Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968

38 Stabilising and levy payments in respect of bacon.

(1) If it appears to the Minister appropriate to make a scheme under this section for the purpose of avoiding undue fluctuations in income arising from carrying on the business of curing bacon in the United Kingdom or in any part of the United Kingdom mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, he may, with the approval of the Treasury, make a scheme providing for—

(a) the making by the Minister, in such circumstances as may be determined under the scheme, of payments to bacon curers in respect of bacon produced by them (hereafter in this section referred to as " stabilising payments "); and

(b) the making by bacon curers, in such circumstances as may be so determined, of payments to the Minister in respect of bacon produced by them (hereafter in this section referred to as " levy payments ").

(2) A scheme under this section may be made for England and Wales, for Scotland, for Northern Ireland or for any two or all of those parts of the United Kingdom jointly; and in relation to a scheme made jointly for Scotland and any other part or parts of the United Kingdom, references to the Minister in subsection (1) of this section, except paragraphs (a) and (b), and in subsection (3)(i) of this section shall be construed as references to the Ministers and any other references to the Minister in subsections (1) and (3) of this section shall, if the scheme so provides, be construed as references to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

(3) Any such scheme may—

(a) specify the considerations to which regard is to be had in determining the circumstances in which any stabilising payments or levy payments are to be made;

(b) enable the Minister to determine the rates, or the method of calculating the rates, of any such payments ;

(c) enable the Minister to determine which bodies and persons are to be treated as bacon curers for the purposes of the scheme and what categories of pigmeat are to be treated as bacon for those purposes;

(d) provide for the registration of bacon curers for the purposes of the scheme ;

(e) provide for the keeping and inspection of records and the furnishing of information for the purposes of the scheme;

(f) specify conditions subject to which stabilising payments may be made;

(g) enable the Minister to determine the times at which levy payments are to be made, and provide for the recovery of arrears of levy payments;

(h) enable the Minister to estimate the amount of any levy payments payable by a bacon curer who, in the opinion of the Minister, has failed to furnish any information necessary to enable that amount to be properly determined, and to treat the estimated amount as the amount of those payments ;

(i) contain provisions generally for securing that payments in pursuance of the scheme are properly made, and such incidental and supplemental provisions as the Minister considers expedient for the purposes of the scheme.

(4) Different provision may be made by or under such a scheme with respect to bacon curers and bacon of such different categories as may be specified in or under the scheme.

(5) A scheme under this section shall, unless previously revoked, cease to have effect on such date as may be specified in the scheme, not being later than the expiration of the period of three years beginning with the date on which the scheme is made ; but any levy payments payable by virtue of such a scheme immediately before it ceases to have effect may be recovered as if the scheme were still in force.