The Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2003

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the use of land for other agricultural purposes;

“area aid application” has the same meaning as in Article 6 of Council Regulation 3508/92;

“claimant” means any person who has made a claim for hill farm allowance and “claim” shall be construed accordingly;

“claimed forage area” means land which has been entered as forage area in an area aid application for 2002;

“Commission Regulation 2316/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2316/1999(1) laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1251/1999(2);

“Commission Regulation 2342/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2342/1999(3) laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal as regards premium schemes;

“common land” means any land which is registered as common land with grazing rights under the Commons Registration Act 1965(4);

“compensatory allowance” means any payment made under these Regulations, the Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2002(5), the Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2001(6), the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1999(7), the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1996(8) or the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1994(9);

“Council Regulation 2092/91” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91(10) on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs;

“Council Regulation 3508/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3508/92(11) establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes;

“Council Regulation 1254/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1254/1999(12) on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal;

“Council Regulation 1257/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999(13) on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations;

“disadvantaged land” (except in the expression “severely disadvantaged land”) means any area of land shown coloured blue on the England LFA maps;

“eligible forage area” means such part of the qualifying forage area as lies within a less favoured area;

“the England LFA maps” means the three volumes of maps numbered 1 to 3, each volume being marked “Volume of maps of less-favoured farming areas in England”, dated 20th May 1991, signed and sealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and deposited at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR;

“ewe” means a female sheep which is at least one year old on 1st January 2003, or has lambed by that date;

“forage area” has the same meaning as in Article 12(2)(b) of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“heifer” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“hill farm allowance” means the compensatory allowance payable in accordance with these Regulations and with Chapter V of Title II of Council Regulation 1257/1999;

“holding” has the same meaning as in Article 1 of Council Regulation 3508/92;

“individual reference quantity of milk” has the same meaning as in Article 31 of Commission Regulation 2342/1999;

“less favoured area” means any area of land shown coloured blue or pink on the England LFA maps except land situated in the Isles of Scilly;

“livestock unit” means a unit of measurement of livestock numbers, and each of the following constitutes a single livestock unit—

(a)

one suckler cow;

(b)

one heifer aged 24 months or over;

(c)

1.67 heifers under the age of 24 months; and

(d)

6.67 ewes;

“moorland” means all the land which is shown as a less favoured area on the England LFA maps and which is also shown coloured pink in the three volumes of maps entitled “Moorland Map of England 1992” each volume being marked with the number of the volume, dated 20th February 2001, signed on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and deposited at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR;

“notional livestock density” means the number of livestock units per hectare of the claimant’s eligible forage area, calculated in accordance with Schedule 1;

“organic farmer” means a claimant who—

(a)

throughout 2002—

(i)

produced, with a view to subsequent marketing, livestock and unprocessed livestock products as referred to in Article 1(1)(a) of Council Regulation 2092/91; and

(ii)

complied with any more stringent rules applying to the production of livestock or livestock products in the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 12 of Council Regulation 2092/91; and

(b)

did not at any time in 2002 receive aid under the Organic Farming (Aid) Regulations 1994(14), the Organic Farming Regulations 1999(15) or the Organic Farming (England Rural Development Programme) Regulations 2001(16);

“other competent authority” means the Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales or, in Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“permanent pasture” has the meaning specified in Article 2.1 of, and Annex I to, Commission Regulation 2316/1999;

“qualifying forage area” means the relevant forage area or, in relation to a claimant to whom regulation 9 applies, such part of the relevant forage area as results from the deductions made to the relevant forage area in accordance with that regulation;

“related less favoured area” means, in relation to a claimant, all that claimed forage area, excluding any less favoured area, in respect of which the Secretary of State has been advised by any other competent authority that the claimant is eligible for a related less favoured area allowance;

“related less favoured area allowance” means—

(a)

in relation to Northern Ireland, the Less Favoured Area Compensatory Allowance;

(b)

in relation to Scotland, the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme; and

(c)

in relation to Wales, the Tir Mynydd Scheme;

“relevant animals” means, in relation to a claimant, the suckler cows, heifers and ewes in respect of which the claimant was paid suckler cow premium or sheep annual premium in 2002;

“relevant forage area” means any claimed forage area situated in England;

“severely disadvantaged land” means any area of land shown coloured pink on the England LFA maps except land situated in the Isles of Scilly;

“sheep annual premium” means the premium payable under the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations 1992(17);

“suckler cow” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of Council Regulation 1254/1999;

“suckler cow premium” means the premium payable under the Suckler Cow Premium Regulations 2001(18).

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date on which these Regulations are made.

(3) A reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is capable of being subsequently reproduced.

(1)

O.J. L280, 30.10.1999, p.43, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 327/2002 (O.J. No. L51, 22.2.2002, p.14).

(2)

O.J. L160, 26.6.1999, p.1, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1038/2001 (O.J. No. L145, 31.5.2001, p.16).

(3)

O.J. L281, 04.11.1999, p.30, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2381/2002 (O.J. No. L358, 31.12.2002, p.119).

(4)

1965 c. 64.

(5)

S.I. 2002/271.

(6)

S.I. 2001/476.

(7)

S.I. 1999/3316.

(8)

S.I. 1996/1500, amended by S.I. 1997/33, 1998/206, 1999/375; S.I. 1996/1500 ceased to apply by virtue of S.I. 1999/3316.

(9)

S.I. 1994/2740, amended by S.I. 1995/100, 1481, 2778 and S.I. 1996/27 and revoked by S.I. 1996/1500.

(10)

O.J. No. L198, 22.7.1991, p.1, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 473/2002 (O.J. No. L75, 16.3.2002, p.21).

(11)

O.J. No. L355, 5.12.92, p.1, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 495/2001 (O.J. No. L72, 14.3.2001, p.6).

(12)

O.J. L160, 26.06.1999, p.21, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2345/2001 (O.J. No. L315, 1.12.2001, p.29).

(13)

O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p.80.

(14)

S.I. 1994/1712, amended by S.I. 1996/3109, S.I. 1998/1606 and S.I. 1999/590.

(15)

S.I. 1999/590, amended by S.I. 1999/2735 and S.I. 1999/2933.

(16)

S.I. 2001/432, amended by S.I. 2001/3139.

(17)

S.I. 1992/2677, amended by S.I. 1994/2741, S.I. 1995/2779, S.I. 1996/49, S.I. 1997/2500 and S.I. 2001/281.

(18)

S.I. 2001/1370.