EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the following Regulations—
the Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2015;
the Common Agricultural Policy (Cross-Compliance) (Scotland) Regulations 2014; and
the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010.
They implement Regulation (EU) No 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 350, 29.12.2017, p.15) (“the omnibus Regulation”) which amends the following EU Regulations—
Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.487) (“the Rural Development Regulation);
Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.549) (“the Horizontal Regulation”);
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.608) (“the Direct Payments Regulation”); and
Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 347 20.12.2013, p.671).
In addition, these Regulations make amendments:
consequential to amendments made to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 639/2014 by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1155 in relation to the “greening” component of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy;
in relation to cross-compliance component of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and
to the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme.
Regulations 3 to 12 amend the Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (“the principal 2015 Regulations”), which make provision in Scotland for the administration of the Direct Payments Regulation.
Regulation 3 amends the definition of “arable land” and regulation 4 amends the definition of “permanent grassland”.
Regulation 5 substitutes regulation 8 of the principal 2015 Regulations so that no farmer can receive direct payments totalling an amount in excess of 600,000 Euros. Regulation 6 amends regulation 9 of the principal 2015 Regulations to reduce the amount by which the value of payment entitlements is reduced where they are transferred without land.
Under the Direct Payments Regulation payments to young farmers could be made for a period of up to 5 years, to be reduced by the number of calendar years elapsed since setting up as head of the holding and the date of first submission of an application for payment. Article 3(1) of the omnibus Regulation now requires such payments to be for a full five years, without reduction of elapsed calendar years. Regulation 7 amends the principal 2015 Regulations to exercise a derogation to limit the impact of the omnibus Regulation changes. The effect is that where a young farmer has set up in the period 2010 – 2013, the 5 year payment period will continue to be reduced by the number of calendar years which have elapsed between the date of setting up and the date of first submission of an application for payment.
Regulation 8 omits regulation 12 of the principal 2015 Regulations. Under the Direct Payments Regulation, persons operating airports, railway services, waterworks, real estate services and permanent sports and recreation grounds (the “negative list”) were automatically barred from receiving direct payments unless they could meet certain readmission criteria. The omnibus Regulation permits member States to decide to stop operating the negative list. The effect is that persons operating such businesses are no longer automatically barred and no longer have to satisfy readmission tests.
Regulation 9 amends regulation 18 of the principal 2015 Regulations in respect of the ecological focus areas (EFA) requirements of greening. It includes, for the first time, hectares of agro-forestry and hedges, wooded strips and trees in line as EFAs. It also introduces both conversion and weighting factors in respect of hedges, wooded strips and trees in line as EFAs, and just the weighting factor in respect of hectares of agro-forestry as EFAs. It also allows cutting on buffer strips and field margins provided those features remain distinguishable from adjacent arable land and permits certain EFAs be located adjacent to the arable land of the holding as opposed to on the arable land of the holding. Further, regulation 9 amends the periods for sowing catch crops and green cover, and the date before which the crops cannot be harvested. Regulation 11 makes associated and further changes in relation to EFAs by amending schedule 2 of the principal 2015 Regulations.
Regulation 10 amends the definition of “livestock” unit for the purposes of the minimum activity provisions in Part 2 of schedule 1 of the principal 2015 Regulations.
Regulations 12 amends Part 2 of schedule 3 of the principal 2015 Regulations to make provision in respect of the current and future years for an extended window for applications under voluntary coupled support for ovine animals. The final date for submitting an application, in respect of calendar year 2018 and subsequent calendar years is 30th November. Regulation 12 also amends the retention period applicable to these ovine animals.
Regulations 13 and 14 amend the standards for good agricultural and environmental condition in the schedule of the Common Agricultural Policy (Cross-Compliance) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (“the principal 2014 Regulations”). The principal 2014 Regulations make provision in Scotland for the administration and enforcement of the Horizontal Regulation in relation to cross-compliance.
Regulation 14 amends Part 2 of the schedule of the principal 2014 Regulations as follows:
in paragraph 1, to provide clarification on the meaning, and storage, of field heaps;
in paragraph 5, to provide that a beneficiary must limit the erosion of the banks of watercourses, at watering points or feeding areas from overgrazing or heavy poaching by livestock; and
in paragraph 7, to provide further exemptions to the trimming of hedges and cutting of trees.
These amendments are to reflect domestic policy decisions which are unrelated to amendments made by the omnibus Regulation to the Horizontal Regulation.
Regulations 15 to 18 amend the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010 which make provision in Scotland for the administration of the less favoured area support (“LFA”) Scheme under the Rural Development Regulation. They make the amendments necessary to make provision for LFA payments in 2018. Under the Rural Development Regulation, it was intended that the LFA Scheme would be replaced in 2018 by a new scheme for payments in respect of areas facing natural or other specific constraints, however, the omnibus Regulation allows member States to defer that until 2019.
No business and regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations as no impact upon business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen.