1. These Regulations may be cited as the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 and come into force on 1st March 2013.
2. The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010(1) are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 6.
3. In regulation 2(1) (interpretation) omit the definition of “actively farm”.
4. For regulation 4 (payment of less favoured area support) substitute—
4. The Scottish Ministers may, in respect of a Scheme Year, pay less favoured area support to an applicant who in their opinion actively farms eligible land—
(a)which is not less than 3 hectares; and
(b)for a period or periods totalling not less than 183 days during the Scheme Year.”.
5. In regulation 15 (withholding or recovery of less favoured area support), for paragraph (d) substitute—
“(d)where, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, the applicant has not actively farmed eligible land in accordance with regulation 4.”.
6. In Schedule 7 (agency arrangements and cross border holdings)—
(a)in paragraph 5, after “actively farming eligible land” insert “in accordance with regulation 4”;
(b)in paragraph 6, after “eligible land” where it first occurs insert “in accordance with regulation 4”; and
(c)in paragraph 8, after “assess” insert “in accordance with regulation 4”.
RICHARD LOCHHEAD
A member of the Scottish Government
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh
16th January 2013