The Rural Development (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2007

Made: 9th January 2007

Laid before Parliament: 19th January 2007

Coming into force: 12th February 2007

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Title, commencement and application

1

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Interpretation

2

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Powers of authorised persons

3

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Assistance to authorised persons

4

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Cross-compliance

5

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Payment of rural development payments

6

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Transfers of land

7

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Breaches of commitments etc

8

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Powers of recovery etc.

9

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Recovery of interest

10

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Sums payable to be recoverable as a debt

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Set off

12

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Offences and penalties

13

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Amendment of the England Rural Development Programme (Enforcement) Regulations 2000

14

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Signed

Barry Gardiner — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — 2007-01-09

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations implement Article 74(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 (O.J. No. L277, 21.10.2005, p.1) (“the Rural Development Regulation”) and Article 9(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1290/2005 (O.J. No. L209, 11.8.2005, p.1), which require Member States to adopt legislative and administrative provisions to ensure that the Community’s financial interests in relation to expenditure on rural development are effectively protected.

They also implement Article 51(1) of the Rural Development Regulation, which applies the cross-compliance provisions in Articles 4 and 5 of, and Annexes III and IV to, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 (O.J. No. L270, 21.10.2003, p.1) to certain rural development measures.

Regulation 3 gives powers of entry and inspection to persons authorised by the Secretary of State, the Forestry Commission, Natural England or a Regional Development Agency, for purposes relating to rural development commitments. Regulation 4 requires certain persons to give assistance to authorised persons on request.

Regulation 5 applies certain provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Cross-compliance) (England) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3459) in relation to rural development commitments to which Article 51(1) of the Rural Development Regulation applies.

Regulation 6 gives a power to the Secretary of State to enter into arrangements with any of the bodies delivering rural development measures to pay rural development payments on their behalf.

Regulation 7 makes provision for situations where land subject to a rural development commitment is transferred.

Regulation 8 gives the Secretary of State, and the delivery bodies, the power to determine that a beneficiary has breached a rural development commitment or other relevant requirement, and that the beneficiary has done so recklessly or intentionally.

Regulation 9 gives powers of recovery and other powers to the Secretary of State and the delivery bodies, which can be exercised where there has been a determination under regulation 8.

Regulation 13 creates offences of making a false or misleading statement in order to obtain a rural development payment, obstructing an authorised person, and failing to give assistance to an authorised person.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/rdp07_13/default.htm and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 1972/1811 and S.I. 1995/751.

[^f00002]: 1972 c.68.

[^f00003]: See section 1 of the Forestry Act 1967 (c.10).

[^f00004]: See section 1 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c.16).

[^f00005]: See section 1 of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 (c.45).

[^f00006]: O.J. No. L368, 23.12.2006, p.15.

[^f00007]: O.J. No. L368, 23.12.2006, p.74.

[^f00008]: O.J. No. L160, 26.6.1999, p.1, as last amended by Council Regulation 1698/2005.

[^f00010]: O.J. No. L277, 21.10.2005, p.1, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00013]: S.I. 2000/3044, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00014]: O.J. No. L231, 30.6.2004, p.24, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1360/2005, O.J. L214, 19.8.2005, p.55.

Editorial notes

[^key-a8fabf91ec3925dbbb345454f86b03f4]: Regulations revoked (1.1.2015) by The Common Agricultural Policy (Control and Enforcement, Cross-Compliance, Scrutiny of Transactions and Appeals) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/3263), Sch. 5 (with reg. 35)

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