Agriculture Act 1970

29 Farm capital grants

(1) The appropriate authority may with the approval of the Treasury by scheme provide for the making, subject to such exceptions or restrictions as may be provided for by the scheme, of grants of amounts determined in such manner as may be provided for by or under the scheme towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying on or establishment of an agricultural business, being expenditure which—

(a) has been or is to be incurred in respect of any such matters as may be specified in the scheme, or in respect of works or facilities certified under section 26(6) of the [1967 c. 22.] Agriculture Act 1967 as amended by subsection (2)(e) of section 32 of this Act; and

(b) appears to the appropriate Minister to be of a capital nature or incurred in connection with expenditure of a capital nature; and

(c) is approved by the appropriate Minister for the purposes of a grant under the scheme.

(2) Any scheme under this section shall be made by statutory instrument and—

(a) may be made for any one, or jointly for any two or for all three, of the following, namely—

(i) England and Wales ;

(ii) Scotland;

(iii) Northern Ireland;

(b) may make different provision for different circum stances ;

(c) may vary or revoke any previous scheme under this section if or so far as that previous scheme is made for the same part or parts of the United Kingdom as the revoking or varying scheme ;

(d) shall be laid before Parliament after being made and cease to have effect (without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of a new scheme) after the expiration of a period of forty days (calculated in accordance with section 7(1) of the [1946 c. 36.] Statutory Instruments Act 1946) beginning with the day on which it is made unless within that period it has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament ;

and the duration of such a scheme (that is to say, the period within which expenditure must qualify in accordance with the provisions of the scheme for consideration for a grant thereunder) shall be a period not exceeding seven years, but that period may from time to time be extended by further schemes under this section for periods not exceeding seven years at a time.

(3) Any grant under such a scheme may be made, and any approval under such a scheme may be given, subject to such conditions as the appropriate Minister thinks fit; and any payment by way of such a grant shall be made at such time, or by such instalments at such intervals or times, as the appropriate Minister may determine—

(a) where the expenditure in question is incurred for the purposes of activities on land situated in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, by the Minister;

(b) where that expenditure is incurred for the purposes of activities on land situated in Scotland, by the Secretary of State.

(4) If at any time after the appropriate Minister has approved any expenditure for the purposes of a grant under such a scheme it appears to that Minister—

(a) that any condition subject to which the approval was given or the grant has been made has not been complied with; or

(b) that any work in respect of expenditure on which the approval was given has been badly done, or has been or is being unreasonably delayed, or is unlikely to be completed; or

(c) that the person by whom the application for that approval was made (hereafter in this subsection referred to as " the applicant ") gave information on any matter relevant to the giving of the approval which was false or misleading in a material respect,

the appropriate Minister may revoke the approval in respect of the whole or part of the expenditure and, where in pursuance of subsection (3)(a) or (b) of this section any payment has been made by the Minister or the Secretary of State by way of grant, the Minister or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State may on demand recover an amount equal to that payment or such part thereof as the appropriate Minister may specify; but before revoking an approval in whole or in part under this subsection the appropriate Minister—

(i) shall give to the applicant a written notification of the reasons for the revocation ; and

(ii) shall accord to the applicant an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed for the purpose by the appropriate Minister; and

(iii) shall consider the report by any person so appointed and supply a copy of that report to the applicant.

(5) If any person, for the purpose of obtaining for himself or any other person any grant under such a scheme, knowingly or recklessly makes a false statement, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £400.

(6) As from such date as the appropriate authority may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and subject to subsection (7) of this section, the enactments mentioned in Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act and any instrument made thereunder shall to the extent specified in the third column of the said Part I, or, as the case may be, to the extent that the instrument was made by virtue of any provision of those enactments so specified, cease to have effect.

(7) Notwithstanding subsection (6) of this section, the appropriate authority may with the approval of the Treasury by order provide for any such enactment or instrument as is referred to in that subsection to continue in force for such period after the date appointed under that subsection as may be specified in the order (and, in the case of the provisions of section 26 of the [1967 c. 22.] Agriculture Act 1967 so referred to, as if the further amendments to that section made by section 32 of this Act had not been made) for the purposes of cases of any description so specified ; and any order under this subsection shall be made by statutory instrument and—

(a) may make different provision for different circumstances ;

(b) may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order under this subsection; and

(c) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.