Payment and amounts of grants
3.—(1) For the purposes of this Scheme–
(a)a qualifying loan is a loan which has been, or is to be, obtained from a bank for the purpose of implementing a business plan for the restructuring of a pig production business;
(b)the relevant part of a qualifying loan is that part of the loan which has been or is to be obtained for the purposes of, in connection with or in connection with any proposals for restructuring by–
(i)the establishment or expansion of a farm business ancillary to a pig production business and relating to the products of pig production;
(ii)the promotion of a farm business ancillary to a pig production business and relating to the products of pig production; or
(iii)the marketing of anything produced or supplied in the course of a farm business ancillary to a pig production business and relating to the products of pig production; and
(c)the loan or qualifying loan must appear to the Scottish Ministers to be neither expenditure of a capital nature nor expenditure which would fall to be treated for the purposes of section 29 of the Agriculture Act 1970 as incurred in connection with expenditure of a capital nature.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, the Scottish Ministers may approve the payment to any eligible person of a grant towards expenditure incurred in servicing the relevant part of a qualifying loan, subject to such conditions as they may reasonably determine, and may make such payment.
(3) Where a loan has been obtained partly for the purposes of or in connection with the restructuring of a pig production business and partly for other purposes, the Scottish Ministers may for the purposes of a grant under this paragraph treat as a qualifying loan so much of that loan as appears to them to be referable to that restructuring.
(4) No grant under this Scheme when taken with any payment made under the Capital Grant Scheme shall exceed 5% of the qualifying loan (excluding any accrued interest thereon).
(5) The Scottish Ministers shall not approve any payment of grant after 29th March 2005.
(6) Where an eligible person is aggrieved by a decision of the Scottish Ministers as to–
(a)whether a loan is neither expenditure of a capital nature nor expenditure which would fall to be treated for the purposes of section 29 of the Agriculture Act 1970 as incurred in connection with expenditure of a capital nature, under sub-paragraph (1)(c) above; or
(b)the amount of a loan which is referable to restructuring under sub-paragraph (3) above,
that person may, within the period of 21 days of the date when that person is notified of the outcome of that decision, request that the decision be reviewed by the Scottish Ministers in accordance with sub-paragraph (7) below.
(7) In carrying out the review of the decision as required by sub-paragraph (6) above, the Scottish Ministers shall–
(a)afford the aggrieved person an opportunity of making representations for consideration by an officer of the Scottish Ministers who has not been involved in the initial decision who will prepare a report following consideration of those representations;
(b)supply a copy of the report by that officer to the aggrieved person;
(c)consider the report by that officer before making a decision on the review; and
(d)give to the aggrieved person notification of the decision on the review and the reasons for that decision.