the principal Regulations, to reflect newly applicable EU instruments (and see the definitions inserted by regulation 3).

Regulation 13 inserts a new regulation 12A into the principal Regulations, to make provision, following the publication of a statement by the Scottish Ministers, for the reduction of LFAS payments as appropriate in any Scheme Year where the financial resources available are insufficient to make payments at the rates otherwise applicable under the principal Regulations. Regulation 8 makes a consequential amendment to regulation 7 of the principal Regulations. Regulation 11 makes a consequential amendment to regulation 11 of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 16 substitutes regulation 17 of the principal Regulations to amend the provision for interest to be payable when recovering irregular payments of LFAS.

Regulation 17 substitutes Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations, which makes provision for the applicable land use codes for the LFAS scheme.

Regulation 18 amends Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations to deal with its application to Scheme Years commencing on or after 1st January 2015.

A business and regulatory impact assessment is being prepared for these Regulations and will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from the Scottish Government Directorate for Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD.