Amendment of the Agriculture (Cross compliance) (No. 2) Regulations 2009

34.—(1) The Agriculture (Cross compliance) (No. 2) Regulations 2009(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 5 (competent control authorities), after paragraph (4) add—

“(5) The Secretary of State may delegate to the Director of Public Prosecutions functions in relation to the prosecution of an offence under these Regulations.”.

(3) In Schedule 1 (standards of good agricultural and environmental condition)—

(a)for paragraph 3(2) (disapplication of prohibition on overgrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding) substitute—

“(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to the extent that the Secretary of State has, for reasons relating to the benefit of the environment, given a claimant written permission to do anything that would otherwise be prohibited by that sub-paragraph.”;

(b)in paragraph 5 (management of land not in agricultural production)—

(i)after sub-paragraph (4) insert—

“(4A) Sub-paragraph (4) does not apply to the extent that the Secretary of State has, for reasons relating to the benefit of the environment, given the claimant written permission not to do anything the claimant would otherwise be required to do by that sub-paragraph.”, and

(ii)for sub-paragraph (10) (disapplication of certain provisions relating to management of land not in agricultural production) substitute—

“(10) Sub-paragraphs (5), (6) and (7) do not apply to the extent that the Secretary of State has, for reasons relating to the benefit of the environment, given the claimant or person (as the case may be) written permission to do anything that would otherwise be prohibited by any of those sub-paragraphs.”; and

(c)for paragraph 6(2) (disapplication of obligation to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of specified weeds) substitute—

“(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to the extent that the Secretary of State has, for reasons relating to the benefit of the environment, given the claimant written permission not to take all such reasonable steps in relation to any of the weeds listed.”.