These Regulations amend the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010 (“the principal Regulations”), which make provision for the purposes of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (“the Rural Development Regulation” - OJ L 347, 20.12.2013 p.487), in particular Articles 31 and 32, and make provision for less favoured area support (“LFAS”) payments for the period 2015 to 2017 under the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) (see http://www.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/SRDP). By 2018, the LFAS Scheme will be replaced by a new scheme for payments in respect of areas facing natural or other specific constraints in accordance with the Rural Development Regulation.

Regulation 3 inserts a new regulation 9A into the principal Regulations and modifies the application of regulations 8, 9 and 10 of, and Schedule 4 to, the principal Regulations. This is to make provision for the calculation of stocking density and the historic land area in respect of an application for LFAS in any Scheme Year following the transfer of all or part of a holding. For the purposes of calculating LFAS in respect of the transferee of the holding, the Scottish Ministers will be able to take into account the livestock numbers and the area of eligible land or number of forage hectares declared by the transferor in relation to an application for LFAS in respect of a Scheme Year prior to the transfer.

Regulation 4 amends Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations to insert a new land use code for chicory for stock feed (CHIC) for the purpose of the definition of “eligible land” in regulation 5(1) of the principal Regulations.

No business and regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations as there is no impact on the cost of business.