Regulation 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “application” means an application for aid under the scheme, made in accordance with regulation 6 and “applicant” and “apply” shall be construed accordingly;

• “beneficiary” means a person or grazing committee whose application has been accepted by the Secretary of State;

• “compensatory allowance” means the annual compensatory allowance in respect of sheep paid under and in accordance with the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1984^f1, the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1993^f2 or the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1994^f3;

• “ewe” means a female sheep which on the last preceding qualifying date for compensatory allowances is at least one year old;

• “extensification obligations” means the obligations assumed by a beneficiary by virtue of the undertakings referred to in regulation 3 or 10;

• “extensification period” means the period of five consecutive years from the date specified in an application as the date of entry to the scheme;

• “grazings committee” means a committee appointed under section 47(1) or (3) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993^f4;

• “heather moorland” means areas of land in which heather (calluna vulgaris) or other dwarf shrubs including bell heather (erica cinerea), cross-leaved heath (erica tetralix), crowberry (empetrum nigrum), blaeberry (vaccinium myrtillus) or bog myrtle (myrica gale), occur throughout the vegetation;

• “herb rich grassland” means land used for grazing or mowing which is not normally treated with mineral fertiliser or lime and does not constitute rough grazing, but which is floristically diverse;

• “holding” means all the production units farmed by an applicant or beneficiary;

• “initial stocking rate” means the number of livestock units per hectare calculated at the date of application, taking account of the number of ewes and other relevant livestock on the moorland in the participating production unit or common grazing; in the case of applicants who are participating in the Sheep Pilot Extensification Scheme, the date of application means the date of application for that scheme;

• “landlord” means—

  1. (a)

     in the case of an agricultural holding to which the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991^f5 (the “1991 Act”) applies, the landlord within the meaning of section 85 of that Act;

  2. (b)

     in the case of a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 the landlord within the meaning of section 61(1) of that Act;

  3. (c)

     and, where appropriate, includes a head tenant;

• “livestock unit” means—

  1. (a)

     6.66 ewes, or

  2. (b)

     6.66 farmed goats, or

  3. (c)

     1 bovine animal more than two years old, or

  4. (d)

     1.66 bovine animals from six months old to two years old inclusive, or

  5. (e)

     1 horse or pony more than six months old, or

  6. (f)

     4.35 farmed deer;

  calculated over the twelve months period immediately preceding the application;

• “management plan” means a statement of the proposed regime of muirburn, supplementary feeding, and shepherding that the applicant proposes for the moorland on his production unit or common grazing taking into account the management requirements of the Schedule to these Regulations;

• “modifying existing drains” means deepening or altering the course of existing ditches or culverts, recutting hill grips or altering outfalls from under drainage systems;

• “moorland” means land with predominantly semi-natural upland vegetation or comprising predominantly rock outcrops and semi-natural upland vegetation used primarily for rough grazing;

• “muirburn” has the same meaning as in section 39(1)(f) of the Hill Farming Act 1946^f6;

• “new drains” means cutting new grips or ditches and laying new tiles or pipes;

• “overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock in such numbers as adversely to affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree;

• “participating production unit” means a production unit in respect of which an undertaking is given to comply with the obligations described in regulation 3 and which has been accepted into the scheme;

• “production unit” means land, other than a common grazing, farmed by an applicant or beneficiary as a single unit, having regard to supplies of machinery, livestock, feeding stuffs and manpower; and which contains at least 20 hectares of heather moorland;

• “qualifying date” means—

  1. (a)

     20th February where an applicant or a beneficiary has not submitted a claim for compensatory allowances in respect of that year or has not submitted such a claim on or before that date which is the qualifying date for the purposes of these allowances, and

  2. (b)

     in all other cases, the date which is the qualifying date for the purposes of those allowances;

• “reference flock” means, having regard to the production unit or common grazing—

  1. (a)

     the number of ewes for which compensatory allowances were received in respect of 1994; or

  2. (b)

     the number of ewes for which compensatory allowances were received in respect of the year prior to submission of the application; or

  3. (c)

     the number of ewes which the Secretary of State determines to be the number which the land on which ewes were grazed and maintained in the year preceding the most recent qualifying day is capable of carrying without overgrazing the whole or any part of it, taking into account the number of other animals grazed and maintained on that land in that year,

  whichever is the smallest;

• “relevant livestock” means cattle, farmed goats, horses, ponies and farmed deer;

• “scheme” means the scheme to reduce the proportion of sheep per forage area as specified in Article 2(1)(c) of Council Regulation (EEC) No.2078/92^f7 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside;

• “Sheep Pilot Extensification Scheme” means the scheme established by Council Regulation (EEC) No.797/85^f8 as regards the set-aside of arable land and the extensification and conversion of production as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No.1094/88 of 25th April 1988^f9 as read with Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 4115/88 of 21st December 1988 laying down detailed rules for applying said Scheme^f10 and Council Regulation (EEC) No.591/89 of 6th March 1989^f11;

• “specified stocking rate” means 0.15 livestock units per hectare taking into account the number of ewes and other relevant livestock on the moorland on the participating production unit or common grazing; except where there is a prior written agreement with the Secretary of State to a lower figure of not less than 0.08 livestock units per hectare;

• “tenant” means—

  1. (a)

     in the case of an agricultural holding to which the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (the “1991 Act”) applies, the tenant within the meaning of section 85 of that Act;

  2. (b)

     in the case of a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the crofter within the meaning of section 3(3) of that Act;

  3. (c)

     in the case of a holding within the meaning of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911 to which the 1991 Act does not apply, the tenant within the meaning of section 2(2) of the 1911 Act;

  and, where appropriate, includes a sub-tenant;

• “wetlands” means ground normally saturated with water for a significant proportion of the year.

Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or to the Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation so numbered in, or to the Schedule to, these Regulations.