# The Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium Quotas Regulations 1997, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
1 These Regulations (“the Regulations”) consolidate (with changes) the Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium Quotas Regulations 1993 (S.I. 1993/1626, as amended by S.I. 1993/3036, S.I. 1994/2894 and S.I. 1996/1939).
2 The Regulations, which extend to the United Kingdom as a whole, make provision for the administration of the quota system for sheep annual premium established by Articles 5a and 5b of Council Regulation 3013/89 and the quota system for suckler cow premium established by Articles 4(d) to 4(f) of Council Regulation 805/68. Definitions of references to those Council Regulations may be found in regulation 2(1) of the Regulations.
3 The Regulations—
(a) lay down rules for determining the location of a producer’s holding (regulation 3 as read with Schedule 1);
(b) lay down rules for notifying transfers and leases of quota (regulation 4);
(c) specify the proportion of quota that is transferred to the national reserve on a transfer of quota without a corresponding transfer of a holding (regulation 5(1));
(d) specify a minimum level of suckler cow premium quota that small producers may transfer or lease out (regulation 5(2));
(e) lay down rules for determining whether or not a producer has transferred quota without also transferring his holding (regulation 6 and Schedule 2);
(f) lay down rules in relation to the place of origin, acquisition and use of quota from the national reserve (regulation 7);
(g) specify that in certain cases quota may be transferred or leased between sensitive zones as defined by regulation 2(1) (regulation 8);
(h) provide for the division of the national reserve into 6 divisions, each division to correspond with a sensitive zone (regulation 9);
(i) provide for the distribution of quota in the national reserve into the aforementioned divisions (regulation 10);
(j) lay down the principles governing allocations of quota from the national reserve (regulation 11; Schedules 3, 4 and 5);
(k) establish a quota register and provide for the supply of copies of register entries in specified circumstances (regulations 12 and 13);
(l) give specified persons a number of powers which may be used for the purpose of verifying an application for an allocation of quota from the national reserve (regulation 14));
(m) create offences and penalties (regulation 15);
(n) revoke S.I. 1993/1626, as amended (regulation 16).
4 The principal changes of substance made by the Regulations are as follows:
(a) the 2 sensitive zones into which Northern Ireland was formerly divided have been combined into a single sensitive zone;
(b) the rules regarding the location of a holding situated in more than one sensitive zone which are set out in regulation 3 have been clarified;
(c) revisions have been made to the conditions governing eligibility under categories III, group (b), IV and VI, group (a), of the national reserve which are set out in Schedule 3; to the rules for determining the amount of quota to which persons falling within those categories are entitled which are set out in Schedule 4; and to the test for determining when an allocation of quota from the national reserve is to be effective which is set out in Schedule 5.
5 A regulatory appraisal has been prepared in respect of these Regulations. A copy of it has been deposited in the library of each House of Parliament.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/2844/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/sheep-annual-premium-and-suckler-cow-premium-quotas-regulations-1997/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.