The Agriculture Improvement Scheme 1985

Restrictions on payment of grant

4.—(1) The appropriate Minister shall not pay grant under paragraph 3(1) in relation to any expenditure—

(a) if at the time of receipt of the claim for grant the agricultural business in relation to which the expenditure has been incurred is the subject of a current development plan approved under the 1980 Regulations or the 1981 Regulations or of a current improvement plan approved under the 1985 Regulations;

(b) in connection with the breeding or keeping of pigs unless—

(i) that expenditure is not in respect of any work, facility or transaction which is of a kind specified in paragraph 2(b) in column 1 of Schedule 1 or, if the expenditure is in respect of any such work, facility or transaction, it appears to that Minister that, after completion of the work, facility or transaction, the number of pig places will not exceed 500 in the case of expenditure incurred before 31st December 1986 or 400 in the case of expenditure incurred on or after that date but before 31st December 1987, on the land on which there will be carried on the agricultural business in relation to which the expenditure has been incurred, and

(ii) that land will be capable of producing not less than 35 per cent. of the feeding stuffs required for the pigs kept on that land;

(c) in connection with the breeding or keeping of poultry or the production of eggs except where that expenditure is in respect of any work, facility or transaction which is of a kind specified in paragraph 1(c) in column 1 of Schedule 1 and is required to be carried out in order to comply with the terms of—

(i) an abatement notice under section 93 of the Public Health Act 1936;

(ii) a nuisance order under section 94 of that Act;

(iii) a prohibition notice under section 1 of the Public Health (Recurring Nuisances) Act 1969;

(iv) a notice requiring removal of a nuisance under section 20 of the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897;

(v) an order of a court under section 22 or 36 of that Act; or

(vi) a notice under section 110 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878;

(d) in connection with the breeding or keeping of dairy cows unless it appears to that Minister that the effect of the work, facility or transaction in respect of which that expenditure has been incurred is not to exceed the reference quantity or, where appropriate, the additional reference quantity determined in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No. 857/84(1) adopting general rules for the application of the levy referred to in Article 5c of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 804/68(2) in the milk and milk products sector.

(2) Where at the date on which a claim for grant under paragraph 3(1) is received by the appropriate Minister—

(a) the amount of the expenditure which is included in the claim (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as “the present claim”) and towards which grant is payable, or

(b) the aggregate of the amount of that expenditure and any other relevant expenditure towards which grant is payable or has been paid in respect of the same agricultural business, whether under this scheme or otherwise, as the result of a claim received during the period of six years ending with the date of receipt of the present claim,

exceeds £35,000 per labour unit reasonably required in the carrying on of the agricultural business to which the present claim relates or £50,000 for the business, that Minister shall not pay grant towards so much of that expenditure or, as the case may be, that aggregate as exceeds those figures except to the extent that such excess aggregate expenditure has been incurred in relation to any work, facility or transaction of a kind specified in paragraph 1(a) or (d), 5, 6 or 7 in column 1 of Schedule 1 and does not exceed the further sum of £24,000 for the business.

(3) Where the agricultural business to which the present claim under paragraph 3(1) relates includes the breeding or keeping of poultry or the production of eggs, work done in carrying on that part of the agricultural business (other than work required to comply with the statutory provisions referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c)(i) to (vi) above) shall be disregarded for the purposes of calculating under sub-paragraph (2) above the number of labour units reasonably required in the carrying on of the agricultural business.

(4) In this paragraph—

“expenditure” does not include expenditure incurred in respect of any work, facility or transaction of a kind specified in paragraph 9 in column 1 of Schedule 1;

“other relevant expenditure” means expenditure which is included in any previous improvement plan approved under the 1985 Regulations or towards which grant is payable or has been paid under this scheme.

(1)

Amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 590/85 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1305/85.

(2)

Article 5c was inserted by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 856/84 and subsequently amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1557/84 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1298/85.