The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2002

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

• “agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the use of land for other agricultural purposes, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;

• “applicant” means a person who has made an application for less favoured area support under these Regulations in accordance with regulation 3;

• “area aid application” has the same meaning as in Article 6 of Council Regulation 3508/1992;

• “authorised person” means a person who is authorised by the Scottish Ministers, either generally or specifically, to act in relation to matters arising under these Regulations;

• “cattle” for the purposes of calculating additional payments for environmental measures under regulation 9, means:

  (a)

  suckler cows and heifers; and

  (b)

  for those applicants maintaining a dairy herd in, the islands of Shetland, the islands of Orkney, the islands of Islay, Jura, Arran, Bute, Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and the Kintyre Peninsula south of Tarbert, or any other islands in the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides, a livestock unit for each 5730 litres of milk quota held,

  which the Scottish Ministers determine are taken into account from time to time;

• “Commission Regulation 1750/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1750/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)(1);

• “Commission Regulation 2419/2001” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2419/2001 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(2);

• “common grazing” has the same meaning attributed to it for the purpose of Article 11 of Commission Regulation 1750/1999;

• “Council Regulation 3508/1992” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3508/1992 establishing an Integrated Administration and Control System for certain Community aid schemes(3);

• “competent authority” has the same meaning as in regulation 2A of the Integrated Administration and Control System Regulations 1993(4);

• “Council Regulation 1254/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal(5);

• “Council Regulation 1257/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations(6);

• “Council Regulation 2529/2001” means Council Regulation (EC) 2529/2001 on the common organisation of the market in sheep meat and goat meat(7);

• “cross-border holding” means a holding in the United Kingdom which is situated partly in Scotland;

• “designated maps” means the four maps numbered 1 to 4, each such map being marked “Map of less-favoured farming areas in Scotland”, dated 5th May 1991, signed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and deposited at the offices of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TY;

• “eligible agricultural activity” means one or more of the following activities which, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers are undertaken on a continuous basis:–

  (a)

  maintaining a herd of suckler cows;

  (b)

  maintaining a flock of sheep comprising eligible ewes as defined by Council Regulation 2529/2001;

  (c)

  maintaining a dairy herd in–

  (i)

  the islands of Shetland;

  (ii)

  the islands of Orkney;

  (iii)

  the islands of Islay, Jura, Arran, Bute, Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae and the Kintyre Peninsula south of Tarbert; or

  (iv)

  any other islands in the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides;

  (d)

  maintaining a breeding herd of farmed deer for meat production;

  (e)

  maintaining a breeding herd of goats for fibre production; or

  (f)

  maintaining a breeding herd of alpaca for fibre production;

• “eligible land” has the meaning as attributed to it in regulation 6;

• “farmed deer” means any deer of any species which are managed on a holding enclosed by a deer-proof barrier and are kept on the holding by way of business for the primary purpose of the production of meat;

• “forage area” has the same meaning as in Article 12(2)(b) of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

• “goat” means any goat (of any species) which is kept by way of business for the primary purpose of fibre production;

• “Highlands and Islands area” means that part of Scotland comprising–

  (a)

  the area of the Argyll and Bute Council, excluding the Parishes of Arrochar, Cardross, Luss, Rhu and Roseneath;

  (b)

  the area of the Highland Council;

  (c)

  the area of the Orkney Islands Council;

  (d)

  the area of the Shetland Islands Council;

  (e)

  the area of the Western Isles Council;

  (f)

  in the area of the North Ayrshire Council, the islands of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae; and

  (g)

  in the area of the Moray Council, the Parishes of Aberlour, Cabrach, Dallas, Dyke, Edinkillie, Forres, Inveravon, Kinloss, Kirkmichael, Knockando, Mortlach, Rafford and Rothes;

• “holding” has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Integrated Administration and Control System Regulations 1993;

• “improved pasture” means eligible land declared by an applicant in accordance with regulation 6(1) and which, for the purposes of Commission Regulation 2419/2001 is classified as temporary grass, permanent grass, rape, turnips (swedes) or other crops for stock feed or cereal mix;

• “less favoured area” means the land shown coloured in blue or in pink on the designated maps–

  (a)

  which is situated in an area included in the list of less favoured farming areas adopted by Council Directive 84/169/EEC concerning the Community list of less-favoured farming areas within the meaning of Directive 75/268/EEC (United Kingdom)(8); and

  (b)

  which is, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, inherently suitable for extensive livestock production but not for the production of crops in quantity materially greater than that necessary to feed such livestock as are capable of being maintained on such land, and whose agricultural production is, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, restricted in its range by, or any combination of, soil, relief, aspect or climate;

• “livestock” means suckler cow, dairy cow, beef heifer, dairy heifer, sheep, goat, farmed deer and alpaca;

• “livestock unit” means a unit of measurement of livestock numbers, and each of the following constitute one livestock unit:–

  (a)

  one suckler cow;

  (b)

  1.66 heifers over 8 months and up to 24 months;

  (c)

  6.66 breeding ewes;

  (d)

  6.66 breeding female goats;

  (e)

  3.33 breeding female farmed deer 27 months and over;

  (f)

  5 breeding farmed deer 6 months but less than 27 months;

  (g)

  3.33 breeding female alpaca;

  (h)

  5730 litres of milk quota;

• “minimum stocking density” means the minimum number of livestock units per hectare of a class of holding and which are listed in Schedule 1;

• “Moorland” has the meaning as attributed to it by regulation 8;

• “Northern Upland” has the meaning as attributed to it by regulation 8;

• “retirement pension” mean a category A or category B pension within the meaning of section 20(1)(f) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(9), a category C or category D pension within the meaning of section 63(f) of that Act, or graduated retirement benefit as referred to in section 62 of that Act;

• “SAPS” means the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations 1992(10);

• “Scheme Year” means a calendar year commencing on 1st January;

• “Scheme 2002 payment” means the sum which the applicant is entitled to in respect of the period from 1st January 2001 to 31st December 2001;

• “Scheme 2003 payment” means the sum which the applicant is entitled to in respect of the period from 1st January 2002 to 31st December 2002;

• “SCPS” means the Suckler Cow Premium (Scotland) Regulations 2001(11);

• “Southern Upland” has the meaning as attributed to it by regulation 8;

• “stocking density” has the meaning as attributed to it by Schedule 2;

• “suckler cow” means an adult female bovine animal kept in a regular breeding herd which is not maintained primarily for the production of milk;

• “the 1996 Regulations” means the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1996(12);

• “the 1999 Regulation payment” means the payment which an applicant under these Regulations was eligible for and paid under and in accordance with the 1999 Regulations or, as the case may be, the sum fixed in accordance with regulations 10(6) or (7) or 11(3) or (4);

• “the 1999 Regulations” means the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) (Scotland) Regulations 1999(13);

• “the 2001 Regulations” means the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2001(14);

• “usual good farming practices” means those practices undertaken on a holding as determined in accordance with Schedule 5 to the 2001 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) For the purposes of the saving provision at article 53.1 of Commission Regulation 2419/2001, references to articles of that Regulation shall so far as necessary be treated as references to the equivalent provision in Commission Regulation 3887/1992 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes(15).

(4) 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.

(1)

O.J. No. L 214, 13.8.99, p.31, as corrected by Corrigendum to Commission Regulation (EC) 1750/99 (O.J. L 337, 30.12.99, p.75) and amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2075/2000 (O.J. No. L 246, 30.9.00, p.46), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 672/2001 (O.J. L 093, 3.4.01, p.28) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1763/2001 (O.J. L 239, 7.9.01, p.10).

(2)

O.J. No. L 327, 12.12.01, p.11, amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2550/2001 (O.J. No. L 341, 22.12.01, p.105).

(3)

O.J. No. L 355, 5.12.92, p.1, amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 165/1994 (O.J. L 24, 29.1.94, p.6), Council Regulation (EC) No. 3233/1994 (O.J. L 338, 28.12.94, p.13), Council Regulation (EC) No. 3235/1994 (O.J. L 338, 28.12.94, p.16), Council Regulation (EC) No. 3072/1995 (O.J. L 329, 30.12.95, p.18), Council Regulation (EC) No. 1577/1996 (O.J. L 206, 16.8.96, p.4), Council Regulation (EC) No. 2466/1996 (O.J. L 335, 24.12.96, p.1), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 613/1997 (O.J. L 94, 9.4.97, p.1), Council Regulation (EC) No 820/1997 (O.J. L 117, 7.5.97, p.1), Council Regulation (EC) No. 1036/1999 (O.J. L 127, 21.5.99, p.4), Council Regulation (EC) No. 1593/00 (O.J. L 182, 21.7.00, p.4) and Council Regulation (EC) No. 495/2001 (O.J. L 072, 14.3.01, p.6).

(4)

Regulation 2A was inserted by S.I. 2000/2573.

(5)

O.J. No. L 160, 26.6.99, p.80, amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1512/2001 (O.J. L 201, 26.7.01, p 1).

(6)

O.J. No. L 160, 26.6.99, p.80.

(7)

O.J. No. L 341, 22.12.01, p.3.

(8)

O.J. No. L 82, 26.3.84, p.67, as amended by Commission decision 91/25/EEC altering the limits of the less-favoured areas in the United Kingdom within the meaning of Council Directive 75/268/EEC (O.J. No. L 16, 22.1.91, p.25).

(9)

1992 c. 4; section 62 was amended by the Pensions Act 1995 (c. 26), section 131 and Schedule 4, paragraph 7.

(10)

S.I. 1992/2677 amended by S.I. 1994/2741, 1995/2779, 1996/49, 1997/2500, 2000/2573 and S.S.I. 2000/418.

(11)

S.S.I. 2001/225.

(12)

S.I. 1996/1500, amended by S.I. 1997/33, 1998/206 and 1999/375, and revoked by S.S.I. 1999/187, regulation 23.

(13)

S.S.I. 1999/187; revoked by S.S.I. 2001/50, regulation 23.

(14)

S.S.I. 2001/50.

(15)

O.J. No. L 391, 31.12.92, p.36, amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 229/95 (O.J. L 27, 4.2.95, p.3), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1648/95 (O.J. L 156, 7.7.95, p.27) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2015/95 (O.J. L 197, 22.8.95, p.2), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1678/98 (O.J. L 212, 30.7.98, p.23) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2801/1999 (O.J. L 340, 31.12.99, p.29).