Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“authorised person” means any person authorised by the Scottish Ministers to act in matters arising under these Regulations, the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation;
“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 796/2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross-compliance, modulation and the integrated administration and control system provided for in the Council Regulation(1);
“control report” means a control report pursuant to Article 48 of the Commission Regulation, and “provisional control report” shall be a draft control report detailing all the information required in a control report;
“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No. 2019/93, (EC) No. 1452/2001, (EC) No. 1453/2001, (EC) No. 1454/2001, (EC) No. 1868/94, (EC) No. 1251/1999, (EC) No. 1254/1999, (EC) No. 1673/2000, (EEC) No. 2358/71 and (EC) No. 2529/2001(2), amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 21/2004(3), Council Regulation (EC) No. 583/2004(4) and Council Regulation (EC) No. 864/2004(5);
“electronic communication” means an electronic communication as defined in the Electronic Communications Act 2000(6) which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced;
“farmer” has the same meaning as in Article 2(a) of the Council Regulation;
“growing season” means the growing season which ends on or before 15th October;
“holding” has the same meaning as in Article 2(b) of the Council Regulation;
“non compliance” has the same meaning as in Article 2(35) of the Commission Regulation;
“overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock or other animals in such numbers as to adversely affect the growth quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree;
“spring” means the period beginning on 1st March and ending on 31st May in any calendar year;
“the Scottish Environment Protection Agency” means the Scottish Environment Protection Agency established under section 20 of the Environment Act 1995(7);
“Scottish Natural Heritage” means Scottish Natural Heritage established under section 1 of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991(8);
“site of special scientific interest” means land designated as a site of special scientific interest pursuant to section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or section 3(6) of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004(9);
“the Uncultivated Land and Semi-Natural Areas Regulations” means the Environmental Impact Assessment (Uncultivated Land and Semi-Natural Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2002(10); and
“winter” means the period beginning on the day after harvest and ending on the last day of February in the following calendar year.
(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations have, unless the context otherwise requires, the meaning they bear in the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation.
(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered paragraph or sub-paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation or Schedule to these Regulations, or to the sub-paragraph so numbered in the paragraph, in which that reference occurs.
(4) Except in relation to a management regime, approval or consent under paragraphs 10(2), 11(4), 12(2)(a), 14, 15(1) or 16(1) of the Schedule to these Regulations, where this paragraph shall only apply if the farmer so consents, or has contacted the Scottish Ministers by way of an electronic communication in relation to an approval or consent, any reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication.
O.J. No. L 141, 30.04.2004, p.18.
O.J. No. L 270, 21.10.2003, p.1.
O.J. No. L 5, 9.1.04, p. 8.
O.J. No. L 91, 30.3.04, p. 1.
O.J. No. L 206, 9.6.04, p. 20.
Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is revoked by paragraph 4 of schedule 7 to the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 6) as a consequence of the coming into force on 29th November 2004 of Part 2 of that Act, subject to transitional arrangements contained in schedule 5 to that Act.