Explanatory Notes

Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024

2024 asp 11

30 July 2024

The Act

Part 3: Powers to modify existing legislation relating to support

Section 22 - Power to simplify, improve or update relevant CAP legislation

126. This section amends sections 1 and 2 of ARELDS.

127. The amendment to section 1 (defined terms) adds Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 (establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products) (“the CMO Regulation”) to the list of “relevant CAP legislation” (which list is also being renamed: it was previously the “main CAP legislation”). The effect of this (coupled with the consequential amendments mentioned below) is to broaden the effect of several of the subsequent sections of ARELDS (namely sections 2, 3 and 4) to permit a range of changes to be made to the CMO Regulation in addition to the other pieces of CAP legislation listed in subsection (1), and any subordinate legislation implementing or otherwise referred to. This latter aspect means the legislation implementing the CMO Regulation may also be amended.

128. The “relevant CAP legislation” is therefore—

• Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy (sometimes called the Direct Payments Regulation),

• Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (sometimes called the Rural Development Regulation),

• The CMO regulation (defined above),

• Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy (sometimes called the Horizontal Regulation),

• Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund etc. (often called the Common Provisions regulation). However, this is only part of the relevant legislation in so far as it relates to the operation of the Rural Development Regulation,

• any delegated or implementing Regulations made (whether by the Commission or the Council) under any of the Regulations referred to above,

• any subordinate legislation implementing or otherwise relating to any of the Regulations referred to above (including the delegated or implementing regulations).

129. The amendments to section 2:

• adjust subsection (1) to link to the new definition of relevant CAP legislation (that incorporates the CMO regulation) and enable the restatement (in addition to modification) of that legislation,

• the amendment to subsection (2) creates a new paragraph structure with the new material in paragraph (b) permitting modifications of the relevant CAP legislation to take account of changes in technology or developments in scientific understanding,

• the new subsection (2A) provides the parameters for restatement to the relevant CAP legislation. This may be done to improve the clarity or accessibility of the legislation (including by removing doubts or ambiguities) and also for the purposes of taking account of changes in legislation or developments in scientific understanding,

• the new subsection (2B) makes clear the restatement can use different words or concepts from what is being restated. This allows greater flexibility of approach in any restatement,

• lastly, the section title of section 2 is updated to reflect its expanded content.