The Countryside Stewardship (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023

Made: 5th September 2023

Laid before Parliament: 6th September 2023

Coming into force: 27th September 2023

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations, with the consent of the Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 98 of the Environment Act 1995[^f00001].

Citation, commencement, extent, and application

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Countryside Stewardship (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 and come into force on 27th September 2023.

• (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales but apply to England only.

Amendment of the Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020

2

• (1) The Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020[^f00002] are amended as follows.

• (2) In the Schedule, in Part 2 (“Management activities”), in the table—

• (a) under the heading “4. Grassland”, in the entry “(e) Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs”, in column 3, for “£98 per ha” substitute “£151 per ha”;

• (b) under the heading “7. Soil and water”, in the entry “(j) Seasonal livestock removal on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes”, in column 3, for “£77 per ha” substitute “£115 per ha”;

• (c) under the heading “8. Uplands”—

• (i) in the entry “(h) Restoration of wood pasture and parkland”, in column 3, for “£316 per ha” substitute “£371 per ha”;

• (ii) in the entry “(i) Creation of wood pasture”, in column 3, for “£333 per ha” substitute “£544 per ha”;

• (d) under the heading “9. Woodland and scrub”, in the entry “(d) Management of wood pasture and parkland”, in column 3, for “£198 per ha” substitute “£212 per ha”; and

• (e) under the heading “12. Organic conversion”, in the entry “(e) Organic conversion – top fruit”, in column 3, for “£1,254 per ha per year for up to 3 years” substitute “£1,920 per ha per year for up to 3 years”.

Signed

Mark Spencer — Minister of State — Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — 5th September 2023

We consent

Andrew Stephenson — Steve Double — Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury — 4th September 2023

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations further amend the Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020 (“the 2020 Regulations”) (S.I. 2020/41) and are made pursuant to section 98 of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25).

Regulation 2 amends, with effect from 27th September 2023, the maximum payment rates per agreement year for six management activities carried out as part of a countryside stewardship agreement under regulation 3 of the 2020 Regulations.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary, or public sector is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1995 c. 25, as amended by the Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications) (No.2) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1820). Section 98(5) defines the appropriate Minister. The functions of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (which related only to England) were transferred to the Secretary of State by virtue of article 2(2) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794).

[^f00002]: S.I. 2020/41, amended by S.I. 2021/42, 2022/141, 2023/159.