The Farm Woodland Premium Schemes (Amendment) (England) Scheme 2005

Statutory Instruments

2005 No. 3473

AGRICULTURE, ENGLAND

The Farm Woodland Premium Schemes (Amendment) (England) Scheme 2005

Made

13th December 2005

Coming into force in accordance with paragraph 1

The Secretary of State makes the following Scheme in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 of the Farm Land and Rural Development Act 1988(1) and now vested in her(2).

In accordance with section 2 of that Act the Scheme is made with the approval of the Treasury.

In accordance with section 2(4) of that Act a draft of this instrument was laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Title, commencement and application

1.—(1) This Scheme may be cited as the Farm Woodland Premium Schemes (Amendment) (England) Scheme 2005 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

(2) This Scheme applies in England only.

Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997 and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992

2.—(1) The Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997(3) and the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992(4) shall be amended in accordance with this Scheme.

(2) In paragraph 2(1) of both Schemes, in the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997 after the definition of “Council Regulation 3508/92”, and in the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992 after the definition of “converted land”, there shall be inserted—

““Council Regulation 1782/2003” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003(5) of 29 September 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, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 118/2005(6) modifying Annex VIII to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 and establishing budgetary ceilings for partial or optional implementation of the Single Payment Scheme and annual financial envelopes for the Single Area Payment Scheme provided for in that Regulation;”.

(3) In the definition of “Council Regulation 3508/92”, in paragraph 2(1) of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997, after “Council Regulation No. 2466/96” there shall be added “, and as it applied on 5th October 2003(7)”.

(4) In the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997, after paragraph 7A there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“Final date for receipt of applications

7B.   The appropriate Minister in respect of England shall not approve an application to enter this Scheme under paragraph 3(1) unless the application is received by or on behalf of the appropriate Minister before the coming into force of the Farm Woodland Premium Schemes (Amendment) (England) Scheme 2005.”.

(5) For the text in sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 9 of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997, and for the text in sub-paragraph (2A) of paragraph 9 of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992, there shall be substituted—

• “Where an applicant, in his Single Payment Scheme application submitted in a particular year, counts an area of converted land as set aside for the purposes of the set-aside requirement, any payment due under this Scheme in October of that year, or on such other date or dates in that year where the appropriate Minister has so decided under paragraph 10(3)(b), in relation to that converted land, shall be reduced by the amount of the set-aside payment due in relation to that area of land under that Single Payment Scheme application.”.

(6) For the text in sub-paragraph (4) of paragraph 9 of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997 and for the text in sub-paragraph (2B) of paragraph 9 of the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992, there shall be substituted—

“For the purposes of this paragraph—

(a)

“Single Payment Scheme application” means the application for payment under the single payment scheme as provided for in Title III of Council Regulation 1782/2003,

(b)

“set-aside payment” means, in relation to an area of land which is converted land, the payment provided for in Article 54(1) of Council Regulation 1782/2003; and

(c)

“set-aside requirement” means the requirement to set aside land from production in Article 54(3) of Council Regulation 1782/2003.”.

Jim Knight

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

6th December 2005

We approve,

Joan Ryan

Gillian Merron

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

13th December 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Scheme)

This Scheme which applies in England only is made pursuant to section 2 of the Farm Land and Rural Development Act 1988.

This Scheme makes amendments to the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1992 (SI 1992/905) and the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997 (SI 1997/829), (“the Farm Woodland Premium Schemes”). These schemes apply in England, Wales and Scotland.

The Farm Woodland Premium Schemes comply with: -

(a) in regard to agreements under the Schemes entered into on or after 1^st January 2000: —

(i) the forestry provisions (Articles 29-32) in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/99 (OJ L160, 26.6.99, p.80) of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and amending and repealing certain Regulations, and

(ii) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 817/2004 (OJ No. L153, 30.4.2004, p.30) of 29 April 2004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/99 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund;

(b) in regard to agreements entered into from 30^th July 1992 until 1^st January 2000, Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2080/92 (OJ No. L215, 30.7.92, p.96) instituting a Community aid scheme for forestry measures in agriculture; and

(c) in regard to agreements under the Schemes entered into before 30^th July 1992, Title VIII of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2328/91 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures (OJ No. L218, 6.8.91 p.1).

The Farm Woodland Premium Schemes provide for the payment of annual grants to abate financial losses incurred in consequence of the conversion of agricultural land to use for woodlands.

The amendments made by this Scheme, at paragraphs 2(5) and 2(6), implement changes required by the replacement of previous European Community direct payment schemes with the Single Payment Scheme under Council Regulation (EC) 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 (OJ No. L 270, 21.10.2003 p.1). Where applicants with land converted under the Farm Woodland Premium Schemes count any of that land towards their set-aside requirement under the Single Payment Scheme, their payment under the Farm Woodland Premium Schemes in the year of that Single Payment Scheme application will be reduced by the set-aside payment received in respect of any of that land under the Single Payment Scheme. This implements the rule, in Article 38 of Council Regulation (EC) 1257/1999, which prohibits double funding of the same measure under different European Community provisions.

Minor amendments are also made, at paragraphs 2(2) and 2(3), to update the definitions in these Schemes.

This Scheme also closes the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme 1997 to new applicants, through paragraph 2(4), from the date this Scheme comes into force. Applications from new occupiers of land, where that land is already subject to a conversion plan under these Schemes, will continue to be considered.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been carried out as there is no impact on the costs of business.

(1)

1988 c. 16. The expression “the appropriate authority” upon whom the powers of section 2 are conferred is defined in section 2(6) and 1(5) of that Act and is to be read with the definition of “the appropriate Minister” in those sections.

(2)

The functions of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (which related only to England) were transferred to the Secretary of State by virtue of article 2(2) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) (Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794).

(3)

S.I. 1997/829, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Scheme.

(4)

S.I. 1992/905 amended by S.I. 1997/829. There are other amendments to this SI but they are not relevant to this Scheme.

(5)

O.J. No L270, 21.10.2003, p.1, amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 (OJ No L5, 9.1.2004, p.8), Council Regulation (EC) No 583/2004 (OJ No L91, 30.3.2004, p.1), Council Regulation (EC) No 864/2004 (OJ No L161, 30.4.2004, p.48), Council Regulation (EC) No 2217/2004 (OJ No L375, 23.12.2004, p.1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 118/2005 (OJ No L24, 27.01.2005, p.15). These amendments are not relevant to this Scheme.

(6)

O.J. L24, 27.01.2005, p.15.

(7)

Council Regulation 3508/1992 was repealed by Council Regulation 1782/03 (OJ No. L270, 21.10.03, p.1) as of 6^th October 2003. Council Regulation 1782/03 at Article 153(5) contains a provision stating that references to Council Regulation 3508/92 and other repealed legislation should be read as a reference to Council Regulation 1782/03. That provision does not apply to this Scheme.