Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968

Part I — WELFARE OF LIVESTOCK

Prevention of unnecessary pain and distress for livestock.

1

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Regulations with respect to the welfare of livestock.

2

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Codes of recommendations for the welfare of livestock.

3

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Expenditure on free advice on the welfare of livestock.

4

Without prejudice to the generality of his powers to incur expenditure under the enactments relating to the eradication and prevention of diseases of animals, the Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, spend such sums as he thinks fit on the giving of advice, free of charge to persons concerned with livestock on matters relating to the welfare of livestock.

Extension of classes of operations in which anaesthetics must be used.

5

The Ministers may, after consultation with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and with such persons appearing to the Ministers to represent any other interests concerned as the Ministers consider appropriate, by order provide that paragraphs 7 and 8 of Schedule 1 to the Protection of Animals (Anaesthetics) Act 1954 (which exempt certain minor operations from the requirement to use anaesthetics imposed by that Act) shall not permit the performance, either in any circumstances or in such circumstances as may be specified in the order, of such operations as may be so specified.

Powers of entry, etc.

6

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Punishment of offences under Part I.

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Interpretation etc. of Part I.

8

• (1) In this Part of this Act—

• ...

• “livestock” means any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for use in the farming of land or for such purpose as the Minister may by order specify.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Part II — ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO TENANT FARMERS

Additional payments to tenants quitting agricultural holdings.

9

Provisions supplementary to s.9 in England and Wales.

10

Provisions supplementary to s.9 in Scotland.

11

Additional payments in consequence of compulsory acquisition etc. of agricultural holdings.

12

• (1) Where in pursuance of any enactment providing for the acquisition or taking of possession of land compulsorily by any person (hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as an “acquiring authority”), an acquiring authority acquire the interest in an agricultural holding or any part of it of the tenant of the holding or take possession of such a holding or any part of it, then, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, subsection (2)(b) of section 60 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (additional compensation to tenant for disturbance) shall apply as if the acquiring authority were the landlord of the holding and on the date of the acquisition or taking of possession the tenancy of the holding or part of it had terminated, and the tenant had quitted the holding or part of it, in consequence of such a notice or counter-notice as is mentioned in subsection (1) of that section; and section 61 of that Act (exceptions to section 60) shall not apply in such a case.

• (1A) No sum shall be payable by virtue of subsection (1) of this section in respect of any land comprised in a farm business tenancy within the meaning of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.

• (2) No sum shall be payable by virtue of subsection (1) of this section in respect of any agricultural holding held on a tenancy for a term of two years or upwards except in a case where the amount of compensation payable to the tenant of the holding by the acquiring authority in consequence of the acquisition or taking of possession in question is exceeded by the aggregate of the amounts which, if the tenancy had been from year to year, would have been so payable by way of compensation and by virtue of that subsection; and in any such case the sum payable by virtue of that subsection in consequence of the acquisition or taking of possession in question shall, subject to sections 13(3) and 14(3) of this Act, be of an amount equal to the excess.

• (3) No sum shall be payable to the tenant of an agricultural holding by virtue of subsection (1) of this section in consequence of such an acquiring of an interest or taking of possession as is there mentioned unless the date on which the acquisition or taking of possession occurs is later than the date of the passing of this Act and—

• (a) in the case of such an acquisition, unless the date on which notice to treat in respect of the interest to be acquired is served or treated as served on the tenant by the acquiring authority is after the initial date; and

• (b) where in the case of such a taking of possession prior notice of the taking of possession is by virtue of any enactment required to be served on the tenant by the acquiring authority, unless the date on which the notice is so served is after the initial date.

• (4) If a person is entitled in respect of the same interest in land to a payment both—

• (a) by virtue of subsection (1), and

• (b) under section 33B of the Land Compensation Act 1973 (additional loss payment for agricultural land),

section 33H of that Act (only one payment to be made if a person has dual entitlement) applies.

Provisions supplementary to s.12 in England and Wales.

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• (1) For the purposes of subsection (1) of section 12 of this Act, a tenant of an agricultural holding shall be treated as not being a tenant of it in so far as, immediately before the acquiring of the interest or taking of possession mentioned in that subsection, he was neither in possession nor entitled to take possession of any land comprised in the holding; and in determining for those purposes whether a tenant was so entitled, any such agreement as is mentioned in section 2(2) of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986which relates to the land and has not taken effect as an agreement for the letting of the land for a tenancy from year to year shall be disregarded.

• (2) Section 12(1) of this Act shall not apply where the acquiring authority require the land comprised in the holding or part in question for the purposes of agricultural research or experiment or of demonstrating agricultural methods or for the purposes of the enactments relating to smallholdings, nor where the Minister acquires the land under section 84(1)(c) of the Agriculture Act 1947; but where an acquiring authority exercise in relation to any land any power to acquire or take possession of land compulsorily which is conferred on the authority by virtue of section 226 or 230 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990section 10 of the New Towns Act 1981. . ., the authority shall be deemed for the purposes of this subsection not to require the land for any of the purposes aforesaid.

• (3) The provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for the purposes of section 12 of this Act in its application to England and Wales.

Provisions supplementary to s.12 in Scotland.

14

Effect of early resumption clauses on compensation.

15

• (1) Except where compensation assessed in accordance with this subsection would be less than if this subsection were disregarded, in assessing the compensation payable by an acquiring authority to the tenant of an agricultural holding in connection with such an acquiring of an interest or taking of possession as is mentioned in section 12(1) of this Act, any provision in the contract of tenancy authorising the resumption of possession of the holding or part of it for some specified purpose other than the use of the land for agriculture shall—

• (a) in the case of an acquisition, be treated as if that provision authorised resumption of possession for the purpose in question on the expiration of twelve months from the end of the year of the tenancy current when notice to treat in respect of the acquisition was served or treated as served on the tenant; and

• (b) in the case of a taking of possession, be disregarded.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) Where the landlord of an agricultural holding in Scotland resumes land in pursuance of such a provision in the lease as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, compensation shall be payable by the landlord to the tenant, in addition to any other compensation so payable apart from this subsection in respect of the land, of an amount which is equal to the value of the additional benefit (if any) which would have accrued to the tenant if the land had, instead of being so resumed, been resumed at the expiration of twelve months from the end of the year of tenancy current at a date two months before the date of resumption.

• (4) . . . subsections (4) to (6) of section 11 of this Act shall apply to compensation claimed or payable under subsection (3) of this section, as if for references to sums claimed or payable in pursuance of section 9 of this Act there were substituted references to compensation claimed or payable under the said . . . subsection (3), . . .; and section 12(3) of this Act shall apply to any increase of compensation in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section as it applies to a sum payable by virtue of section 12(1) of this Act as if for references to the said section 12(1) there were substituted references to subsection (1) of this section.

• (5) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (3) of this section, the current year of a tenancy for a term of two years or upwards is the year beginning with such day in the period of twelve months ending—

• (a) for the purposes of subsection (1) . . ., with the date on which the notice mentioned in that subsection is served; and

• (b) for the purposes of subsection (3), with a date two months before the resumption mentioned in that subsection.

as corresponds to the day on which the term would expire by the effluxion of time.

• (6) In the application of this section to Scotland,—

• (a) in subsection (1), for the words from “contract” to “agriculture” there shall be substituted the words “lease entitling the landlord to resume land for building, planting, feuing or other purposes (not being agricultural purposes)” and in paragraph (a) for the word “possession” there shall be substituted the word “land”; and

• (b) subsection (2) shall be omitted.

Application of Part II to statutory small tenants in Scotland.

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Interpretation etc. of Part II.

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• (1) In this Part of this Act—

• “acquiring authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 12(1) of this Act;

• “the initial date” means 1st November 1967;

• “possession” means actual possession;

• . . .

• “the principal Scottish Act” means the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949:

and unless the context otherwise requires expressions used in this Part of this Act and the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 or, as the case may be, the principal Scottish Act have the same meanings in this Part of this Act as in that Act.

• (2) In this Part of this Act . . . references to the acquisition of any property are references to the vesting of the property in the person acquiring it.

• (3) Section 95(1), (2) and (3) of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and section 86(1) and (2) of the principal Scottish Act (Crown land) shall have effect as if references to that Act included references to this Part of this Act.

• (4) References in this section to this Part of this Act include references to Schedules 1 to 4 to this Act.

• (5) In the application of this section to Scotland, in subsection (2) the words from “references to the termination” to “and” shall be omitted.

Part III

Termination in case of near relatives of deceased tenant.

18–20

Transitional provisions for purposes of Part III.

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• (1) In the case of a notice to quit given by a landlord in pursuance of section 6(3) of the Agriculture Act 1958 to the tenant of an agricultural holding who is such a near relative of a deceased tenant as is mentioned in subsection (1) of the last foregoing section, being a notice given between 26th January 1968 and the passing of this Act so as to have effect after the passing of this Act, the said section 6(3) shall not apply and section 25(1) of the principal Scottish Act shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, apply.

• (2) In the case of such a notice to quit as is mentioned in the foregoing subsection, the landlord may, within one month of the passing of this Act, notify the tenant in writing that the said section 6(3) no longer applies to the notice to quit but that, in the event of the tenant serving a notice on him under the next following subsection, he will apply for the consent of the Scottish Land Court to the operation of the notice to quit on one or more of the following grounds, being a ground or grounds specified in the notification—

• (a) the matter mentioned in section 18 (2) (a) of this Act;

• (b) that possession of the holding is required for the purpose of effecting an amalgamation with land specified in the notification;

• (c) the matter mentioned in section 18(2)(c) of this Act;

• (d) one or more of the matters set out in section 26(1) of the principal Scottish Act:

Provided that, if the landlord has not notified the tenant under this subsection within the said month, the tenant shall be deemed to have served a counter-notice under the said section 25(1), and the period of one month referred to in section 27(1) of the principal Scottish Act shall be deemed to have expired.

• (3) The tenant may, within one month of being notified in accordance with the last foregoing subsection, serve a notice on the landlord requiring that the said section 25(1) shall apply to the notice to quit, and such a notice shall be deemed to be a counter-notice served under the said section 25(1) within the period mentioned therein.

• (4) Notwithstanding section 26(1) of the principal Scottish Act, the Scottish Land Court shall consent under the said section 25(1) to the operation of such a notice to quit as is referred to in subsection (1) of this section if they are satisfied with regard to—

• (a) the matter mentioned in paragraph (d), or

• (b) the matters mentioned in paragraph (b) (i) to (iii), or

• (c) the matter mentioned in paragraph (c),

of subsection (2) of the last foregoing section :

Provided that, notwithstanding that they are satisfied as aforesaid, the Court shall withhold consent to the operation of the notice if in all the circumstances it appears to them that a fair and reasonable landlord would not insist on possession.

• (5) Subsections (3) to (5) of section 18 of this Act shall apply to a consent given under the said section 25(1) as applied by this section on the grounds mentioned in subsection (4) (b) of this section, as they apply to a consent given under the said section 25(1) as applied by the said section 18.

Interpretation of Part III.

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• (1) In this Part of this Act—

• " amalgamation " means a transaction for securing that agricultural land which is comprised in a holding to which a notice to quit relates and which together with some other agricultural land could form an agricultural unit, shall be owned and occupied with that other land ; and

• " the principal Scottish Act " means the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1949.

• (2) Unless the context otherwise requires, expressions used in this Part of this Act and the principal Scottish Act have the same meanings in this Part of this Act as in that Act.

Part IV

Drainage charges

Raising and levying of drainage charges on an acreage basis.

21–37

Amount of general drainage charge.

22

• (1) The general drainage charge raised by a river authority for any year shall be at a uniform amount per acre ascertained in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, the said amount shall be ascertained by—

• (a) dividing the aggregate amount demanded by the precepts issued by the river authority to the councils of counties, county boroughs and London boroughs under section 87(4) of the Water Resources Act 1963 in respect of the year for which the charge is raised by the aggregate amount of the appropriate penny rate products on the basis of which the amount so demanded was apportioned in pursuance of section 87(3) of that Act among those councils; and

• (b) multiplying the quotient by one penny and by such number as the Minister may specify by order made for the purposes of this paragraph ;

and the number so specified shall (apart from any adjustment made to it to take account of rough grazing land) be such as the Minister considers will secure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the aggregate amount produced by any charge levied by reference to a quotient ascertained in pursuance of paragraph (a) of this subsection will be equal to the aggregate amount which, if the chargeable land in the river authority area were liable to be rated, would be produced by a rate levied on that land at an amount in the pound (of rateable value) equal to that quotient multiplied by one penny.

• (3) Where an amount ascertained in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section includes a fraction of a penny, the fraction shall—

• (a) if it is one farthing or less, be disregarded ;

• (b) if it is greater than one farthing but less than three farthings, be treated as one half-penny ;

• (c) if it is three farthings or more, be treated as one penny.

• (4) An order under this section may be made so as to apply either to all general drainage charges which may be raised by river authorities or to the general drainage charges proposed to be raised by any one or more river authorities specified in the order, and any such order applying to the charges of more than one river authority may make different provision as respects the charges of the different authorities.