Agriculture Act 1967

PART IV Co-operative Activities

58 The Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation.

(1) There shall be established a body to be called the Central Council for Agricultural and Horticultural Co-operation (in this Part of this Act referred to as "the Council ").

(2) It shall be the function of the Council to organise, promote, encourage, develop and co-ordinate co-operation in agriculture and horticulture, including co-operation and mutual assistance in production, storage, preparation for market, marketing, transport, the provision of buildings, equipment and services for farmers and other producers, research and other incidental activities, and the Council's activities shall include—

(a) the spread of information among producers about the principles and methods of co-operation in the production and marketing of agricultural and horticultural produce, and

(b) research, study and experiments directed to finding and evaluating new or untried ways of applying such principles and methods, and the publication of the results of the research, studies and experiments.

(3) It shall also be the function of the Council to put themselves in a position to advise the Ministers on all matters relating to co-operation in agriculture and horticulture.

(4) The Council shall consist of—

(a) not more than six members appointed by the Ministers, and

(b) eight other members nominated or selected in accordance with subsections (5) and (6) below and appointed by the Ministers.

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, of the said eight members—

(a) four shall be persons nominated by such organisations as appear to the Ministers appropriate as representing the interests of farmers and other producers in agriculture and horticulture, and

(b) four shall be persons nominated by such organisations as appear to the Ministers appropriate as representing the interests of co-operative associations in agriculture and horticulture,

one of each four being a person nominated as representing interests in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

(6) Where the Ministers invite nominations for the purpose of appointing a person to the Council as representing a particular interest, they may specify a time within which nominations are to be made and may, in default of nominations within that time, themselves select for appointment a person appearing to them qualified to represent that interest; and where a nomination is made, but the Ministers decline to make any appointment thereon, they shall invite further nominations.

(7) The Council shall have a chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the Ministers from among the members of the Council appointed under subsection (4)(a) above.

(8) The Ministers shall—

(a) pay out of money provided by Parliament to the members of the Council such travelling or other allowances as the Ministers, with the approval of the Treasury, may determine, and in the case of any member of the Council as respects whom the Ministers, with the approval of the Treasury, so determine, may pay out of money provided by Parliament such remuneration, whether by way of salary or fees, as the Ministers and the Treasury may determine in his case, and

(b) in the case of any member of the Council to whom the Ministers, with the approval of the Treasury, determine that this paragraph applies, pay out of money provided by Parliament such pension, or make such payments out of money provided by Parliament toward the provision of a pension, to or in respect of him as the Ministers and the Treasury may determine in his case,

and if a person ceases to be a member of the Council and it appears to the Ministers that there are special circumstances which make it right that that person should receive compensation the Ministers may, with the approval of the Treasury, pay out of money provided by Parliament to that person a sum of such amount as the Ministers may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

(9) The Ministers shall to such extent as may be approved by the Treasury pay out of money provided by Parliament any expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the Council in the performance of their functions.

(10) Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Council.

59 Council's annual report and accounts.

(1) The Council shall prepare and transmit to the Ministers annually a report setting out what has been done in the discharge of their functions under this Act during their financial year last completed, and the Ministers shall lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

(2) The Council shall keep proper accounts and other records in such form as the Ministers may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine.

(3) The Council shall prepare and transmit to the Ministers in respect of each of their financial years statements of account in such form as the Ministers may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine, and the Ministers shall transmit them on or before 30th September following the financial year to the Comptroller and Auditor General, who shall examine and certify them and lay copies of them together with his report thereon before each House of Parliament.

60 Directions to Council by Ministers.

(1) The Ministers, after consultation with the Council, may give to the Council such directions of a general character with respect to the performance of any functions of the Council as appear to the Ministers to be requisite in the public interest.

(2) The Ministers may, as respects such of the Council's books, records and accounts as appear to the Ministers to be ones for which, having regard to the Ministers' relationship with the Council, it is reasonable to give such a direction, direct that they shall be kept available by the Council at all reasonable times for inspection by or on behalf of the Ministers or of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(3) The Council's report for any year under the last foregoing section shall set out any direction given by the Ministers under subsection (1) of this section to the Council during that year, unless the Ministers have notified the Council their opinion that it is against the interests of national security to do so.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Council to comply with any directions given by the Ministers under this section.

61 Grants for purposes connected with co-operative activities.

(1) The Ministers may, in accordance with a scheme made by them with the approval of the Treasury, make out of money provided by Parliament grants in connection with the carrying out by any person of proposals designed to organise, promote, encourage, develop or co-ordinate any form of cooperation in agriculture or horticulture, including co-operation and mutual assistance in production, storage, preparation for market, marketing, transport, the provision of buildings, equipment and services for farmers and other producers, research and other incidental activities.

(2) Grants shall not be made under this section to any associations or bodies whose objects consist of or include supplying goods to their members so far as the grants would assist them, directly and exclusively, in activities connected with the supply of such goods, but that shall not be taken as preventing the making of grants to meet expenditure incurred in research and study directed to promoting or facilitating mergers of such associations or bodies.

The goods referred to in this subsection do not, in the case of any association or body, include agricultural or horticultural produce which has been wholly or mainly produced by members thereof, or anything derived wholly or in part from any such produce.

(3) A scheme under this section—

(a) shall provide for grant being payable by reference to proposals which have been submitted to and recommended by the Council and approved by the Ministers, which recommendation and approval may be given before or, in such classes of cases as the Ministers may direct, after the carrying out of the proposals,

(b) may authorise the approval of proposals to be varied or withdrawn by the Ministers with the written consent of the person making the proposals,

(c) shall prescribe the functions to be performed by the Council in connection with the administration of the scheme,

(d) may confer on a person eligible for grant the amount of which depends on the carrying out of works of some kind, or on some other cost, a right to elect to take that cost for purposes of grant as being of such standard amount as may be determined by or under the scheme,

(e) may authorise the reduction or withholding of grant where assistance in respect of expenditure for which the grant is made is given under any enactment other than this section,

(f) may make the payment of grant subject to any conditions,

(g) may contain such incidental and supplemental provisions as appear to the Ministers expedient for the purposes of the scheme,

(h) may be varied or revoked by a subsequent scheme under this section,

(i) shall be made by statutory instrument of which a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

(4) If at any time after the approval of proposals under a scheme under this section, and whether before or after the proposals have been fully carried out, it appears to the Ministers—

(a) that any condition imposed under a scheme in relation to the proposals has not been complied with, or

(b) that in connection with the submission of the proposals the person submitting them gave information on any matter which was false or misleading in a material respect,

the Ministers may, on demand made after compliance with subsection (5) below, recover any grant or any part of a grant paid with reference to the proposals, and may revoke the approval in whole or in part.

(5) Before making a demand or revoking an approval under subsection (4) above the Ministers—

(a) shall give to any person to whom any payment by way of a grant in relation to the proposals would be payable, or from whom any such payment would be recoverable, a written notification of the reasons for the proposed action, and

(b) shall accord to each such person an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed for the purpose by the Ministers, and

(c) shall consider the report of a person so appointed and supply a copy of the report to each person who is entitled to appear before the person submitting it.

(6) Proposals in respect of which grant is payable under this section must be submitted to the Council within the period of ten years beginning with the date of the coming into force of this section, but the Ministers may from time to time, by order made by statutory instrument with the approval of the Treasury, of which a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Commons House of Parliament, extend or further extend that period by such additional period, not exceeding five years, as may be specified in the order.

(7) Sums paid by way of grant under this section (including any administrative costs incurred by the Council) shall to such extent as the Ministers may from time to time determine be treated for the purposes of section 3 of the [1957 c. 57.] Agriculture Act 1957 (guaranteed prices) as production grants.

(8) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section a scheme under this section may provide for grants for any purpose for which grants may be made under—

(a) section 1(2) or section 4 of the [1960 c. 22.] Horticulture Act 1960,

(b) section 6 or section 7 of the [1963 c. 11.] Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963 or, so far as it relates to grants to co-operative bodies, section 9 of that Act,

(c) section 4 of the [1964 c. 28.] Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964,

and as from such date as may be specified in an order made by the Ministers by statutory instrument the said enactments, other than the said section 9 of the Act of 1963, and in the said section 9(1) the words "or for the formation of bodies carrying on agricultural or horticultural producers' marketing businesses" shall cease to have

An order under this subsection may specify different dates for different enactments and may contain such savings and exceptions on the repeals made by this subsection as may be specified in the order.

(9) Where before the coming into force of a scheme under this section either of the Ministers, with a view to making a grant out of moneys provided by Parliament, has approved any programme relating to a producers' marketing business in agriculture, being a programme corresponding to one which, if for horticultural purposes, would be eligible for grant under section 4 of the [1964 c. 28.] Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964, any grant payable in accordance with the terms of the approval after the said date shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

62 Supplemental.

(1) In this Part of this Act " agriculture or horticulture " includes everything included in the expression " agriculture " as defined in section 109(3) of the [1947 c. 48.] Agriculture Act 1947 or, as the case may be, in section 86(3) of the [1948 c. 45.] Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948.

(2) In the last foregoing section " the Ministers " means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State, and a scheme under that section may provide that functions under the scheme shall be exercisable by those Ministers separately; and subject to any such provision in a scheme, and except in subsection (9) of that section, that expression in that section shall mean those Ministers acting jointly.

(3) In this Part of this Act, except the last foregoing section, " the Ministers " means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with agriculture in Scotland and Northern Ireland acting jointly.

(4) This Part of this Act extends to Northern Ireland.