The Rural Development Contracts (Land Managers Options) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Rural Development Contracts (Land Managers Options) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, (“the 2008 Regulations”) which introduce measures to supplement Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 (“the Council Regulation”) which lays down general rules governing Community support for rural development (financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development established by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1290/2005 and Commission Regulations (EC) Nos. 1974/2006 and 1975/2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of the Council Regulation.

The 2008 Regulations provide for the payment of aid to be made available by the Scottish Ministers from the Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007–13 to any person who enters into an undertaking with the Scottish Ministers to carry out, or as the case may be carry out and maintain activities relevant to at least one of the land managers options set out in Schedule 2 to those Regulations.

Regulation 2(2) of these Regulations inserts definitions into regulation 2(1) of the 2008 Regulations to update the regulation following the repeal of Council Regulation 1782/2003.

Regulation 2(3) and (4) amend regulations 5 and 8 of the 2008 Regulations to replace references to Council Regulation 1782/2003 with references contained in Council Regulation 73/2009.

Regulation 2(5) amends regulation 10(2) of the 2008 Regulations to include references to the animal welfare management programme. Regulation 10(5)(a) is amended to refer to Article 5 of, and Annex II to, Council Regulation 73/2009. A minor amendment is also made to paragraph (6) of regulation 10 to correct typographical errors.

In regulation 2(6) of these Regulations the definitions of “finishing animal” and “veterinary surgeon”, which are referred to in option 22 of Schedule 2 to the 2008 Regulations, are inserted into Schedule 1 to the 2008 Regulations.

Regulation 2(7) adds three additional quality assurance schemes to the list of schemes at option 8 of Schedule 2 to the 2008 Regulations. These schemes are “QMS Quality Meat Assurance Schemes (Cattle and Sheep); QMS Quality Meat Assurance Scheme (Pigs) and Scottish Quality Farm Assured Combinable Crops Scheme”. Regulation 2(7) also adds a new option 22 to Schedule 2 to the 2008 Regulations, called the Animal Welfare Management Programme.

These Regulations result in no increase in costs to the Scottish Government, local government or business. No Regulatory Impact Assessment has therefore been carried out.