The Common Agricultural Policy Basic Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Title, commencement and interpretation N.I.

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Common Agricultural Policy Basic Payment and Support Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and shall come into operation on 30th April 2015.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 M1 shall apply to this Order as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.

Marginal Citations

M1 1954 c.33 (NI).

Interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation” means Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No.639/2014 supplementing the Direct Payments Regulation M2 ;

“the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation” means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No.641/2014 laying down rules for the application of the Direct Payments Regulation M3 ;

“the Direct Payments Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy M4 ;

“the European Regulations” means—

(a)

the Direct Payments Regulation;

(b)

the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation;

(c)

the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation; and

(d)

the Horizontal Implementing Regulation;

“the Horizontal Implementing Regulation” means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system, rural development measures and cross compliance M5 ;

“Bank Holiday” means a day specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M6 ;

“working day” means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday.

(2) Terms used in these Regulations that are also used in any of the European Regulations have the meaning they bear in those Regulations.

[F1 (3) In these Regulations, any reference to “the European Regulations” is a reference to those Regulations as amended from time to time.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 2(3) inserted (6.3.2019) by The Agriculture (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/11), regs. 1(1), 6(2)

Marginal Citations

M2 O.J. No. L 181, 20.6.2014, p.1.

M3 O.J. No. L 181, 20.6.2014, p. 74.

M4 O.J. No. L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608, as amended by Regulation (EU) No. 1310/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ No. L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 865).

M5 O.J. No. L 227, 31.7.2014, p.69.

M6 1971, c.80.

PART 1 N.I. Basic Payment Scheme

Regions N.I.

3.—(1) For the purposes of Article 23(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation, Northern Ireland will be a single region.

Payment entitlements N.I.

4.—(1) For the purposes of Article 8(1) of the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation, the period within which the transferor of payment entitlements must notify the Department of the transfer is—

(a) on or before 2nd May 2016, if 2016 is the first calendar year in which the transferee may include those entitlements in the transferee's application for direct payments; or

(b) otherwise from 3rd May of the preceding calendar year to 2nd May (both those dates included) of the first calendar year where the first calendar year is 2017 or a subsequent year in which the transferee may include those entitlements in the transferee's application for direct payments.

(2) If, for the purposes of paragraph (1), 2nd May is not a working day, the deadline for notification is the next working day.

[F2 (3) For the purposes of Article 22(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation, to the extent that Article relates to direct payments F3 ..., applications for the allocation of payment entitlements must be submitted on or before 15^th May of the relevant calendar year.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Reg. 4(3) substituted (24.2.2020) by The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/22), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a)

F3 Words in reg. 4(3) omitted (23.2.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/40), regs. 1(1), 4

Allocation of Payment Entitlements N.I.

5.  Article 21(3) of the Direct Payments Regulation shall not be applied.

6.  Article 24(1)(c) of the Direct Payments Regulation shall be applied with the exception of the last sentence of that paragraph.

7.  The limitations referred to in Article 24(3) of the Direct Payments Regulation shall not be applied.

8.  In accordance with Article 25(4) of the Direct Payments Regulation payment entitlements with an initial unit value lower than 100% of the regional unit value in 2019 shall for claim year 2019 have their unit value increased by 71.4% of the difference between their initial unit value and 100% of the regional unit value in 2019.

9.  The decrease referred to in Article 25(7) of the Direct Payments Regulation shall be applied in a linear fashion each year.

10.  The initial unit value of payment entitlements as referred to in Article 26 of the Direct Payments Regulation shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph 3 of that Article.

Active farmers N.I.

F4 11.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F4 Reg. 11 revoked (25.6.2018) by The Common Agricultural Policy Basic Payment and Support Schemes (Revocation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/122), regs. 1, 3

Minimum eligible area of holding N.I.

12.  For the purposes of Article 10(1) F5 ... of the Direct Payments Regulation, no direct payments may be granted to a farmer where the eligible area of the holding for which the payments are claimed or due to be granted in accordance with Article 10(1)F6 ... is less than three hectares.

Textual Amendments

F5 Words in reg. 12 omitted (24.2.2020) by virtue of The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/22), regs. 1(1), 2(3)(a)

F6 Word in reg. 12 omitted (24.2.2020) by virtue of The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/22), regs. 1(1), 2(3)(b)

13.  For the purposes of Article 24(9) of the Direct Payments Regulation, the minimum size per holding in respect of which a farmer may apply for an allocation of payment entitlements shall be 3 hectares.

Date on which eligible land must be at farmer's disposal N.I.

14.  In relation to any year in which the farmer makes a declaration in respect of parcels pursuant to Article 33(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation, the date on which those parcels must be at the farmer's disposal is 15th May.

Reductions N.I.

15.  For the purposes of Article 11(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation, where the direct payments to be granted to a farmer pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III of that Regulation for a given calendar year exceed [F7 £190 000], the sum in excess of that amount must be reduced by 100%.

Textual Amendments

F7 Sum in reg. 15 substituted (25.2.2021) by The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/42), regs. 1(1), 16

Short rotation coppice N.I.

16.  For the purposes of Article 4(1)(k) F8 ... of the Direct Payments Regulation—

(a) the list of planted tree species is—

(i) Alder (Alnus spp);

(ii) Birch (Betula spp);

(iii) Hazel (Corylus avellana);

(iv) Ash (Fraxinus excelsior);

(v) Lime (Tilia cordata);

(vi) Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa);

(vii) Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus);

(viii) Willow (Salix spp); and

(ix) Poplar (Populus spp);

(b) the maximum harvest cycle is 5 years.

Textual Amendments

F8 Words in reg. 16 omitted (24.2.2020) by virtue of The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/22), regs. 1(1), 2(4)

PART 2 N.I. Young farmer scheme

Young farmer N.I.

17.—(1) The payment for young farmers as referred to in Annex I of the Direct Payments Regulation shall be calculated in accordance with Article 50(8) of that Regulation.

(2) For the purposes of Article 50(9) of the Direct Payments Regulation, a single maximum limit of 90 hectares is applicable to the number of payment entitlements activated by the farmer.

PART 3 N.I. Greening

Calculation of greening payment N.I.

F9 18.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F9 Reg. 18 omitted (25.2.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/42), regs. 1(1), 9(2)

Crop diversification N.I.

F10 19.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F10 Reg. 19 omitted (25.2.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/42), regs. 1(1), 9(3)

Environmentally sensitive permanent grassland N.I.

20.— [F11 (1) Permanent grasslands in areas to which the Conservation Directives apply are designated as permanent grasslands which are environmentally sensitive for the purposes of and in the areas referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 45(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation as it had effect immediately before exit day.]

(2) In paragraph (1)—

“the Conservation Directives” means—

(a)

Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora M7 [F12 as amended from time to time] ; and

(b)

Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds M8 [F12 as amended from time to time] ;

Textual Amendments

F11 Reg. 20(1) substituted (24.2.2020) by The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments to Farmers) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (S.R. 2020/22), regs. 1(1), 2(5)

F12 Words in reg. 20(2) inserted (6.3.2019) by The Agriculture (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/11), regs. 1(1), 6(3)

Marginal Citations

M7 O.J. No. L 206, 22.7.1992 p.7

M8 O.J. No. L 20, 26.1.2010, p.7. This instrument codifies, with minor amendments, Council Directive 1979/409/EEC as amended.

Ecological focus areas N.I.

F13 21.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F13 Reg. 21 omitted (25.2.2021) by virtue of The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021/42), regs. 1(1), 9(4)

Revocations and savings N.I.

22.—(1) The Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 M9 are revoked.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 as in force immediately before 2015 continue to apply in respect of aid applications relating to 2014 and earlier claim years.

Marginal Citations

M9 S.R. 2010 No. 161

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 27th March 2015.

L.S.

David Small

A senior officer of the

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development