Agriculture Act 1970

52 Contributions under previous enactments

(1) The Minister shall not approve any proposals and estimates under section 58 of the [1947 c. 48.] Agriculture Act 1947 (contributions by Minister to losses incurred by smallholdings authorities) if the estimates are submitted to him under subsection (1) of that section after the passing of this Act.

(2) Regulations made by the Ministers with the approval of the Treasury—

(a) may require any smallholdings authority to furnish the Minister with such particulars as may be determined in accordance with the regulations of any sale or exchange of land which immediately before the commencement of this Part of this Act is held by the authority for the purposes of smallholdings, of any appropriation of such land for other purposes, and of any letting of such land otherwise than under section 44 of this Act;

(b) may empower the Minister to adjust, in such manner as he thinks fit having regard to any such particulars furnished by a smallholdings authority, the amount or aggregate amount of any contributions payable to that authority under section 2 of the [1926 c. 52.] Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1926 or section 58 of the [1947 c. 48.] Agriculture Act 1947, in a case where the land sold, exchanged, appropriated or let is land which has been or formed part of—

(i) land in respect of which payments have been made under section 27 of the [1919 c. 59.] Land Settlement (Facilities) Act 1919 ; or

(ii) land in the case of which contributions have been made or undertaken to be made under the said section 2 or the said section 58 in connection with proposals and estimates relating to that land;

(c) may provide for withholding or reducing any such contributions where any requirement imposed on a smallholdings authority by or under this Part of this Act or section 58 of the Agriculture Act 1947 is not complied with;

(d) may make provision as to the making of applications for the payment of any such contributions which have been agreed to be made, and as to the time at which payments of any such contributions may be made, and for enabling the Minister to require a smallholdings authority to whom any such contributions have been paid to furnish the Minister with any particulars required by the Minister before payment of contributions is continued ; and

(e) may make provision for empowering persons authorised by the Minister to inspect books and other documents of a smallholdings authority relating to transactions in connection with which any such contributions are payable to the authority.

(3) Any regulations made under this section may revoke—

(a) so much of any regulations for the time being in force under section 58 of the Agriculture Act 1947 as was made in pursuance of any provisions of that section which are repealed by this Act, and

(b) any regulations made under section 2 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1926 in their application to holdings other than cottage holdings;

but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting the exercise of any power to revoke or vary so much of any regulations made under the said section 58 as was made in pursuance of any provisions not repealed by this Act.

(4) Where any regulations exercise a power of revocation conferred by subsection (3) of this section, the regulations may contain such transitional provisions with respect to matters in progress under the regulations so revoked as the Ministers may consider appropriate having regard to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and of section 62 of this Act.

(5) In this section " contributions " includes any payments; and in subsection (2) (b) of this section the reference to adjusting the amount or aggregate amount of any contributions payable to a smallholdings authority shall be construed as including a reference to terminating all or any contributions so payable.