# The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2014

        - Previous
        - Next

E+W

Statutory Instruments

# 2014 No. 2712

Landlord And Tenant, England

# The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2014

Made

5th October 2014

Laid before Parliament

10th October 2014

Coming into force

7th November 2014

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 4 of Schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act                           1986(1), makes the following Order in exercise of those powers.                        

## Citation, commencement, application, and interpretationE+W

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2014, applies to England only,                     and comes into force on 7th November 2014.                  

(2) This Order applies in relation to England only.

(3) In this order—

“Council Regulation 73/2009” means Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain                     support schemes for farmers, and amending and repealing certain Regulations(2);                  

“disadvantaged land” (except in the expression “severely disadvantaged land”) means any area of land shown coloured blue on                     the England LFA maps;                  

“eligible hectare” has the same meaning as in Article 34(2) of Council Regulation 73/2009;

“the England LFA maps” means the four volumes of maps entitled “Less Favoured Area Map of England 2009”, each volume being                     marked with the number of the volume, dated 29th January 2010, signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment,                     Food and Rural Affairs and deposited at the Intelligence Hub at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural                     Affairs at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR;                  

“less favoured area” means any area of land shown coloured blue or pink on the England LFA maps;

“moorland” means all the land that is—

severely disadvantaged land, and

shown coloured brown in the three volumes of maps entitled “Moorland Map of England 2009”, each volume being marked with the                              number of the volume, dated 29th January 2010, signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural                              Affairs and deposited at the Intelligence Hub at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at                              Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR;                           

“severely disadvantaged land” means any area of land shown coloured pink on the England LFA maps.

## Assessment of productive capacity of landE+W

2.—(1) Paragraphs (2) and (3) have effect for the purpose of the assessment of the productive capacity of a unit of agricultural                     land situated in England, in order to determine whether that unit is a commercial unit of agricultural land within the meaning                     of paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 6 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.                  

(2) Where the land in question is capable, when farmed under competent management, of being used to produce any livestock, farm                     arable crop, outdoor horticultural crop or fruit as is mentioned in any of the entries 1 to 3 in column 1 of the Schedule                     to this Order, then—                  

(a)the unit of production prescribed in relation to that use of the land is the unit in the entry in column 2 of that Schedule                        opposite to that entry, and                  

(b)the amount determined, for the period of 12 months beginning with 7th November 2014, as the net annual income from that unit                        of production in that period is the amount in the entry in column 3 of that Schedule opposite to that entry as read with any                        relevant note to that Schedule.                  

(3) Where land capable, when farmed under competent management, of producing a net annual income is the subject of an uplands                     transitional payment (see entry 4 in column 1 of the Schedule to this Order), or was an eligible hectare in 2013 (see entry                     5 in column 1), then—                  

(a)the unit of production prescribed in relation to that use of the land is the unit in the entry in column 2 of that Schedule                        opposite to that entry, and                  

(b)the amount determined, for the period of 12 months beginning with 7th November 2014, as the net annual income from that unit                        of production in that period is the amount in the entry in column 3 of that Schedule opposite to that entry.                  

## RevocationE+W

3.  The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2013(3) is revoked.                  

George Eustice

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

5th October 2014

Article 2

## SCHEDULEE+WPRESCRIBED UNITS OF PRODUCTION AND DETERMINATION OF NET ANNUAL INCOME

## EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order prescribes units of production for the assessment of the productive capacity of agricultural land situated in England                     and sets out the amount which is to be regarded as the net annual income from each such unit for the year 7th November 2014                     to 6th November 2015 for certain purposes of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”). This Order revokes the Agricultural                     Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2607).                  

An assessment of the productive capacity of agricultural land is required in determining whether or not the land in question                     is a “commercial unit of agricultural land” for the purposes of the succession provisions in the 1986 Act: see in particular                     sections 36(3) and 50(2). A “commercial unit of agricultural land” is a unit of agricultural land which, when farmed under                     competent management, is capable of producing a net annual income which is not less than the aggregate of the average annual                     earnings of two full-time male agricultural workers aged 20 years or over (paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 to the 1986 Act). Article                     2 of this Order provides that, in determining this annual income figure, whenever a particular farming use mentioned in column                     1 of the Schedule is relevant to the assessment of the productive capacity of the land in question, the units of production                     and the net annual income specified in columns 2 and 3 respectively will form the basis of that assessment.                  

This Order includes net annual income figures for land which was, in 2013, an eligible hectare for the purposes of Council                     Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ No L 30, 31.1.2009, p.16); it also provides, by reference to the Uplands Transitional Payment Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/112), net annual income figures for land which is the subject of uplands transitional payments under those Regulations.                  

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on business or the private or voluntary sector                     is foreseen.                  

1

1986 c.5; section 96(1) of that Act defines “the Minister” as the Secretary of State in relation to England. Section 96(1) was amended                              by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002, article 5 and Schedule 1, paragraph 27 (S.I. 2002/794).                           

2

OJ No L 30, 31.1.2009, p.16, last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 320/2014 (OJ No L 93, 28.3.2014, p.81).

3

S.I. 2013/2607.                           

4

S.I. 2014/112.