Agriculture Act 1967

There shall be established a body to be called the Meat and Livestock Commission (in this Part of this Act referred to as " the Commission ") having the general duty of promoting greater efficiency in the livestock industry and the livestock products industry, and the particular functions specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, as well as the other functions conferred by this Part of this Act.

In carrying out their functions the Commission shall have regard to the interests of consumers as well as to the interests of the various sections of the livestock industry and the livestock products industry.

The Commission shall consist of not more than ten members appointed by the Ministers, and the Ministers shall appoint persons who in the Ministers' opinion are qualified to serve on the Commission by reason of their financial, commercial, technical, scientific, administrative or other relevant experience, and have no such financial or commercial interest as would be likely to prejudice the proper discharge of their functions as members.

The Commission shall have a chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the Ministers from among the members of the Commission.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall— and if a person ceases to be a member of the Commission and it appears to the Ministers that there are special circumstances which make it right that that person should receive compensation, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may, with the approval of the Treasury, pay to that person out of money provided by Parliament a sum of such amount as the Ministers may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed as authorising the Commission to engage in the business of buying and selling livestock or livestock products, except so far as is reasonably necessary for, and incidental to, the discharge of other functions of the Commission.

Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Commission.

The Ministers shall appoint three committees to be called—

If it appears to the Commission that any matter arising or likely to arise out of the exercise of the Commission's functions has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of persons engaged in the production of livestock, the Commission shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, consult the Production Committee.

If it appears to the Commission that any such matter has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of persons engaged in the marketing or distribution of livestock or livestock products, the Commission shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, consult the Distribution Committee.

If it appears to the Commission that any such matter has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of consumers, the Commission shall consult the Consumers Committee.

Any of the three Committees mentioned in subsection (1) above may at any time submit proposals for the consideration of the Commission as to the manner in which any of the Commission's functions which are of concern to the Committee should be exercised, or make representations to the Commission on any matter which in their opinion has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests with which the Committee are concerned.

The Commission shall have power to employ in an executive as well as in an advisory capacity any of the said three committees.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall not be taken as preventing the Commission from setting up any other committees, including, subject to Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act, committees (in this Part of this Act referred to as "joint committees ") whose members include one or more members both of the Production Committee and of the Distribution Committee ; and the Commission may employ any of their committees in an executive as well as in an advisory capacity.

If the matter on which consultation is required under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of this section is one with which a joint committee is concerned, the Commission may consult that joint committee instead of the Production Committee or, as the case may be, the Distribution Committee.

When giving advice to the Commission, any of the said three committees or any other of the Commission's committees shall, where any of their members desires to give advice differing to any considerable extent from the advice of the majority, inform the Commission of that fact, giving particulars of that differing advice.

Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect as respects the Commission's committees.

It shall be the duty of the Commission to carry out such functions as the Ministers may confer on the Commission in connection with— but not including any functions conferred on the Ministers or either of them by or under an Act of Parliament other than functions which the Ministers may delegate under section 9(4) of the Agriculture Act 1957 or any other enactment.

So far as relates to livestock or livestock products, in section 5(1)(d) of the Agriculture Act 1957 (power of entry in connection with guaranteed prices), and in any order made under that paragraph before the coming into force of this section, references to authorised officers of the Minister shall include references to authorised officers of the Commission where accompanying an authorised officer of the Minister.

Any relevant information obtained by either of the Ministers in the discharge of their functions in connection with— may, for the purpose of assisting the Commission in the performance of their functions under this section, be disclosed to the Commission ; and any such disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of contract, trust or confidence.

The Ministers, or either of them, may from time to time delegate to the Commission any powers exercisable by the delegating Ministers or Minister to make orders under—

An order under the said section 56(2) of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 shall not be made by statutory instrument.

Where any power delegated to the Commission under this section includes power to vary or revoke orders previously made under that power, the Commission may vary or revoke any such order notwithstanding that it was made by the delegating Ministers or Minister.

For the purpose of providing a standard method of describing as fully as practicable those characteristics of a carcase which are the principal features of interest to persons trading in livestock and carcases, the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, compile systems for the descriptive classification of the carcases of all types of livestock slaughtered in Great Britain and for marking carcases according to that classification.

For the said purpose the Commission may at any time compile systems for the descriptive classification and marking of imported carcases, or modify any system, so far as inappropriate for imported carcases, so as to make it applicable to all or any imported carcases.

The systems shall be operated by the Commission, and they shall take such steps as appear to them appropriate—

If at any time the Commission are satisfied— they shall submit particulars of the system to the Ministers with the view to the making of an order under the next following section.

The Ministers may, on the recommendation of the Commission, by order make provision for requiring that carcases of such description as may be specified in the order shall be marked by the Commission in such circumstances and in such manner as may be prescribed by the order and in accordance with the system to which the recommendation relates.

The order may specify the carcases to which it is to apply by reference to the type of livestock, and the type of carcases, may distinguish between imported carcases and carcases of livestock slaughtered in Great Britain, and may make other distinctions for different cases, and shall be subject to such exceptions or exemptions as may be made by or under the order.

An order under this section—

If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of an order under this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both: Provided that if in proceedings against any person for an offence under this subsection it is proved— then, subject to the next following subsection, the person charged shall be acquitted of the offence.

A person charged with an offence under the last foregoing subsection shall not be entitled to be acquitted by virtue of the proviso thereto unless, not less than fourteen clear days before the hearing, he has given notice in writing to the prosecutor of his intention to rely on that proviso, specifying the name and address of the person to whose act or default he alleges the commission of the offence was due, and has sent a like notice to that person; and that person shall be entitled to appear at the hearing and to give evidence. This subsection shall not apply to Scotland.

Where the commission by any person of an offence under subsection (4) above is due to an act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence; and a person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this subsection whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.

If any person wilfully obstructs an authorised officer of the Commission or other person in the performance of his duty in connection with the operation of a system in pursuance of an order under this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

If any person— he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

For the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence has been committed under this section an authorised officer of the Commission may, on producing if so required a duly authenticated document showing his authority, require a person carrying on or managing a slaughterhouse or other undertaking for the slaughter of livestock, or an undertaking for the storage, processing, grading, classification, packing or cutting of carcases, or for the sale of carcases by wholesale, to produce any books, accounts or records relating to the conduct of the undertaking which the officer may require to inspect, and may take a copy or extract from any such book, account or record produced to If a person fails to comply with a requirement under this subsection he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.

An order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument and may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order under this section.

No order shall be made under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament; and an order terminating provision made under this section for the operation of a system shall not require the recommendation of the Commission under subsection (1) above.

With a view to assisting persons buying meat by retail the Commission may compile— and may take such steps as appear to them appropriate to encourage the use of the systems of classification and standard codes in all retail meat undertakings.

The Commission may operate any system compiled by them under this section.

References in this section to labelling meat include references to labelling it by means of any mark, label, tag or ticket made on, attached to or displayed with the meat, and, without prejudice to the construction of the expression " label " in section 6 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 or in section 6 of the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956 or elsewhere, that expression in section 6 of the said Acts shall include any such mark, label, tag or ticket.

The Commission may submit to the Ministers schemes for requiring information to be given in retail meat undertakings as to the prices asked for meat and for regulating the way in which that information is given.

A scheme under this section may in particular—

A scheme made under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent scheme so made, and may contain such supplemental and incidental provisions as appear to the Commission to be expedient, including in particular provisions—

A scheme under this section may include provisions making persons guilty of an offence against the scheme and, in particular, may make a person guilty of an offence against a scheme if he demands or accepts for any meat a price in excess of one displayed in connection with it.

A person guilty of an offence against a scheme under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds.

If the Ministers are satisfied that the bringing into force of a scheme submitted to them under this section is desirable they may confirm the scheme by order made by statutory instrument, subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

The Ministers may by order revoke a scheme under this section if it appears to them, after consultation with the Commission, that the scheme is not serving the purposes for which it was made, or that the continued operation of the scheme would be contrary to the public interest. An order under this subsection—

With a view to enabling the livestock industry and the livestock products industry to carry out such changes as the Commission may consider to be necessary or expedient, the Commission may submit to the Ministers a scheme (in this section referred to as a " development scheme ") for the purpose of conducing to the better organisation, development or regulation of any section of the livestock industry or the livestock products industry.

A development scheme may make provision for the rationalisation or concentration of a section of either industry, including in particular—

A development scheme shall provide—

A development scheme may be made for the purpose of providing facilities or services for a section of either industry, whether free of charge or not, and may provide for the expenses of providing the facilities or services to be met either out of funds provided by the industry, or a section of the industry, or by the Commission, or partly by one of those means and partly by another.

A development scheme—

The methods employed by a development scheme may include the licensing of undertakings or producers, the imposition of quotas on undertakings or producers or markets, and the registration of any category of undertakings or persons.

A development scheme shall have effect notwithstanding any provision inconsistent with the scheme which is contained in any Charter or letters patent, or is contained in or made under any Act of Parliament (including a local Act) passed before this Act or any local Act passed with or after this Act.

A development scheme may be varied or revoked by a subsequent development scheme and may contain such supplemental and incidental provisions as appear to the Commission to be expedient, including in particular provisions—

The generality of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section is not to be read as qualified by or restricted to the particular matters mentioned above in this section.

A development scheme may include provisions making persons guilty of an offence where there is a contravention of the scheme, and for the imposition of penalties on summary conviction of any such offence, so however that a maximum fine specified in the scheme shall be a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds and a maximum term of imprisonment specified in the scheme shall be a term not exceeding three months.

The Ministers may, after consultation with the President of the Board of Trade, direct that any agreement or class of agreements specified in the direction, being agreements into which the Commission enter in connection with a development scheme, shall be ones to which Part I of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 does not This subsection extends to Northern Ireland.

Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect as respects the procedure for making a development scheme, and other matters concerning development schemes.

A scheme under the Agriculture (Calf Subsidies) Act 1952 (subsidies in respect of calves born in the United Kingdom) may provide for the time when subsidy becomes payable in respect of a calf, the times by reference to which eligibility for a subsidy, or the rate of subsidy, is to be determined, or any other time relevant for the purposes of the scheme, to be times when the animal has ceased to be a calf, or when the animal whether still a calf or not is dead ; and accordingly—

The period to be specified in a scheme under the said Act (which, under section 1(3) of that Act, must not exceed three years) shall either— and accordingly in section 1(1)(a) of the said Act the words " within the period specified in the scheme " shall cease to have effect.

If under the last foregoing subsection periods are specified in different ways, the periods need not be concurrent.

Section 1(5)(b) of the said Act (under which a scheme must not be varied so as to exclude or reduce subsidy in respect of a calf born before the coming into operation of the varying scheme) shall only apply so far as any variation is of the provisions under which subsidy is restricted to animals certified when still calves.

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section, the provisions of a scheme under the said Act may be such as to make it possible for the administration of the scheme to be combined with the administration of arrangements for payments to be made in respect of fatstock under Part I of the Agriculture Act 1957 (guaranteed prices); and such a scheme may frame the description of animals or carcases in respect of which subsidy is payable by reference to the descriptions of animals or carcases (whether prescribed by or under an order made under the said Part I) which for the time being govern eligibility for payments under the said Part I.

In cases where subsidy is not restricted to animals certified when still calves, the appropriate Minister may, if he thinks fit, provide in the scheme that the rate of subsidy shall, instead of being specified in the scheme, be such amount as the appropriate Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine as being approximately equivalent on the average to the rate of subsidy which would be payable if the case were one where subsidy is restricted to animals certified when still calves.

A scheme under the said Act may provide for the delegation by the appropriate Minister of any functions conferred on him by the scheme.

This and the next following section extend to Northern Ireland.

For the purpose of securing that payments under the Agriculture (Calf Subsidies) Act 1952 are made in proper cases only, the appropriate Minister may by order make provision—

In section 6(1) of the Agriculture Act 1957 (under which imported livestock may be marked, and the importation of livestock controlled, for purposes which include that of securing that payments under Part I of that Act are made in proper cases only) the reference to the purposes there mentioned shall include a reference to the purpose of securing that payments under the Agriculture (Calf Subsidies) Act 1952 are made in proper cases only.

Section 7 of the Agriculture Act 1957 (which imposes penalties in relation to the provisions of section 5 of that Act, being provisions which correspond to subsection (1) of this section) shall apply in relation to an order under subsection (1) of this section as it applies in relation to an order under the said section 5.

An order made under subsection (1) of this section—

A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (1) of this section shall be laid before Parliament after being made, and shall cease to have effect (without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of a new order) on the expiration of a period of forty days, calculated in accordance with section 7(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946, beginning with the day on which it is made unless within that period it has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

As from such date as may be specified in an order in a statutory instrument made by the appropriate Minister, so much of section 1(4)(c) of the Agriculture (Calf Subsidies) Act 1952 as relates to the marking of calves, and sections 2 and 3 of that Act (which are superseded by the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section) shall cease to have effect, and orders under subsection (1) of this section, and under section 6 of the Agriculture Act 1957 as extended by subsection (2) of this section, may contain such supplemental and incidental provisions as appear to the appropriate Minister expedient for effecting the transition from the provisions so repealed.

An order under this section may be made for England and Wales, for Scotland, for Northern Ireland, or for any two or all of those parts of the United Kingdom jointly.

In this and the last foregoing section " carcases " means carcases of cattle.

The appropriate Minister may, in accordance with a scheme made by him with the approval of the Treasury, make lout of money provided by Parliament payments in respect of cows, or cows of prescribed descriptions, which on any prescribed date are comprised in a herd with respect to which any prescribed conditions are fulfilled, being a herd appearing to the appropriate Minister to be maintained primarily for the purpose of breeding calves for beef. In this section " cow " means a female bovine animal which has borne a calf, or has, in the opinion of the appropriate Minister, been brought into a herd to replace one which has borne a calf, and " prescribed " means prescribed by a scheme under this section; and the payments for which provision is made by any such scheme are in this section referred to as " subsidy payments ".

A scheme under this section may be made for England and Wales, for Scotland, for Northern Ireland, or for any two or all of those parts of the United Kingdom jointly.

The duration of a scheme under this section shall be a period not exceeding five years.

The amount which may be paid by way of subsidy payment in respect of a cow shall be such as may be specified by an order made for the purposes of the scheme in question by the appropriate Minister with the approval of the Treasury, and any such order may specify different amounts in relation to different descriptions of cows.

A scheme under this section shall contain provision designed to secure that subsidy payments and payments under hill cattle schemes within the meaning of the Hill Farming Act 1946 are not made in respect of the same animals for the same, or substantially similar, periods.

A scheme under this section—

A scheme or order under this section—

This section extends to Northern Ireland.

The Commission may submit to the Ministers a scheme (in this Part of this Act referred to as a " levy scheme ") for the imposition of charges for enabling the Commission to meet their expenses (including any sums to be paid into their reserve fund) so far as not met in any other way, and for the recovery of such charges by the Commission in such manner and from such persons as may be specified in the scheme.

A levy scheme shall specify the classes or descriptions of persons on whom or from whom charges may be imposed or recovered, but a class or description so specified shall include only persons who are within the following provisions of this subsection, that is— including auctioneers, market authorities and other persons concerned with the marketing of livestock and livestock products otherwise than as buyers and sellers, and a levy scheme may contain provisions as to the evidence by which a person's liability to the levy may be established.

A levy scheme shall specify maximum charges leviable under the scheme, and the circumstances under which they are leviable, and shall authorise the Commission, subject to those maximum charges, to levy such amounts as they think fit, or to suspend the levy authorised by the scheme for any period.

The maximum charges so specified—

A levy scheme which provides for the imposition of charges in respect of the slaughter of livestock shall secure that no charges are made in respect of livestock slaughtered under the Diseases of Animals Act 1950 or any order or arrangements made thereunder.

A levy scheme may authorise persons of a class or description specified in the scheme, and in particular persons owning or controlling slaughterhouses, auctioneers, market authorities and other persons acting as intermediaries in the buying and selling of livestock and livestock products, to recover all or a specified part of sums paid by them under the levy scheme from persons of such other classes or descriptions as may be specified in the scheme, and may, in default of payment by any person of one of the first mentioned class or description, authorise the Commission to recover directly what might have been payable indirectly if the default had not occurred.

A levy scheme may confer on any person on whom such a right of recovery is conferred a further right to make from his payments to the Commission deductions of amounts determined in accordance with the levy scheme in respect of his expenses incurred in exercising his right of recovery, and a right to relief (whether by way of deduction from payments to the Commission or of refund by the Commission) in respect of any sum which, in the opinion of the Commission, ought reasonably to be treated as irrecoverable by him.

The power conferred by this section to make a levy scheme shall be construed as including power to make a levy scheme varying or revoking a previous levy scheme.

If the Ministers are satisfied that the bringing into force of a levy scheme submitted to them is desirable they may confirm the scheme with or without modifications by order made by statutory instrument, but they shall not make such an order unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

A levy scheme shall come into force on such date as may be specified in the order confirming the scheme, being a date after the latest date on which either House of Parliament resolves that the draft order be approved.

The Ministers may by order in a statutory instrument, of which a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, revoke a levy scheme. An order under this section may contain such supplemental and incidental provisions, including transitional provisions, as appear to the Ministers to be expedient.

A levy scheme may, so far as is necessary for determining the liability of persons to charges thereunder, confer on the Commission power to require persons on whom charges may be imposed by a levy scheme—

Any person who fails to comply with a requirement made under a levy scheme by virtue of subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.

Any person who— shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

The Ministers— In paragraph (b) above " initial expenditure ", in relation to any activities carried on by the Commission in performing any of the functions within that paragraph, means expenditure incurred or to be incurred in respect of the carrying on of those activities in the first three years in which they are carried on.

Any payments under subsection (1) above may be made subject to any conditions regulating or restricting the Commission's functions, imposing requirements as to the giving of information and the keeping and inspection of accounts and records, or relating to other matters, which the Ministers may specify; and the Ministers may recover the whole or any part of a contribution which is made subject to a condition, if that condition is not complied with.

The giving of a direction under section 20 of this Act as respects any of the Commission's functions shall not make those functions ones performed at the request of the Ministers for the purposes of subsection (1) above.

For the purpose of providing funds to be applied for the purpose of scientific research which is connected with the livestock industry and the livestock products industry and which is to be carried out by the Agricultural Research Council, the Ministers may by order— or provide sums partly in the one way and partly in the other.

An order under this section may provide for the imposition and recovery of charges in any way which might be authorised by a levy scheme and—

An order made under this section— and the Ministers shall not make an order under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

It shall be the duty of the Commission to carry out such functions as the Ministers may direct them to perform in connection with the collection of any levy relating in any way to the livestock industry or the livestock products industry and payable by virtue of an Act of Parliament or of any instrument having effect under an Act of Parliament, but the Ministers shall not give a direction as respects any levy payable to a person other than the Ministers without the consent of that other person.

A direction under this section may specify the terms on which the Commission is to collect a levy, and may allow the Commission to deduct expenses out of the sums collected by them, and a direction given by virtue of this subsection shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any other Act, or in any instrument having effect under any Act.

The Commission may establish and thereafter maintain a reserve fund for the purposes of their functions under this Act.

Any moneys for the time being comprised in a reserve fund maintained under this section, and any other moneys of the Commission which are not for the time being required for any other purpose, may be invested in accordance with the next following subsection.

Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 12 and 13 of the Trustee Investments Act 1961 (which relate to the investment powers of trustees) shall have effect in relation to any such moneys, and in relation to any investments or other property for the time being representing any such moneys, as if they constituted a trust fund and the Commission were the trustees of that trust fund.

The Commission shall prepare and transmit to the Ministers annually a report setting out what has been done in the discharge of their functions under this Act during their financial year last completed, and the Ministers shall lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

The Commission shall keep proper accounts and shall prepare in respect of each financial year of the Commission statements of account in such form as the Ministers, with the approval of the Treasury, may direct; and the accounts of the Commission for each financial year shall be audited by auditors to be appointed by the Commission.

No person shall be qualified to be appointed auditor under the last foregoing subsection unless he is a member (or in the case of a firm unless all the partners therein are members) of one or more of the following bodies:— The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland; The Association of Certified and Corporate Accountants; The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland; Any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 161(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1948 by the Board of Trade.

As soon as may be after the accounts of the Commission have been audited, the auditors shall transmit to the Ministers copies of the statements of account together with their report thereon, and the Ministers shall lay a copy of the statement and report before each House of Parliament.

The Ministers, after consultation with the Commission, may give to the Commission such directions of a general character with respect to the performance of any functions of the Commission as appear to the Ministers to be requisite in the public interest

The Commission's report for any year under section 19(1) above shall set out any direction given by the Ministers under subsection (1) of this section to the Commission during that year, unless the Ministers have notified the Commission their opinion that it is against the interests of national security to do so.

It shall be the duty of the Commission to comply with any directions given by the Ministers under this section.

The Commission may hold such inquiries as they consider necessary or desirable for the discharge of any of their functions.

For the purpose of any inquiry under this section the Commission may by summons require any person to attend to give evidence on any of the matters specified in the summons, or to produce all documents in his possession or control which relate to any such matters.

The summons shall specify the hour and day, being a day not earlier than twenty-one days after the service of the summons, and the place, at which that person is to attend, and shall refer to the right of appeal conferred by subsection (4) below.

Within fourteen days of service of a summons under this section, the person served may appeal to the High Court on the ground that any of the evidence, or any document, which he may be required to give or produce in pursuance of the summons is not reasonably required by the Commission for the execution of their functions under this Act, and—

The jurisdiction conferred by this section on the High Court may be exercised by a Master, but subject to rules of court and to the rights of appeal from the decisions of a Master thereby conferred, and this subsection shall have effect notwithstanding section 63(1) of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925 (which requires an appeal from any person to the High Court to be heard and determined by a divisional court).

No person shall be compelled for the purposes of an inquiry under this section to give any evidence or produce any document which he could not be compelled to give or produce in proceedings before the High Court.

No person shall be required, in obedience to a summons under this section, to go more than ten miles from his place of residence unless the necessary expenses of his attendance are paid or tendered to him.

For the purpose of any inquiry under this section the Commission may take evidence on oath and for that purpose administer oaths, or may, instead of administering an oath, require the person examined to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of the matter respecting which he is examined.

If any person who is to give evidence at any inquiry under this section so requests at the hearing, or by a notice in writing served on the Commission before the day of the hearing, the Commission shall exclude the public from the hearing while that person gives his evidence.

The procedure at any such inquiry shall, subject to the foregoing provisions of this section and any direction under section 20 above, be determined by the Commission, but so that any person appearing thereat shall be entitled to representation by counsel, solicitor or any other person.

A person who— shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.

In the application of this section to Scotland—

On the date of the coming into force of this section the assets, liabilities and obligations of the Pig Industry Development Authority established under Part III of the Agriculture Act 1957 shall by virtue of this subsection and without further assurance be transferred to the Commission.

The Authority's financial year current on the said date shall be deemed to end on that date.

As soon as the Ministers are satisfied that the requirements of section 28 of the Agriculture Act 1957 (annual report and accounts) have been complied with on the part of the Authority in respect of years down to and including that financial year, they shall by order in a statutory instrument dissolve the Authority, and thereupon any expenses incurred by the Authority in complying with the said section 28 after the said date shall become a liability of the Commission.

For the purpose of obtaining information with respect to any matter which is of concern to the Commission, an authorised officer of the Commission, on producing if so required a duly authenticated document showing his authority, shall have a right to enter, at any reasonable time, any premises (other than a building used only as a private dwellinghouse) which he has reasonable cause to believe to be premises used for the slaughter of livestock or for the storage, processing, grading, classification, packing, cutting or sale of meat.

An authorised officer entering any premises by virtue of this section may take with him such other persons as may appear to him necessary.

A person may on any premises which he enters by virtue of this section inspect any livestock or meat or, if a retail meat undertaking is carried on the premises, any price lists or price marks, labels, tags or tickets or any other displays of prices of meat for sale.

If any person wilfully obstructs an authorised officer or other person in the exercise of powers conferred on him by this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply in relation to a stall or vehicle as they apply in relation to premises, but nothing in this section shall authorise a person to stop any vehicle on a highway.

Returns or other information furnished or obtained by any person in pursuance of a requirement made under a levy scheme, and any other information with respect to any particular undertaking which has been obtained under or by virtue of this Part of this Act, shall not be disclosed except—

This section shall not be taken as applying to information obtained at an inquiry under section 21 of this Act, except information derived from evidence given at the inquiry at a time when the public are excluded.

Any person who discloses any information in contravention of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

This section, except subsections (1)(b) and (2), extends to Northern Ireland.

In this Part of this Act " the Ministers " means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State concerned with agriculture in Scotland and, in the case of anything falling to be done by the Ministers, means those two Ministers acting jointly, except that payments to the Commission under section 15 of this Act shall be separate payments by the two Ministers in proportions agreed by them with the approval of the Treasury.

In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

Any reference in this Part of this Act to a person having the control and management of a slaughterhouse includes a reference to a local authority providing slaughterhouse facilities under Part II of the Slaughterhouses Act 1954 or Part IV of the Food and Drugs Act 1955, or providing any similar facilities under any local enactment.

Subsections (1), (2) and (3) of section 107 of the Agriculture Act 1947 or, as the case may be, subsections (1), (2) and (3) of section 83 of the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 (manner of service of notice) shall apply to documents required or authorised to be served under this Part of this Act.

The appropriate Minister may in accordance with a scheme and subject to section 50 of the Agriculture Act 1970 make, out of money provided by Parliament, grants of amounts determined in such manner as may be provided by or under the scheme in connection with the carrying out of any of the following transactions approved by him in pursuance of the scheme, that is to say— and for the purposes of paragraph (a) above, such assumptions as the appropriate Minister may consider reasonable may be made as to the works and facilities which will be carried out or provided for the benefit of the unit to be formed. Transactions within paragraphs (a), (b) and (bb) above are in this Part of this Act referred to as “amalgamations”, and transactions within paragraph (c) are in this Part of this Act referred to as “boundary adjustments”.

A scheme under this section may restrict the amalgamations and boundary adjustments to which it applies in any way, and may in particular exclude amalgamations of land which has reverted from being in single ownership or occupation or, as respects transactions within subsection (1)(bb) of this section, cases where after the transaction has been effected the unit is not in single ownership.

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A scheme under this section may make different provision for different circumstances; . . ..

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Any approval in pursuance of a scheme under this section of an amalgamation or boundary adjustment— and the appropriate Minister may, if he thinks fit, for the purposes of a claim for grant under section 29 of the Agriculture Act 1970 issue a certificate with respect to any work or facility that he considers it to be necessary or desirable as a consequence of an amalgamation, or to be necessary as a consequence of a boundary adjustment, approved by that Minister in pursuance of the scheme

After the payment of any grant under this section any grant under section 29 of the Agriculture Act 1970 in respect of any work or facility certified under subsection (6) above or any grant under subsection (1)(a) of the next following section in connection with an amalgamation the relevant unit shall be subject to the provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act and—

In the case of the payment of any grant under this section or any such grant under section 29 of the Agriculture Act 1970 as is referred to in the last foregoing subsection in connection with a boundary adjustment the appropriate Minister may, if he thinks fit, designate in the document giving his approval to the boundary adjustment any land appearing to him to benefit from the boundary adjustment as land which, after the payment of that grant, is to be a relevant unit subject to the provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act, and paragraphs (a) and (c) of the last foregoing subsection shall apply in relation to the boundary adjustment as they apply in relation to an amalgamation.

The duration of a scheme under this section shall be a period not exceeding seven years, but that period may from time to time be extended by further schemes under this section for periods not exceeding seven years.

A grant shall not be made under section 16 of the Agriculture Act 1957 (which relates to grants towards costs of amalgamation and is superseded by this section) in respect of a transaction proposed in an application made under that section after the coming into force of the first scheme made under this section, and so much of subsection (2) of the said section 16 as limits the time within which applications may be made under that section shall cease to have effect.

The following enactments— (under which grant under those Acts may be recovered by the appropriate Minister if there is a failure to carry out proposals), and any provision to the like effect in regulations made under section 77(3) of the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 or section 22(4) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955, shall not apply where in the opinion of the appropriate Minister the carrying out of the proposals is, as a consequence of an amalgamation or boundary adjustment approved in pursuance of a scheme under this section or in consequence of the carrying out or provision of works or facilities certified under subsection (6) thereof, impracticable or to no purpose or unduly expensive.

The appropriate Minister may in accordance with a scheme make a grant by way of a lump sum payment or an annuity to or for the benefit of an individual who in prescribed circumstances relinquishes his occupation of, or of a part of, an uncommercial unit of agricultural land—

A scheme under this section—

A scheme under this section may authorise the making of grant subject to such conditions as the appropriate Minister may specify.

Grants shall not be payable under this section to any one individual in respect of more than one uncommercial unit, and a scheme under this section shall contain provisions for securing that the amount of the grant payable in respect of an uncommercial unit occupied by more than one individual is an amount which is not more than approximately equivalent to the amount which would be payable if it had been occupied by a single individual.

A scheme under this section may provide that, after the death of a person in receipt of a grant by way of annuity, grant under this section of an amount specified in the scheme may be payable to a surviving widow or widower.

The duration of a scheme under this section shall be a period not exceeding seven years, but that period may be extended from time to time by subsequent schemes under this section for periods not exceeding seven years.

A scheme under this section may make provision, in a case where a person who has submitted an application for a grant under this section, and who has in prescribed circumstances either relinquished or become under an obligation to relinquish occupation of the uncommercial unit of agricultural land in question, subsequently dies before the application has been dealt with, for the application to be proceeded with after the death and for grants under this section of such respective amounts as may be determined by or under the scheme to be payable either—

Any grant under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

A scheme made by virtue of subsection (1)(a), (b) or (d) of this section may make provision whereby a person is treated for the purposes of the scheme, to such extent and in such cases as may be prescribed— and, in relation to any provision made by virtue of this subsection, subsections (2), (4) and (5A) of this section shall not apply but provision may be made in the scheme for corresponding purposes.

The appropriate Minister may with the approval of the Treasury make or guarantee loans to meet expenditure incurred in connection with an amalgamation or boundary adjustment approved by the appropriate Minister in pursuance of a scheme under section 26 of this Act, being— or expenditure under all or any two of paragraphs (a), (aa) and (b) above.

A loan made by the appropriate Minister—

A loan guaranteed by the appropriate Minister shall be a loan made by such body or bodies as the appropriate Minister may select.

A loan made or guaranteed by the appropriate Minister must be one repayable as to both capital and interest within a period of sixty years from the making of the loan.

The appropriate Minister may in making a loan or guarantee under this section impose such conditions as he thinks fit.

After the giving of a loan or guarantee under this section in connection with an amalgamation the relevant unit shall be subject to the provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act and—

In the case of a loan or guarantee made under this section in connection with a boundary adjustment the appropriate Minister may, if he thinks fit, designate in the document giving his approval to the proposals any land appearing to him to benefit from the boundary adjustment as land which, after the making of the loan or guarantee, is to be a relevant unit subject to the provisions of Schedule 3 to this Act, and paragraphs (a),(c) and (d) of the last foregoing subsection shall apply in relation to the boundary adjustment as they apply in relation to an amalgamation.

A mortgage, heritable security or charge securing a loan made or guaranteed by the appropriate Minister under this section may, notwithstanding any rule of law or equity to the contrary, contain a provision that the mortgage, heritable security or charge shall not be redeemable except in the manner specified in the mortgage, heritable security or charge.

Any sums required by the appropriate Minister for making a loan under this section or fulfilling a guarantee made under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

References in this section to the guarantee of a loan include references to the guarantee of part of a loan, including a guarantee restricted to interest payable on a loan.

It is hereby declared that the appropriate Minister has power under sections 82 and 90 of the Agriculture Act 1947 and sections 55 and 61 of the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 (powers of acquiring land by agreement and managing land) to acquire, hold and dispose of land for the purposes of effecting amalgamations of agricultural land and reshaping agricultural units.

That power shall include in particular power for the said purposes to enter into transactions involving loss, including—

A deed by which the appropriate Minister conveys land, or an estate or interest in land, may apply Schedule 3 to this Act to any of that land, and to any other land, but only if all the persons who will have an estate or interest in the land to which Schedule 3 is so applied have executed the deed; and in that Schedule as so applied “relevant Exchequer payments” shall mean such amounts as are specified in the deed for the purposes of this subsection under the heads of— and “relevant date” means the date on which the transaction to which the deed relates takes effect.

Section 24(1) of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948 and section 22(1) of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 (which restrict the operation of a notice to quit an agricultural holding) shall not apply to a notice to quit given by the appropriate Minister where—

Where an instrument bearing to grant a tenancy contains such an acknowledgment as is mentioned in paragraph (b) of the last foregoing subsection, the grant of the tenancy shall have effect notwithstanding section 16 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955 (vacant crofts), and during the subsistence of the tenancy the provisions of the Crofters (Scotland) Acts 1955 and 1961 and of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts 1886 to 1931 shall not apply to any land subject to the tenancy.

With a view to assisting in the making of long term improvements for the benefit of agricultural land the appropriate Minister may make out of money provided by Parliament grants towards the cost of such improvements of a kind described in Schedule 4 to this Act as he may approve for that purpose.

The applicant for the grant may be a person having an interest in the land (being in Scotland an interest as proprietor or as tenant) for the benefit of which the improvement is proposed, or a person intending to acquire such an interest if the improvement is approved, and the applicant may propose more than one improvement in his application.

The appropriate Minister may, as he thinks fit, either refuse to approve a proposed improvement or approve it in whole or in part, and the approval—

The appropriate Minister shall not approve any improvement unless he is satisfied—

The amount of any grant payable under this section towards the cost of an improvement shall be one quarter of that cost so far as approved by the appropriate Minister as having been reasonably incurred.

The appropriate Minister may reduce or withhold a grant under this section in any case where—

A grant under this section shall be payable to the person or persons by whom or on whose behalf the work required for making the improvement is done, and may be paid on the completion of that work or by instalments on the completion of parts of that work.

A grant shall not be made under section 12 of the Agriculture Act 1957 (which is superseded by the provisions of this section)— but, if the appropriate Minister so directs, paragraph (a) above shall not apply in relation to an application which in the opinion of the appropriate Minister is in substitution for an application made on or before the said 17th November 1965 and is in respect of an improvement which serves the same purposes as well as or better than, and not at substantially greater cost than, the improvement to which the earlier application related.

The grants made under this section, with the grants made under the said section 12 and under section 16 of the Agriculture Act 1957 (grants for amalgamations) and any grants made in respect of improvements of a kind to which this section applies out of money provided by Parliament by any Act passed after 27th April 1966 and before the passing of this Act, shall not altogether exceed the sum of one hundred and seventy million pounds.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State may from time to time, by order made by them jointly by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, vary Schedule 4 to this Act, but without prejudice to the payment of any grant towards the cost of an improvement approved before the coming into operation of the order.

The appropriate Minister may, out of money provided by Parliament, make to any person a grant towards expenditure incurred by that person on or after 17th January 1966 in or towards— being expenditure approved by the appropriate Minister for the purposes of the grant.

Subject to any order under section 34 of this Act, the amount of any grant under this section shall be ten per cent. of the expenditure in respect of which it is made.

A grant may be made under this section subject to such conditions as the appropriate Minister may think fit to impose.

In this section— and, for the purposes of this section, contributions by a person towards the costs incurred by any authority in providing a cattle-grid under Part V of the Highways Act 1959, or the Highways (Provision of Cattle-Grids) Act 1950, shall be treated as expenditure by him in the provision of that cattle-grid.

For the purposes of this section, expenditure shall be treated as incurred by a person on or after 17th January 1966 if or so far as it consists of a payment or payments made by him on or after that date, notwithstanding that the obligation to make that payment or those payments was incurred, or fell to be discharged, before that date.

The appropriate Minister may, out of money provided by Parliament, make to any person a grant towards expenditure incurred by that person on or after 17th January 1966 in providing a new tractor or harvester in respect of which there is in force, at the time the grant is made, a licence under the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1962 upon which duty has been paid at the rate applicable under that Act to agricultural machines, being expenditure approved by the appropriate Minister for the purposes of the grant.

Subject to any order under section 34 of this Act, the amount of any grant under this section shall be ten per cent. of the expenditure in respect of which it is made.

A grant under this section shall, as the appropriate Minister may determine, be payable either as a lump sum or in two or more instalments.

A grant may be made under this section subject to such conditions as the appropriate Minister may think fit to impose.

In this section " new " means unused and not second-hand.

Subsection (5) of the last foregoing section shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that section.

In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, for the words in subsection (1) from " a licence under " to " agricultural machines" there shall be substituted the words " a licence under the Vehicles (Excise) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 upon which duty has been paid at the rate applicable to the machines mentioned in section 4(2)(a) of that Act " ; and this section shall apply in relation to tractors and harvesters provided for use in the Isles of Stilly with the omission from the said subsection (1) of all reference to their being licensed as therein mentioned.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, the appropriate Minister may, out of money provided by Parliament, make in respect of any grant to which this section applies a supplementary grant, payable in such manner as the appropriate Minister may determine, of an amount equal (subject to any order under section 34 of this Act) to five per cent. of the cost or expenditure by reference to which the amount of the first-mentioned grant (hereafter referred to as " the basic grant") was calculated.

No grant shall be made under this section unless application for payment of the basic grant, or of the first instalment of the basic grant, was first made on or after 17th January 1966; and no grant shall be so made in any case where the amount of the basic grant exceeds or exceeded forty-five per cent. of the cost or expenditure by reference to which it was calculated.

Where any grant to which this section applies is payable by instalments on the completion of parts of the work in respect of which it is made, each instalment thereof shall be treated for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) above as if it were a separate grant.

Subject to any order under section 34 of this Act, the following are the grants to which this section applies—

A grant may be made under this section subject to such conditions as the appropriate Minister may think fit to impose.

Orders may from time to time be made under this section—

An order under this section—

A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (1)(a) above, or an order under subsection (1)(b) or (1)(c) above providing for the payment of grants at a rate other than that specified in section 32(2) or, as the case may be, 33(1) of this Act, shall be laid before the House of Commons after being made, and the order shall cease to have effect at the end of twenty-eight days after that on which it is made (but without prejudice to anything previously done under the order or to the making of a new order) unless before the end of that period the order is approved by resolution of that House. In reckoning any period of twenty-eight days for the purposes of this subsection, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which the House of Commons is adjourned for more than four days.

A statutory instrument containing any other order under subsection (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.

Regulations under this section may confer on a person eligible for grant under section 26 or section 30 of this Act the amount of which depends on the cost of carrying out works of some kind, or on some other cost, the right to elect to take that cost for the purposes of the grant as being of such standard amount as may be determined by or under the regulations.

Regulations under this section or a scheme under section 26 of this Act may prescribe tests by which expenditure or cost not otherwise qualifying for grant may be regarded, for the purposes of section 26 or section 30 of this Act, and of subsection (1) above, as being partly expenditure qualifying for grant, and partly not, and authorise the making of grant in accordance with the regulations or scheme in respect of the part to be so regarded as qualifying for grant.

Regulations under this section may provide that where grant is payable under section 26 or section 30 of this Act in respect of a cattle-grid to be provided in pursuance of Part V of the Highways Act 1959 or the Highways (Provision of Cattle-Grids) Act 1950, grant shall be payable to a person making a contribution to the cost of providing the cattle-grid, instead of the authority providing the cattle-grid, and the regulations may provide for adjustment of the amount so paid where any part of the contribution becomes repayable.

Regulations under this section may also provide for the adjustment, where any contribution in respect of the provision of a cattle-grid becomes repayable in whole or in part, of any amount paid in respect of the contribution by way of grant under section 31 of this Act.

The provisions of the Settled Land Act 1925 relating to improvements authorised by that Act (including those provisions as extended to trusts for sale by section 28 of the Law of Property Act 1925) shall, if it is so provided by regulations under this section, have effect as if works of any description specified in the regulations, being works of a kind mentioned in Schedule 4 to this Act or prescribed by a scheme under section 26 above, were included in Schedule 3 to that Act (which sets out the improvements so authorised, distinguishing in Parts I, II and III between improvements the costs of which are not liable to be replaced, may be required to be replaced, and must be required to be replaced) and were contained in the Part thereof specified in the regulations.

In the application of subsection (5) above to Northern Ireland—

Regulations under this section—

If at any time after the approval of proposals under section 26, section 27 . . . of this Act, and whether before or after the proposals have been fully carried out, it appears to the appropriate Minister— the appropriate Minister may, on demand made after compliance with subsection (4) below, recover any grant or any part of a grant paid by him by reference to the proposals and revoke the approval in whole or in part.

In the case of a grant under section 27 of this Act which is a lump sum payable by instalments or a grant by way of annuity the appropriate Minister may, in a case within paragraph (a) or paragraph (c) of subsection (1) above, after compliance with subsection (4) below direct that future instalments of the grant or annuity shall not be payable.

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Before making a demand, revoking an approval or giving a direction under the preceding provisions of this section the appropriate Minister—

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Where a grant by reference to which a supplementary grant has been made under section 33 of this Act becomes recoverable in whole or in part, the supplementary grant shall also become recoverable on demand.

This section shall have effect where, after the carrying out of any proposals for amalgamation approved for the purposes of a scheme under section 26 of this Act, a dwelling-house which, at the time when the proposals were submitted, was occupied by a person responsible (whether as owner, tenant, or servant or agent of another) for the control of the farming of any of the land comprised in the amalgamation is let on a regulated tenancy otherwise than to—

If— the court shall, in proceedings commenced by the landlord during the period specified in subsection (3) below, make an order for the possession of the dwelling-house, whether or not it would have power to do so under section 3 of the Act of 1933, and section 5(2) of the Act of 1920 shall not apply in relation to the order.

The period referred to in subsection (2) above is one of five years beginning with the date on which the proposals for the amalgamation were approved or, if occupation of the dwelling-house after the amalgamation continued in, or was first taken by, a person falling within subsection (1)(a) above or his widow, a period expiring three years after the date on which the dwelling-house next became unoccupied.

In this section—

Subject to this section, this Part of this Act shall extend to Northern Ireland with the exception of section 28 and section 38 and, subject to the following provisions of this section, of section 29.

The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland may acquire by agreement any estate or interest in— for the purpose of effecting amalgamations of agricultural land and reshaping agricultural units.

The said Department may manage, farm or dispose of land acquired by it under subsection (2) above— and in section 27(1)(b)of this Act as it applies in Northern Ireland the reference to the appropriate Minister shall include a reference to the said Department. Section 45(3) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection as it has effect for the purposes of an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland passed after the commencement of that Act.

Sections 4 and 5 of the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881 shall not have effect in relation to any tenancy granted by the said Department under subsection (3) above.

Subsections (2) and (3) above shall in particular confer power to enter into transactions involving loss, including transactions corresponding to those into which the appropriate Minister may enter under section 29(2) of this Act.

Section 29(3) of this Act, and Schedule 3 to this Act when read with the said section 29(3), shall apply in Northern Ireland as if—

Sections 26(1)(a) and (bb) and 27(5B) of this Act shall, in their application to Northern Ireland, have effect as if references to a tenant as defined in the Acts there mentioned were references to a tenant who holds under a contract of tenancy for a life or lives or for a term of years.

The functions conferred by this section on the said Department shall be exercised in accordance with arrangements made between the Department and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with the approval of the Treasury, and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall pay out of money provided by Parliament any expenses incurred by the said Department in exercising those functions, and any sums received by that Department in exercising those functions (including any sums so received or recovered under Schedule 3 to this Act) shall be paid over to the said Minister.

In this Part of this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

In this Part of this Act— In this subsection “full-time employment” shall be construed in accordance with any provisions defining that expression in any scheme made under section 26 of this Act.

In this Part of this Act “uncommercial unit” shall be construed by reference to the definition of commercial unit, except that, where the appropriate Minister so directs, it may be treated as referring to the relevant agricultural unit exclusive of any one dwelling house of the unit or of an area sufficient to provide a site for one dwelling house and, if the Minister so directs, exclusive of any small portion of land to be occupied with that dwelling house.

Where any agricultural land in Scotland consists of or includes a croft or holding, for the purposes— the land shall be taken to include any right in pasture or grazing land held by the tenant or landholder whether alone or in common with others and deemed to form part of the croft or holding. In this subsection “croft” and “holding” have the meanings ascribed to them by the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955 and the Small Landholders (Scotland) Acts 1886 to 1931 respectively.

The appropriate Minister may in accordance with a scheme make grants towards the cost of improvements for the benefit of hill land (defining " hill land " in the scheme).

The descriptions of improvements in respect of which grant may be paid shall be such as the appropriate Minister may prescribe in the scheme as being in his opinion improvements which will improve the productivity of hill land used for agriculture.

A grant under this section may be by way of supplement to any grant or contribution payable in respect of the improvement in question under any enactment other than this section, and a scheme under this section may provide for the grant by way of supplement being subject to all or any of the restrictions, conditions and other incidental and supplemental provisions (including penalties) applying to the other grant or contribution.

The duration of a scheme under this section shall be a period not exceeding five years, but that period may from time to time be extended by subsequent schemes for periods not exceeding five years.

A scheme under this section shall provide for grant in respect of any expenditure being payable by reference to proposals which have been submitted to and approved by the appropriate Minister, and the approval—

Grants under this section shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament.

Sections 35, 36 and 37 of this Act shall apply in relation to this section as they apply in relation to section 26 of this Act.

This section extends to Northern Ireland.

The improvements referred to in section 12 of the Hill Farming Act 1946 (which authorises the Minister to carry out improvements for the benefit of hill farming land subject to rights of common) shall include (in addition to improvements within the meaning of that Act) any improvements specified in a scheme under the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act.

Section 12(13) of the Hill Farming Act 1946 (under which the net cost of work done under that section is to be brought into account for the purposes of the limit on grants in that Act) shall not apply in relation to any improvement carried out after the coming into force of this section but any sum which, but for this subsection, would have been so brought into account shall be brought into account as if it were a grant made under the last foregoing section.

Section 13 of the Hill Farming Act 1946 (which authorises payments year by year for hill sheep and cattle but which, as amended by the Livestock Rearing Act 1951, the Hill Farming Act 1956 and section 2 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963, is restricted to a period of years ending in 1967) shall apply without any such restriction and accordingly—

Schemes made under the said section 13 after the coming into force of this section shall restrict payments under subsection (1)(a) and payments under subsection (1)(b) of that section to periods not exceeding five years, but any such period may from time to time be extended by further schemes for periods not exceeding five years.

This section extends to Northern Ireland.

Section 10(1) of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1963 (which authorises payment of winter keep grants in respect of certain livestock rearing land) shall be amended by substituting 5 years for 3 years as the maximum period which may be specified in a scheme made under that subsection.

This section extends to Northern Ireland.

With a view to applying the provisions of this Part of this Act for meeting the special problems of the development as rural areas of hills and uplands, and the special needs of such areas, the appropriate Minister may, in accordance with this Part of this Act, establish a Board, to be known as a Rural Development Board, for any area , other than an area in Wales, appearing to be one where those problems or needs exist.

Those special problems and needs include the special difficulties in the formation of commercial units of agricultural land in such areas, the need for an overall programme for guidance in making decisions as to the use of land in such areas for agriculture and forestry, so that those two uses are complementary, the need for improved public services in such areas in step with their development for agricultural and forestry purposes, and the need for preserving and taking full advantage of the amenities and scenery in those areas in the course of their development for those purposes.

The overall programme referred to in the preceding subsection is one having regard, among other things, to the special economic considerations and the long-term nature of forestry.

The amenities to which consideration is to be given under subsection (2) above shall include any feature of scientific or historic interest in those areas, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, their flora and fauna and physiographical features, and any buildings of special interest.

Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect as respects the procedure for establishing a Rural Development Board, and its constitution.

As respects the area of a Rural Development Board established under this section the provisions of this Part of this Act controlling sales of land and controlling afforestation shall be a local land charge, and for the purposes of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 the appropriate Minister shall be treated as the originating authority as respects such charge.

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It shall be the duty of the appropriate Minister to give to the local authority's officer the information necessary to enable him to comply with subsection (6) of this section.

The provisions of subsections (6), . . . of this section shall not apply to Scotland, and on the establishment of a Rural Development Board in Scotland, the Secretary of State shall cause a notice referring to the provisions of this Part of this Act controlling sales of land and controlling afforestation to be lodged at the principal office of the county council of every county in the area of which any part of the Board’s area lies, and the notice shall be available for inspection free of charge at all reasonable hours.

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The appropriate Minister shall to such extent as may be approved by the Treasury pay out of money provided by Parliament any expenditure incurred, or to be incurred, by a Board in the performance of their functions.

It shall be the function of a Rural Development Board—

The appropriate Minister may approve in whole or in part any proposals submitted to him under subsection (1)(b) above, or may refuse to approve them.

It shall be the duty of a Rural Development Board and of the appropriate forestry authority to co-ordinate the preparation and implementation of their proposals and programmes for the Board’s area, and for that purpose to consult together at all stages and, where necessary, to act in concert. Any dispute between them shall be referred to and determined by the appropriate Minister ....

In the discharge of their functions a Rural Development Board may—

In the discharge of their functions a Rural Development Board may, in accordance with arrangements approved by the appropriate Minister and the Treasury, give financial assistance, whether by way of grant or loan or partly grant and partly loan, towards the undertaking of measures to implement any programme drawn up under section 46 of this Act, and in particular (subject to its being so aproved)—

On making a grant or loan under the foregoing subsection the Board may impose such conditions as they think fit, including, in the case of a grant, conditions for repayment in specified circumstances.

Without prejudice to the generality of section 46 of this Act, a Rural Development Board shall have power to acquire by agreement, hold and dispose of land in their area for the purpose of effecting amalgamations of agricultural land and reshaping agricultural units, and power for the said purposes to enter into transactions involving loss, including—

A deed by which a Rural Development Board conveys land, or an estate or interest in land, may apply Schedule 3 to this Act to any of that land, and to any other land, but only if all the persons who will have an estate or interest in the land to which Schedule 3 is so applied have executed the deed; and in that Schedule as so applied “relevant Exchequer payments” shall mean such amounts as are specified in the deed for the purposes of this subsection under the heads of:— and “relevant date” means the date on which the transaction to which the deed relates takes effect.

Where under section 27(1)(b) or (c) of this Act a scheme under that section authorises the making of grant by reference to arrangements made or approved by a Rural Development Board, the Rural Development Board shall repay to the appropriate Minister the amount of any grant paid by the appropriate Minister under the scheme by reference to any such arrangements.

Case H in Part I of Schedule 3 to the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 shall apply in relation to a Rural Development Board as it applies in relation to the Minister within the meaning of that Act.

In relation to any tenancy certified by a Rural Development Board in the instrument by which the tenancy is granted as being a tenancy granted in connection with transactions entered into by the Board for the purpose of effecting amalgamations of agricultural land and reshaping agricultural units, section 14 of the Rent Act 1977 and section 5 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 (exclusion of local authority houses from Rent Acts) shall apply to the Rural Development Board as they apply to the council of a county or other local authority.

Subject to this and the next following section, any transfer of land in the area of a Rural Development Board shall require the Board’s written consent.

An application for consent under this section shall be in such form as the Board direct, and on the application the Board may refuse or grant the consent applied for.

The Board shall not refuse consent unless they are satisfied that the land to which the application relates, if acquired by them in accordance with this section— or unless the Board are satisfied that refusal of their consent will prevent the creation of an uncommercial unit of agricultural land.

The Board shall, within two months of receipt of an application duly made for consent under this section, serve on the applicant notice of the manner in which the application has been dealt with; and, except where their decision is to grant their consent, the notice shall give the reasons for their decision.

Within two months of receipt of a notice under the last foregoing subsection stating that the Board withhold consent the applicant may appeal to the appropriate Minister on the ground that the application for consent ought to be granted, and before determining the appeal the appropriate Minister shall, if either the appellant or the Board so desire, afford to each of them an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed by the appropriate Minister for the purpose; and in relation to appeals under this section—

Within three months from the date of receipt of a notice under subsection (4) of this section stating that the Board withhold consent or, if an appeal is brought under subsection (5) of this section which does not result in the granting of consent, from the final determination of the appeal, the applicant may serve on the Board a notice requiring the Board to purchase the estate or interest proposed to be transferred by him in the transaction to which the application relates, and the following provisions of this section (under which the Board can be compelled to purchase it) shall have effect.

If the applicant’s estate or interest in the land to which the application relates is greater than what is proposed to be transferred by the transaction to which the application relates, the Board may by notice given to the applicant within two months of receipt of the purchase notice require that the purchase notice shall apply to all the estate or interest of the applicant in the land.

For the purposes of subsection (8)(a) a claim shall not be deemed to be fully determined so long as—

An application for consent under this section must be sent to the Board by registered post or recorded delivery service, or delivered to the secretary or chief officer of the Board, and if within the period specified in the next following subsection the Board do not notify the applicant of their decision on the application, this section shall have effect as if at the expiration of that period the Board had granted the consent; and it shall be the duty of the Board to give a written consent to the applicant accordingly.

Any applicant who has not received a notice as required by subsection (4) of this section may by notice (to be served on the Board in the way required for service of his application) require the Board to make good their default and the period at the end of which subsection (10) above shall operate shall be the period of fourteen days from the service of that notice.

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References in this and the next following section to the transfer of land include references to the granting of a lease of land for a term exceeding 10 years, and to assigning a lease of land with an unexpired term exceeding 10 years, but in relation to the grant of a lease references in this section to the estate and interest of the person transferring or proposing to transfer the land shall be taken as references to his estate and interest both in the reversion and the lease.

In the application of this section to Scotland, for the last foregoing subsection there shall be substituted the following subsection—.

The last foregoing section shall only apply to land which at the time when it is or is to be transferred is agricultural land or woodland or unenclosed mountain, hill or heath land, or common land or waste land.

Where one of the grounds on which an appeal is brought under subsection (5) of the last foregoing section is that the proposed transfer is part of a proposed transaction involving land in the Board’s area which is not within subsection (1) of this section, or involving land which is not within the Board’s area, the appropriate Minister may, if he decides not to allow the appeal but is of opinion that the appellant would be substantially prejudiced if he is unable to dispose in one transaction of all the land comprised in the proposed transaction, with the consent of the appellant direct that any purchase notice served under the last foregoing section by the appellant shall relate both to the land to which the application relates and also to the other land, or such part of it as the appropriate Minister may direct.

The last foregoing section shall not apply to a transfer to or from— In this subsection the “ National Trust ” means in relation to Scotland the National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty incorporated by the Order confirmed by the National Trust for Scotland Order Confirmation Act 1935; . . .

The last foregoing section shall not apply to a transfer by an individual to a member of his family or to the trustees of a settlement exclusively for the benefit of members of his family, and in this subsection “ family ” means the individual’s husband or wife, any lineal descendant or ancestor of his, and his brother and sister and any child of a brother or sister, and in deducing any such relationship an adopted child shall be treated as a child and any relationship of the half blood shall be treated as a relationship of the whole blood.

The last foregoing section shall not apply to a transfer of land effected in pursuance of a contract of sale concluded before the land came to be in the area of the Board or, if the order establishing the Board so provides, before the expiry of such period not exceeding three months from the date on which it is established as may be specified in the order.

The last foregoing section shall not apply—

If land is transferred in contravention of subsection (1) of the last foregoing section the Board shall be deemed to be authorised to acquire all the estate and interest of the transferor in the land transferred (whether in his hands, or in the hands of persons deriving title under him) by a compulsory purchase order, but any notice to treat given in pursuance of this subsection shall be served within six years from the date of transfer. “Compulsory purchase order” has the same meaning as in section 49(7) of this Act, and Part IV of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 and Part IV of Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 (validity of compulsory purchase orders) shall apply in relation to any notice to treat served in pursuance of this subsection as they apply in relation to a compulsory purchase order.

In assessing compensation in accordance with section 5 of the Land Compensation Act 1961 or section 12 of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1963 (which relate to compulsory purchases of land) no account shall be taken of any depreciation of the value of the relevant interest which is attributable to the provisions of the last foregoing section and this section.

Failure to obtain consent under subsection (1) of the last foregoing section to any transaction shall not invalidate that transaction.

If it appears to a Rural Development Board that in any part of their area there is a need, for the benefit of the community and for the mutual advantage of those owning and occupying the agricultural land, of a co-ordinated scheme of amalgamations of agricultural land, reshaping of agricultural units and afforestation to be effected by transfers and exchanges of land and grants, surrenders, renunciations and variations of tenancies, the Rural Development Board may proceed to make a scheme under this section.

The scheme— and the Board shall, in publishing notice of the scheme and in such other ways as appear to them appropriate, invite submissions to the Board on any aspect of the scheme.

The Board shall report to the appropriate Minister on the substance of the submissions made to them on the scheme and the appropriate Minister, after taking that report into consideration, may if he thinks fit direct a public inquiry to be held as regards the scheme.

After taking the Board’s report into consideration, together with the report of the person holding the public inquiry, if any, the appropriate Minister shall either reject the scheme or approve it with or without modifications.

If the appropriate Minister approves the scheme, with or without modifications, he shall publish notice of his approval in such manner as appears to him appropriate, and shall direct the Board to seek to negotiate with those concerned for the carrying into effect of the transactions required to implement the scheme.

The Board shall endeavour to arrive at proposals for a scheme which all concerned will be willing to implement, and for that purpose the Board may carry out all or any of the necessary negotiations for particular transactions, prepare or commission draft agreements, conveyances and other instruments and, by settling terms for inclusion in agreements for sale and other instruments or by drawing up a programme for the carrying out of the transactions, make arrangements for ensuring that the scheme, or any interdependent transactions, cannot be partly fulfilled and partly unfulfilled; and may carry out that and any other preliminary work notwithstanding that, if the scheme is unfulfilled, their expenses may be irrecoverable.

If the appropriate Minister is satisfied— the Board may be authorised by the appropriate Minister to acquire the outstanding land compulsorily, and the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 or, as the case may be, the Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) (Scotland) Act 1947 shall apply as if the Board were a local authority within the meaning of the relevant Act and as if this section were comprised in an Act in force immediately before the commencement of the relevant Act.

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Subject to this section, no person shall plant land in the area of a Rural Development Board with trees except under the authority of a licence granted by the Board.

Subsection (1) above shall not apply—

An application for a licence under this section shall be in such form as the Board direct, and on the application the Board may refuse or grant it either with or without conditions; and the Board shall exercise their powers under this section as a means of meeting the problems and needs described in section 45 of this Act in their area.

The Board may in particular grant a licence subject to any condition—

A licence under this section shall name the person to whom it is granted, and shall authorise planting by that person only unless it is endorsed by the Board in favour of another; and—

The Board shall, within two months of receipt of an application duly made for a licence under this section, serve on the applicant, and on all persons other than the applicant who have an estate or interest in the land to which the application relates, other than a minor tenancy, notice of the manner in which the application has been dealt with; and, except where their decision is to grant a licence without any conditions other than a condition requiring the planting which is authorised to be carried out within a period of five years from the grant of the licence, the notice shall give the reasons for their decision.

Within two months of receipt of a notice under subsection (6) of this section, the applicant and any person other than the applicant who has an estate or interest, other than a minor tenancy, in the land to which the notice relates, may appeal to the appropriate Minister against the decision and—

A person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section, or any condition subject to which a licence is granted under this section, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Where a person is convicted of an offence under the last foregoing subsection the court may, in addition to or instead of inflicting a fine, order him, within the time specified in the order, to take such steps as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which the contravention occurred, and may on application enlarge the time so specified; and if the order is not complied with that person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day on which the non-compliance continues.

Proceedings in respect of an offence under subsection (8) of this section may be instituted within six months of the first discovery of the offence by the person taking the proceedings, so, however, that no proceedings shall be instituted in respect of such an offence more than two years after the date of the offence.

A Rural Development Board in granting consent under section 49 of this Act to the transfer of land which in their opinion is land in respect of which an offence has been committed under subsection (8) of this section may impose a condition that the consent shall not take effect until such steps as may be specified by the Board in granting their consent have been taken to remedy the matters in respect of which the alleged contravention occurred, and the conditions so imposed may be varied by the court in exercising its jurisdiction under subsection (9) of this section.

An application for a licence under this section must be sent to the Board by registered post or recorded delivery service, or delivered to the secretary or chief officer of the Board, and if within the period specified in the next following subsection the Board do not notify the applicant of their decision on the application, this section shall have effect as if at the expiration of that period the Board had granted the licence applied for without any conditions other than a condition requiring the authorised planting to be carried out within five years from that date; and it shall be the duty of the Board to grant a licence to the applicant in those terms.

An applicant who has not received a notice as required by subsection (6) of this section may by notice (to be served on the Board in the way required for service of his application) require the Board to make good their default and the period at the end of which subsection (12) above shall operate shall be the period of fourteen days from the service of that notice.

For the purpose of this section the period of twelve months mentioned in subsection (2)(d) of this section shall, in relation to any land, include a period beginning before the land is within the Board’s area.

In this section, unless the context otherwise requires—

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A Rural Development Board shall prepare and transmit to the appropriate Minister annually a report setting out what has been done in the discharge of their functions under this Act during their financial year last completed, and the appropriate Minister shall lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

A Rural Development Board shall keep proper accounts and other records in such form as the appropriate Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine.

A Rural Development Board shall prepare and transmit to the appropriate Minister in respect of each of their financial years statements of account in such form as the appropriate Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine, and the appropriate Minister shall transmit them on or before 30th September following the financial year to the Comptroller and Auditor General, who shall examine and certify them and lay copies of them together with his reports thereon before each House of Parliament.

The appropriate Minister, after consultation with a Rural Development Board, may give to the Board such directions of a general character with respect to the performance of any functions of the Board as appear to him to be requisite in the public interest.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State may, as respects such of a Board’s books, records and accounts as appear to him to be ones in respect of which, having regard to his relationship with the Board, it is reasonable to give such a direction, direct that they shall be kept available by the Board at all reasonable times for inspection by him or on his behalf or by or on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

A Board’s report for any year under the last foregoing section shall set out any directions given by the appropriate Minister under subsection (1) of this section to the Board during that year, unless the appropriate Minister has notified the Board his opinion that it is against the interests of national security to do so.

It shall be the duty of the Board to comply with any directions given by the appropriate Minister under this section.

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A person duly authorised in writing by a Rural Development Board may, on producing if so required a duly authenticated document showing his authority, enter on any land in the Board’s area for the purpose of determining whether, and in what way, any of the functions of the Board should be exercised in relation to the land. The right of entry under this subsection may be exercised at any reasonable time, but a person shall not demand admission as of right to any land which is occupied unless at least forty-eight hours’ notice, or in the case of land occupied for residential purposes at least seven days’ notice, of the intended entry has been given to the occupier. A person who wilfully obstructs any person acting in the exercise of his powers under this subsection shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

A person leaving any land which he has entered by virtue of the foregoing subsection shall, if the land is unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent, leave it as effectively secured against trespassers as he found it.

A Board may by notice served on the owner or occupier of any land in their area, require him to furnish them with such information as may be specified in the notice with regard to the land as the Board may reasonably require for the discharge of such of their functions in relation to the land as may be specified in the notice. A person who fails without reasonable cause, or neglects, to furnish to the Board within three months after service of the notice the information specified in the notice shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Information obtained under this section shall not be disclosed except— and a person who discloses information in contravention of this subsection shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

Sections 45 to 55 of this Act shall not apply in relation to the application of this Part of this Act to the Highlands and Islands, except as provided in this section.

Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the special problems and needs referred to in the said section 45 exist in any area of the Highlands and Islands (including the whole area thereof), he may by order made (so far as applicable) in accordance with the provisions of that section and Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act apply to that area such of the provisions of section 27(1)(c) of this Act and the said sections 45 to 55 as he may think necessary for the purposes of this Part of this Act, and any powers and functions exercisable by a Rural Development Board by virtue of those provisions shall for the said purposes be conferred on the Highlands and Islands Development Board, but without prejudice to their existing powers and functions, and any reference in this Act to a Rural Development Board and to its area shall be construed accordingly.

On the making of an order under this section which applies any of the provisions of sections 49, 50 and 52 of this Act the Secretary of State shall cause such a notice as is mentioned in section 45(9) of this Act to be lodged and made available in accordance with that subsection.

“Highlands and Islands” in this section has the same meaning as in the Highlands and Islands Development (Scotland) Act 1965.

In this Part of this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

For the purposes of this Part of this Act land in the area of a Rural Development Board shall be regarded as having been within that area from the date when the Board is established except that, if included by an order varying the Board’s area, it shall be regarded as being within that area from the date when that order takes effect.

Section 107 of the Agriculture Act 1947 or, as the case may be, section 83 of the Agriculture (Scotland) Act 1948 (manner of service of notice) shall apply to notices required or authorised to be served by a Minister or a Rural Development Board under this Part of this Act.

There shall be established a body to be called the Meat and Livestock Commission (in this Part of this Act referred to as " the Commission ") having the general duty of promoting greater efficiency in the livestock industry and the livestock products industry, and the particular functions specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, as well as the other functions conferred by this Part of this Act.

In carrying out their functions the Commission shall have regard to the interests of consumers as well as to the interests of the various sections of the livestock industry and the livestock products industry.

The Commission shall consist of not more than ten members appointed by the Ministers, and the Ministers shall appoint persons who in the Ministers' opinion are qualified to serve on the Commission by reason of their financial, commercial, technical, scientific, administrative or other relevant experience, and have no such financial or commercial interest as would be likely to prejudice the proper discharge of their functions as members.

The Commission shall have a chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the Ministers from among the members of the Commission.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall— and if a person ceases to be a member of the Commission and it appears to the Ministers that there are special circumstances which make it right that that person should receive compensation, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may, with the approval of the Treasury, pay to that person out of money provided by Parliament a sum of such amount as the Ministers may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed as authorising the Commission to engage in the business of buying and selling livestock or livestock products, except so far as is reasonably necessary for, and incidental to, the discharge of other functions of the Commission.

Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the Commission.

The Ministers shall appoint three committees to be called—

If it appears to the Commission that any matter arising or likely to arise out of the exercise of the Commission's functions has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of persons engaged in the production of livestock, the Commission shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, consult the Production Committee.

If it appears to the Commission that any such matter has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of persons engaged in the marketing or distribution of livestock or livestock products, the Commission shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, consult the Distribution Committee.

If it appears to the Commission that any such matter has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests of consumers, the Commission shall consult the Consumers Committee.

Any of the three Committees mentioned in subsection (1) above may at any time submit proposals for the consideration of the Commission as to the manner in which any of the Commission's functions which are of concern to the Committee should be exercised, or make representations to the Commission on any matter which in their opinion has or is likely to have a substantial effect on the interests with which the Committee are concerned.

The Commission shall have power to employ in an executive as well as in an advisory capacity any of the said three committees.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall not be taken as preventing the Commission from setting up any other committees, including, subject to Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act, committees (in this Part of this Act referred to as "joint committees ") whose members include one or more members both of the Production Committee and of the Distribution Committee ; and the Commission may employ any of their committees in an executive as well as in an advisory capacity.

If the matter on which consultation is required under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of this section is one with which a joint committee is concerned, the Commission may consult that joint committee instead of the Production Committee or, as the case may be, the Distribution Committee.

When giving advice to the Commission, any of the said three committees or any other of the Commission's committees shall, where any of their members desires to give advice differing to any considerable extent from the advice of the majority, inform the Commission of that fact, giving particulars of that differing advice.

Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect as respects the Commission's committees.

It shall be the duty of the Commission to carry out such functions as the Ministers may confer on the Commission in connection with— but not including any functions conferred on the Ministers or either of them by or under an Act of Parliament other than functions which the Ministers may delegate under section 9(4) of the Agriculture Act 1957 or any other enactment.

So far as relates to livestock or livestock products, in section 5(1)(d) of the Agriculture Act 1957 (power of entry in connection with guaranteed prices), and in any order made under that paragraph before the coming into force of this section, references to authorised officers of the Minister shall include references to authorised officers of the Commission where accompanying an authorised officer of the Minister.

Any relevant information obtained by either of the Ministers in the discharge of their functions in connection with— may, for the purpose of assisting the Commission in the performance of their functions under this section, be disclosed to the Commission ; and any such disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of contract, trust or confidence.

The Ministers, or either of them, may from time to time delegate to the Commission any powers exercisable by the delegating Ministers or Minister to make orders under—

An order under the said section 56(2) of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 shall not be made by statutory instrument.

Where any power delegated to the Commission under this section includes power to vary or revoke orders previously made under that power, the Commission may vary or revoke any such order notwithstanding that it was made by the delegating Ministers or Minister.

For the purpose of providing a standard method of describing as fully as practicable those characteristics of a carcase which are the principal features of interest to persons trading in livestock and carcases, the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, compile systems for the descriptive classification of the carcases of all types of livestock slaughtered in Great Britain and for marking carcases according to that classification.

For the said purpose the Commission may at any time compile systems for the descriptive classification and marking of imported carcases, or modify any system, so far as inappropriate for imported carcases, so as to make it applicable to all or any imported carcases.

The systems shall be operated by the Commission, and they shall take such steps as appear to them appropriate—

If at any time the Commission are satisfied— they shall submit particulars of the system to the Ministers with the view to the making of an order under the next following section.

The Ministers may, on the recommendation of the Commission, by order make provision for requiring that carcases of such description as may be specified in the order shall be marked by the Commission in such circumstances and in such manner as may be prescribed by the order and in accordance with the system to which the recommendation relates.

The order may specify the carcases to which it is to apply by reference to the type of livestock, and the type of carcases, may distinguish between imported carcases and carcases of livestock slaughtered in Great Britain, and may make other distinctions for different cases, and shall be subject to such exceptions or exemptions as may be made by or under the order.

An order under this section—