Chapter 3 - Intervention in agricultural markets
Section 21 - Declaration relating to exceptional market conditions
137.Section 21 makes provision for circumstances in which the Welsh Ministers may make an “exceptional market conditions” declaration, so as to enable financial support to be given as described in section 21.
138.Subsection (2) sets out a two-part test to determine whether exceptional market conditions exist. Subsection (3) sets out what must be included in an exceptional market conditions declaration.
139.Subsection (5) states that an exceptional market conditions declaration has effect until a date specified in the declaration under subsection (3): the effect of subsection (4) is that this date must be within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the declaration is published.
140.Subsection (6) allows the Welsh Ministers to revoke a declaration made under subsection (1) by making and publishing a further declaration to that effect.
141.Subsections (7) and (8) allow the Welsh Ministers to extend an exceptional market conditions declaration for a period of no more than three months, if within the period of seven days ending with the date originally specified in the declaration under subsection (3), that there continue to be exceptional market conditions.
142.Subsection (9) states that the expiration or revocation of a declaration made under subsection (1) in respect of exceptional market conditions does not prevent the Welsh Ministers from making and publishing another declaration relating to the same exceptional market conditions.
143.Subsection (10) states that a copy of any declaration made and published under the section must be laid before Senedd Cymru as soon as practicable. Subsection (11) sets out that publication of a declaration is to be done electronically.
Section 22 - Exceptional market conditions: powers available to Welsh Ministers
144.This section specifies the powers that are available while a declaration of exceptional market conditions has effect.
145.Subsection (2) provides that the Welsh Ministers may give, or agree to give, financial support to agricultural producers in Wales whose incomes have been, are being, or are likely to be, adversely affected by the exceptional market conditions described in the declaration.
146.The effect of subsection (3) is that the existence of the power under section 22 does not prevent the Welsh Ministers from using any other available powers to provide financial support to agricultural producers, including (but not limited to) powers under retained direct EU legislation. (The effect is that the availability of the section 22 power does not restrict any powers that may also be available to the Welsh Ministers under, for instance, section 8.)
147.Subsection (4) allows financial support to be provided in any form and subsection (5) gives the Welsh Ministers the power to provide it subject to conditions.
148.Subsection (6) states that those conditions may include provision for financial support under section 22 to be repaid. Subsection (7) clarifies that the Welsh Ministers may still provide financial support after a declaration of exceptional markets has ceased to have effect, provided that an application for it was made while the declaration had effect.
Section 23 - Power to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to public market intervention and private storage aid
149.Section 23 confers on the Welsh Ministers powers to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to public market intervention or aid for private storage, so far as it has effect in relation to Wales.
150.Subsection (2) specifies that the power under this section includes power to change the products eligible for public market intervention or aid for private storage. This could be because of market conditions for a certain product changing, so that there is no longer demand for its storage.
151.The legislation that the Welsh Ministers have the power to modify under this section is listed in subsection (3).
152.Subsection (4) makes provision that relates to the CMO Regulation (defined in section 54). The CMO Regulation relates to markets in agricultural products.
153.Part 2 of Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act disapplies certain provisions of the CMO Regulation, in relation to Wales, for the duration of existing time limited provision about exceptional market conditions in Schedule 5 to the 2020 Act. Since the Act is replacing the time limited provision in Schedule 5, Schedule 3 to the Act amends the CMO Regulation in consequence (in that the amendment made to it by Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act will cease to be appropriate). But since the amendment made by Schedule 7 to the 2020 Act to the CMO Regulation is not yet in force, Schedule 3 provides (in Part 1) alternative consequential amendments to the CMO Regulation.
154.In section 23, subsection (4) states that until either of the consequential amendments in Part 1 of Schedule 3 is in force, references in section 23 to exceptional market conditions include references to circumstances that are the subject of measures under any of Articles 219, 220, 221 and 222 of the CMO Regulation. This is a transitory provision which will no longer have any effect once either paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 has been commenced. The effect is to permit flexibility as to the commencement of section 23 and Part 1 of Schedule 3.
