The Arable Area Payments (Amendment) Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend, with effect from 15th January 1998, the Arable Area Payments Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/3142) (“the principal Regulations”). The principal Regulations make provision for the implementation of Council Regulation 1765/92, which establishes a support system for producers of certain arable crops, and the Commission Regulations made under it. The Commission Regulations in question are Commission Regulation 334/93, Commission Regulation 762/94, Commission Regulation 658/96 and Commission Regulation 1586/97, the last of which is implemented in Great Britain by these Regulations. The principal amendments are as follows.

Amendments are made to regulation 11(6) and (7) of the principal Regulations modifying the conditions relating to planting distances in relation to rapeseed (regulation 6). The planning distances are specified in the principal Regulations to give effect to the quality policy adopted pursuant to Article 4(2) of Commission Regulation EC/658/96 (OJ L91, 12.4.96, p. 14).

The date by which a farmer is required to make the declaration for non-food crops which he is required to make by Article 7(3) of Commission Regulation EEC/334/93 or, as the case may be, Article 5(4) of Commission Regulation EC/1586/97, is amended. Before the coming into force of these Regulations, this date was the 15th November in the scheme year in respect of which set-aside compensatory payments have been claimed. As from the coming into force of these Regulations, the relevant date is the 9th February in the scheme year following that scheme year (regulation 7). The date by which a collector or first processor of non-food crops is required to provide the information referred to in regulation 12(2) of the principal Regulations is also amended from the 15th November in the scheme year in respect of which set-aside compensatory payments have been claimed to the 9th February in the scheme year following that scheme year (regulation 7).

These Regulations also amend regulation 11, 12 and 14 of the principal Regulations in implementation of Commission Regulation EC/1586/97 (regulation 8). The latter Regulation repeals Commission Regulation EC/334/93 except insofar as it continues to apply to contracts concluded before the entry into force of Commission Regulation EC/1586/97 (10th August 1997).

A number of modifications have been made to Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations (management requirements in relation to set-aside land), by inserting new conditions in Parts B and D which relate to the type, amount and origin of organic waste which may be applied to set-aside land, and the period during which these conditions are to apply (regulation 10). The management requirements specified in Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations were imposed pursuant to Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation EC/762/94 (OJ L90, 7.4.94, p. 8) which requires Member States to take appropriate measures in relation to set-aside land.

No regulatory appraisal has been prepared in relation to these Regulations.