An Act to authorise the making of schemes for giving financial assistance to the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland; and for purposes connected therewith.
[21st December 1954]
(1)For the purpose of assisting the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Agriculture (in this Act referred to as “the Ministry”) may, in accordance with and subject to schemes made by the Minister of Agriculture (in this Act referred to as “the Minister”) with the approval of the Minister of Finance, make payments to or for the benefit (whether direct or indirect) of[F2 persons engaged in the production, processing, packing or marketing of]F2 any produce specified in the schemes.
F3[(2)The Minister may by order provide that this Act and all such schemes made under this Act shall, except to such extent as may be specified in the order, cease to have effect on such date as may be specified in the order so however that an order shall not be made under this sub-section unless and until a draft thereof has been approved by the Minister of Finance and by a resolution of each House of Parliament.]
(3)The Minister may in connection with the making or administration of any scheme consult with such bodies of persons as appear to him to represent the interests of[F2 persons engaged in the production, processing, packing or marketing of]F2 the produce specified in the scheme or such other interests as appear to the Minister to be concerned therewith.
(4)A scheme made under this Act may be varied or revoked by a subsequent scheme made under this Act.
(5)A scheme made under this Act shall be laid before each House of Parliament, and if either House of Parliament within the next statutory period on which it has sat after the scheme is laid before it, resolves that the scheme shall be annulled, the scheme shall thereupon cease to have effect but without prejudice to anything done thereunder or to the making of a new scheme.
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(1)Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding section, a scheme made under this Act may contain such provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or desirable—
(a)for providing that, subject to any specified limits of quantity, a[F4 person]F4 who has failed to effect a sale of his produce at or above a specified price through the ordinary means of trading, may, subject to any specified conditions, receive payments of specified amounts or at specified rates in respect of such produce;
(b)for providing for the making of payments at a specified rate per [F5 hectacre] to[F4 persons]F4 producing any specified produce, subject to any specified conditions and to any specified power to reduce or withhold payment on any specified grounds;
(c)for securing that factors affecting the determination of the amount of the payments to be made under the scheme are determined by reference to production of or dealings in the specified produce in any specified period whether occurring before or after the date of the scheme or occuring partly before and partly after the date of the scheme;
(d)for making different payments in different circumstances, and in particular for making in relation to any specified produce, different payments or different provisions for different qualities or descriptions thereof or for different seasons of the year or according to the purpose for which the produce is to be used;
(e)for providing for the making, collection, application or return of equalization payments or service charges on specified produce;
(f)for requiring persons engaged in the producing[F4 processing, packing or marketing]F4 of specified produce to register with the Ministry or with any specified person and to furnish specified information in regard to the specified produce and to permit inspection of the books and premises of such persons;
(g) for exempting from the scheme any person or class of persons engaged in producing[F4 processing, packing or marketing]F4 the specified produce or any quality or description of the specified produce;
(h)for regulating and improving the quality, production[F4 processing, packing or marketing]F4 of specified produce; and
(i)for securing the due and proper administration of the scheme and for preventing fraud in connection with the scheme.
(2)Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act, section thirteen of the Agriculture Act (Northern Ireland), 1949 [1949 c.2] , shall apply in relation to the powers exercisable by the Minister under this Act as it applies in relation to the powers exercisable by the Ministry under or by virtue of any provision contained in Part I of that Act.
S. 3 rep. by SLR 1976
(1)Any person who—
(a)being required or authorised under or by virtue of a scheme made under this Act to furnish any information or record or account, furnishes any information or record or account which, to his knowledge, is false in a material particular; or
Para. (b) rep. by 1969 c. 16 (NI)
shall be guilty of an offence and shall, without prejudice to the provisions of [F6 Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 [1979 NI 19] ], be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding[F7 level 4 on the standard scale]F7 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2)Any person—
(a)who acts in contravention of or neglects or fails to comply with any provision contained in any scheme made under this Act; or
(b)who obstructs or impedes an officer of the Ministry in the exercise of any power of inspection exercisable under any such scheme
shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding[F7 level 3 on the standard scale]F7.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say:—
“agriculture” has the same meaning as in the Agriculture Act (Northern Ireland), 1949 [1949 c.2] ;
[F8“agricultural industry” includes the processing, packing, marketing or otherwise handling of any agricultural produce;]
F8“Minister” and “Ministry” have the meaning assigned to them by sub-section (1) of section one of this Act;
“produce” means anything (whether alive or dead) produced in the course of agriculture; and
“specified” means specified in a scheme made under this Act.
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This Act may be cited as the Agriculture (Temporary Assistance) Act (Northern Ireland), 1954.