The Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2008

Amount of payment

5.—(1) The Secretary of State must pay hill farm allowance at the rates specified in this regulation.

(2) For the qualifying forage area of land specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 2, the rate payable per hectare is that specified in—

(a) column 2 of that table for the first 350 hectares, and

(b) column 3 for the next 350 hectares.

(3) The amount of any payment must be increased by 5% if either condition A or condition B is met, and by 10% if both those conditions are met.

(4) Condition A is that at least one hectare or 5% (whichever is the smaller) of the claimant’s severely disadvantaged land—

(a) is planted with arable crops in respect of which the claimant is not receiving any other financial support, and

(b) was not converted from permanent pasture in or after 2002.

(5) Condition B is that at least one hectare or 5% (whichever is the smaller) of the claimant’s severely disadvantaged land—

(a) is planted with woodland in respect of which the claimant is not receiving any other financial support, and

(b) was not converted from permanent pasture in or after 2002.

(6) The Secretary of State may also increase the amount of any payment by up to 10% if the fund available for hill farm allowance is greater than anticipated by the Secretary of State because—

(a) the amount of eligible forage area in respect of which such allowance is payable is smaller than anticipated, or

(b) the budget allocation for the Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013, or that part of that budget available for hill farm allowance, is or is likely to be greater than anticipated.

(7) The Secretary of State may decrease it by up to 10% if that fund is smaller than anticipated by the Secretary of State because—

(a) the amount of eligible forage area in respect of which such allowance is payable is greater than anticipated, or

(b) the budget allocation for the Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013, or that part of that budget available for hill farm allowance, is or is likely to be smaller than anticipated.

(8) Any increase applied under paragraph (6) or decrease applied under paragraph (7) must be applied in respect of each claimant’s payment.

(9) In paragraphs (4) and (5), “other financial support” does not include financial support from the single payment scheme.

(10) The “Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013” is the Programme for England approved by the European Commission on 7th December 2007 under Article 18(4) of Council Regulation 1698/2005.