Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations, which extend to England only, supplement the Community legislation listed in the Schedule to the Regulations (“the Community legislation”). The Community legislation inter alia provides for assistance to be paid from the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (“Community assistance”) towards operations which promote rural development by facilitating the development and structural adjustment of certain rural areas (“Objective 1 regions”). In the case of England, these regions are Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South Yorkshire.
The Regulations operate within the scope of these provisions by enabling financial assistance to be paid by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (“the Minister”) in respect of operations which he has approved (regulation 3). Such operations may be approved if they are eligible for assistance under the Community legislation and fall within a priority set out in a Single Programming Document which has been approved by the Commission of the European Communities (“the Commission”) (regulation 5).
The Regulations provide for the making of claims for, and the payment of, financial assistance following approval (regulations 6 and 7) and also impose obligations concerning the provision of information (regulation 8) and record-keeping (regulation 10) on those in receipt of financial assistance. In addition, they introduce a system of penalties to be imposed in the event of a breach of obligations by granting the Minister various powers to take action, up to and including termination of the approval in the event of breaches of the conditions of an approval and in a number of other cases (regulations 11 to 13). Regulation 9 confers powers of entry and inspection on certain authorised persons (including officials of the Commission), whilst regulation 16 creates offences in respect of the furnishing of false information for the purpose of obtaining financial assistance and in respect of obstruction.
The Regulations revoke, subject to a transitional saving, the Rural Development Grants (Agriculture) (No. 2) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/2202) and regulation 3 of the Agriculture (Closure of Grant Schemes) (England) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/205).
No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations.
Copies of the Commission Decisions approving the Single Programming Documents in respect of the three Objective 1 regions (referred to in paragraphs 7 to 9 of the Schedule) are available for inspection at the library of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2EY.