The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010

PART II S ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility for payment of less favoured area support S

3.—(1) Payment of less favoured area support may be made to an applicant in respect of a Scheme Year [F1 , other than [F2 a Scheme Year commencing on or after 1st January 2014]] only if—

(a) subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), that applicant has given an undertaking to continue to use eligible land for a period of not less than five years from the first payment made under—

(i) these Regulations;

(ii) the 2007 Regulations; or

(iii) the 2005 Regulations; and

(b) that applicant has, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, met the requirements of cross compliance on the applicant’s holding throughout the Scheme Year.

[F3 (1A) Payment of less favoured area support may be made to an applicant in respect of [F4 a Scheme Year commencing on or after 1st January 2014] only if that applicant has, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, met the requirements of cross compliance on the applicant's holding throughout that Scheme Year.]

(2) An applicant may be released from the undertaking referred to in paragraph (1)(a)—

(a) if the applicant has, during the period for which the undertaking was given, transferred all or part of the holding to another person and that person agrees to take over the undertaking;

(b) if the applicant has, during the period for which the undertaking was given, transferred all or part of the holding to an organisation, which in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, has the main objective of nature conservation and where the transfer is for the principle purpose of securing a permanent change of land use into nature conservation with an associated benefit to the environment; or

(c) if, in the opinion of Scottish Ministers, the applicant is prevented from continuing to discharge that undertaking by reason of any material circumstances beyond the control of that person.

(3) In the event that the applicant has ceased farming and the person to whom all or part of the holding has been transferred does not agree to be bound by the undertaking referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the Scottish Ministers may, if satisfied that the applicant has, at the time of the cessation of farming, honoured a significant proportion of the undertaking, release the applicant from that undertaking.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 3(1) inserted (1.3.2014) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2014 (S.S.I. 2014/7), regs. 1, 4(a)

F2 Words in reg. 3(1) substituted (9.6.2015) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/185), regs. 1, 4(a)

F3 Reg. 3(1A) inserted (1.3.2014) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2014 (S.S.I. 2014/7), regs. 1, 4(b)

F4 Words in reg. 3(1A) substituted (9.6.2015) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/185), regs. 1, 4(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 3 in force at 2.7.2010, see reg. 1(1)

[F5 Payment of less favoured area support S

4.   The Scottish Ministers may, in respect of a Scheme Year, pay less favoured area support to an applicant who in their opinion—

(a) actively farms eligible land—

(i) which is not less than 3 hectares; and

(ii) for a period or periods totalling not less than 183 days during the Scheme Year; and

(b) is an active farmer within the meaning of Article 9 of the Direct Payments Regulation.]

Textual Amendments

F5 Reg. 4 substituted (9.6.2015) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/185), regs. 1, 5

Eligible land S

5.— [F6 (1) Eligible land comprises the number of hectares of forage area in a less favoured area, as declared by the applicant in a single application in respect of the Scheme Year to which payment relates, with—

(a) a less favoured area grazing category—

(i) attributed to it by the Scottish Ministers prior to 1st January 2007; or

(ii) if no grazing category was attributed by the Scottish Ministers prior to 1st January 2007, a grazing category attributed by the Scottish Ministers by reference to the stocking density calculated in accordance with regulation 9(4) and Parts I and II of Schedule 4; and

(b) one of the land use codes specified in column 2 of Schedule 2 corresponding to the entry in column 1 of Schedule 2 relating to the use of land.]

as declared by the applicant in a single application in respect of the Scheme Year to which payment relates.

(2) Eligible land includes land in respect of which the applicant has a right of use pursuant to a short term let, seasonal grazing or common grazing or other such arrangement.

[F7 (3) If an application for less favoured area support relates to land situated outwith the dairy ring fence area and all or part of the land was used for dairy activity in the applicable year, the Scottish Ministers shall determine the area of ineligible land attributable to dairy activity.]

(4) The ineligible area referred to in paragraph (3) shall be deducted from the eligible area identified in accordance with paragraph (1).

Textual Amendments

F6 Reg. 5(1) substituted (14.3.2011) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011 (S.S.I. 2011/73), regs. 1, 4

F7 Reg. 5(3) substituted (9.6.2015) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/185), regs. 1, 6

Commencement Information

I2 Reg. 5 in force at 2.7.2010, see reg. 1(1)

[F8 Transfer of a holding S

6.— (1) A decision by the Scottish Ministers to make a payment under regulation 4—

(a) in relation to a Scheme Year commencing before 1st January 2015, must be in accordance with Article 82 of Commission Regulation 1122/2009; and

(b) in relation to a Scheme Year commencing on or after 1st January 2015, must be in accordance with Article 8 of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation.

(2) In relation to a Scheme Year commencing before 1st January 2015, for the purposes of paragraph 6 of Article 82 of Commission Regulation 1122/2009, the Scottish Ministers must grant less favoured area support to the transferor of a holding if—

(a) the transferor has been in continuous occupation of the holding for a period of not less than 183 calendar days in the Scheme Year concerned; and

(b) the requirements of paragraphs 2 to 5 of Article 82 of Commission Regulation 1122/2009 have, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, been fulfilled.

(3) In relation to a Scheme Year commencing on or after 1st January 2015, for the purposes of paragraph 5 of Article 8 of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation, the Scottish Ministers must grant less favoured area support to the transferor of a holding if—

(a) the transferor has been in continuous occupation of the holding for a period of not less than 183 calendar days in the Scheme Year concerned; and

(b) the requirements of paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 8 of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation have, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, been fulfilled.]

Textual Amendments

F8 Reg. 6 substituted (9.6.2015) by The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/185), regs. 1, 7