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STATUTORY RULES OF NORTHERN IRELAND


2005 No. 468

AGRICULTURE

The Agriculture (Weather Aid 2002) Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2005

  Made 28th October 2005 

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development[1], in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 1(1) and 2(1) of the Agriculture (Temporary Assistance) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954[2] and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, having consulted with such bodies of persons appearing to it to represent any interests concerned and with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, hereby makes the following Scheme:

Citation
     1. This scheme may be cited as the Agriculture (Weather Aid 2002) Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2005.

Interpretation
    
2. —(1) In this scheme—

    (2) Any reference in this Scheme to eligible litres shall be construed in accordance with Article 3(4)(a).

    (3) Any reference in this Scheme to eligible barley or wheat hectarage shall be construed in accordance with Article 3(5).

    (4) Any reference in this Scheme to sales of table potatoes by an eligible producer shall be considered as a reference only to sale of such potatoes produced by him.

    (5) Expressions which are not defined in paragraph (1) and which appear in the Council Regulation have the same meaning in this Scheme as they have for the purposes of that Regulation.

Scope of the scheme
     3. —(1) The Department may, under and in accordance with the following provisions, pay to any eligible producer a grant in respect of any financial loss incurred by him because of reduced agricultural outputs or increased agricultural production costs as a direct result of abnormally adverse weather conditions in the year 2002.

    (2) The grant payable to each eligible producer shall be the total of all headage payments, production payments and area payments to which he is entitled under this Scheme.

    (3) A headage payment shall be made to an eligible producer in respect of—

    (4) A production payment shall be made to an eligible producer in respect of—

    (5) An area payment shall be made to an eligible producer in respect of each hectare or part of a hectare—

Eligibility for payment
    
4. An eligible producer for the purposes of Article 3 is a person who in 2002—

Application for payment
    
5. —(1) The Department shall publish in such manner as it considers appropriate a notice inviting, and specifying the closing date for applications for grant.

    (2) An application shall be in writing, shall be made in such form and manner and shall be delivered to such address as the Department may specify in the notice under paragraph (1) or from time to time require.

    (3) An application shall specify whether it is for a headage payment, an area payment or a production payment or for any combination thereof.

    (4) An applicant shall furnish all such information relating to the application as the Department may specify in the notice under paragraph (1) or from time to time require.

Calculation of payment
    
6. —(1) As soon as reasonably practicable after the date specified as the closing date for applications in a notice published under Article 5(1) the Department shall—

    (2) The Department shall then calculate the grant payable to each eligible producer in respect of his application in accordance with Article 8.

Calculation of payment for producers of table potatoes
    
7. —(1) For the purposes of this Scheme the number of eligible tonnes of potatoes per hectare in the case of any eligible producer shall be X where



    (2) For the purposes of this Scheme—

    (3) For the purposes of this Scheme, an eligible producer's average sales of table potatoes are—

    (4) For the purposes of this Scheme the average hectarage of table potatoes planted by an eligible producer means the average of such hectarage calculated using the same years as were used under paragraph (3) to calculate his average annual sales of table potatoes.

    (5) For the purposes of this Scheme Y shall be the sum obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to table potatoes by the total number of table potatoes per hectare obtained under Article 6(1)(e) provided that Y shall not exceed £98.70.

Rate of payment
    
8. —(1) The headage payment in respect of each eligible cattle shall be the amount obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to such animals by the total number thereof identified under Article 6(1);

    (2) The headage payment in respect of each eligible sheep shall be the amount obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to such animals by the total number thereof identified under Article 6(1);

    (3) The area payment in respect of each eligible barley hectare shall be the amount obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to such barley hectarage by the total eligible barley hectarage identified under Article 6(1);

    (4) The area payment in respect of each eligible wheat hectare shall be the amount obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to such wheat hectarage by the total eligible wheat hectarage identified under Article 6(1);

    (5) The production payment in respect of each eligible litre shall be the amount obtained by dividing the sum specified in column (2) of the Table set out in the Schedule opposite the reference to such litres by the total number thereof identified under Article 6(1);

    (6) The production payment for each eligible producer in respect of his sales of eligible tonnes of table potatoes per hectare shall be the sum X × Y × E.

Withholding of payment
    
9. Where a person, with a view to obtaining a payment for himself or any other person, makes any statement or furnishes any information which is false or misleading, or refuses to cooperate with an authorised officer exercising powers under the Scheme, the Department may withhold the whole or part of any amount payable to that person or such other person and may recover the whole or part of any payment already paid to that person or such other person.

Recovery of payment
    
10. —(1) Where an amount falls to be paid to the Department by virtue of this Scheme that amount or any part thereof shall be recoverable as a civil debt.

    (2) Where a payment is to be recovered, whether in whole or in part, the Department shall charge interest on the amount to be recovered and the rate of interest shall be one percentage point above LIBOR calculated on a day to day basis from the date on which the payment was made.

    (3) In any proceedings under this Article, a certificate of the Department stating the LIBOR applicable during a period specified in the certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the rate applicable in the specified period if the certificate also states that the Bank of England notified the Department of that rate.

    (4) For the purposes of this Article "LIBOR" means the sterling three month London interbank offered rate in force at any relevant time.

Powers of authorised officers
    
11. —(1) An authorised officer may, at all reasonable hours and on producing, if so required, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, enter any land or premises for the purposes of exercising powers specified under the Scheme.

    (2) An authorised officer may—



Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on


28th October 2005.

L.S.


Norman Fulton
A senior officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development


Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on


28th October 2005.

L.S.


Jack Layberry
A senior officer of the Department of Finance and Personnel


SCHEDULE
Article 8


RATES OF PAYMENT


Payment Type

(1)

Total Amount

(2)

Eligible Sheep £293,559
Eligible Cattle £2,339,590
Eligible Barley Hectarage £77,350
Eligible Wheat Hectarage £61,611
Eligible Litres £1,297,575
Table Potatoes £500,000



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Scheme)


This Scheme provides for payments to be made by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to producers in certain sectors of the agricultural industry who suffered financial losses whether resulting from reduced outputs or from increased production costs or both as a direct result of the abnormally adverse weather conditions in 2002.

The Scheme—

Under Section 4(1) of the Agriculture (Temporary Assistance) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, any person who, being required or authorised under or by virtue of this scheme to furnish any information, record or document, furnishes any information, record or document which, to his knowledge, is false in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall, without prejudice to Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I.) 1979/No. 1714 (N.I. 19), be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or to imprisonment not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Under Section 4(2) of that Act any person—

shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.


Notes:

[1] The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland was renamed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development by Article 3(4) of the Departments Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1)back

[2] 1954 c. 31 as amended by 1957 c. 3 (N.I.), S.I. 1977/1245 (N.I. 12) Art. 20 and S.I. 1984/702 (N.I. 2) Art.7back

[3] O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p.1back

[4] O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p.21back

[5] S.R. 1997 No. 477 as amended by S.R. 1998 No. 308 and S.R. No. 120back

[6] O.J. No. L341, 22.12.2001, p.3back



ISBN 0 337 96208 1


 © Crown copyright 2005

Prepared 10 November 2005


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