Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
The Environmental Stewardship (England) Regulations 2005 and the Countryside Stewardship Regulations 2000 each establish a scheme under which farmers, in return for complying with certain requirements and conditions, become entitled to grants.
The amendments to the Environmental Stewardship (England) Regulations 2005 are as follows:
definitions of “native breed at risk” and “traditional farm building” are inserted in Part 1 of Schedule 2 (regulation 2(2));
a new entry ((e)) is added to paragraph 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 in respect of the maintenance of traditional farm buildings (regulation 2(3)(a));
a new entry ((g)) is added to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 in respect of the stocking of land with cattle and sheep (regulation 2(3)(b));
the maximum payment rate for entry (i) in paragraph 9 of Part 3 of Schedule 2 is changed from £500 per environmental stewardship agreement to £500 per year (regulation 2(4)(a));
new entries ((f) and (g)) are added to paragraph 13 of Part 3 of Schedule 2 in respect of cattle grazing for conservation purposes and the grazing of native breeds at risk (regulation 2(4)(b));
paragraph 1, entry (f) (building new stone walls), paragraph 5, entry (h) (installation of liggers or bridges) and paragraph 13, entry (a) (obtaining planning permission in relation to capital works items) are omitted from Part 4 of Schedule 2 (regulation 2(5)).
The amendments to the Countryside Stewardship Regulations 2000 are as follows:
the maximum payment rate in paragraph 8, entry (d) of Part 1 of the Schedule (permitting access to agreement land for educational visits) is changed from £1,100 per agreement year to £100 per visit (regulation 3(a));
a new entry ((f)) is added to that paragraph in respect of base payments for permitting access to agreement land for educational visits (regulation 3(b)).
A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as they have no impact on the costs of business.