Agriculture Bill (HC Bill 266)

(ii) manage risks (including, but not limited to, financial risks, non-
financial trading risks, climatic risks, and risks of or from
disease or pollution), or

(iii) manage market volatility;

(b) 5promoting transparency or fairness in agri-food supply chains;

(c) promoting the health or traceability of creatures of a kind kept for the
production of food, drink, fibres or leathers;

(d) promoting the health of plants;

(e) minimising adverse environmental effects of activities connected with
10agri-food supply chains;

(f) minimising waste arising from activities connected with agri-food
supply chains;

(g) monitoring, or analysing, markets connected with agri-food supply
chains;

(h) 15the purposes of any function of a public authority so far as it is a
function relating to one or more of the following—

(i) agri-food supply chains,

(ii) activities connected with agri-food supply chains,

(iii) the health of people or creatures,

(iv) 20the health or quality of plants or soil,

(v) the safety or quality of food or drink,

(vi) waste,

(vii) environmental protection, or

(viii) the countryside.

(5) 25In subsection (4)—

• “plants” includes fungi;

• “public authority” means a public authority—

  (a)

  in any part of the United Kingdom, or

  (b)

  in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom.

(6) 30For the meaning of “agri-food supply chain” (and “person in” such a chain) see
section 13.

15 Provision of required information and limitations on its processing

(1) This section applies to a requirement imposed under section 12(1) or (2).

(2) Information provided in response to the requirement may be processed for, but
35only for, purposes specified in the requirement (see section 14).

(3) Subsection (2) applies—

(a) to the person to whom the information is provided, and

(b) to a person to whom the information is disclosed,

but, in the case of a person within paragraph (b), subsection (2) does not
40authorise processing contrary to the terms on which disclosure is made.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) are subject to subsections (6) to (9).

(5) The requirement may specify—

(a) how and when the required information is to be provided, including (in
particular)—

(i) the person to whom the information is to be provided (who may
be a person other than the Secretary of State);

(ii) the form in which the information is to be provided;

(iii) the means by which it is to be provided;

(iv) 5the time or times at which, or by when, it is to be provided;

(b) the types of processing to which the information may be subjected;

(c) the forms in which the information may be disclosed.

(6) Where the requirement specifies the types of processing to which the
information may be subjected, information provided in response to the
10requirement may not be subjected to other types of processing except in
circumstances specified in the requirement.

(7) Subsections (8) and (9) apply if—

(a) information is provided in response to the requirement, and

(b) a person (“P”) proposes to make a disclosure of the information.

(8) 15Where P proposes that the disclosure should be of the information otherwise
than in anonymised form—

(a) P must consider whether the disclosure (if made in that form) would,
or might, prejudice the commercial interests of any person, and

(b) if P considers that it would or might do so, the disclosure (if made)
20must be of the information in anonymised form unless the Secretary of
State considers that it is in the public interest for the disclosure to be of
the information in some other form (in which event the disclosure may
be of the information in that other form).

(9) Where—

(a) 25subsection (8)(b) does not govern the disclosure, but

(b) the requirement specifies the forms in which the information may be
disclosed,

the disclosure must not be of the information in any other form except in
circumstances specified in the requirement.

(10) 30In this Part “processing”, in relation to information, means an operation or set
of operations which is performed on information, or on sets of information,
such as—

(a) collection, recording, organisation, structuring or storage,

(b) adaptation or alteration,

(c) 35retrieval, consultation or use,

(d) disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making
available,

(e) alignment or combination, or

(f) restriction, erasure or destruction.

16 40Enforcement of information requirements

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for enforcement of a
requirement imposed under section 12(1) or (2).

(2) In the following provisions of this section—

• “regulations” means regulations under subsection (1);

• 45“specified” means specified in regulations under subsection (1).

(3) In subsection (1) “enforcement” includes (in particular)—

(a) monitoring compliance,

(b) investigating non-compliance, and

(c) dealing with non-compliance.

(4) 5The provision that may be made by regulations includes (in particular)—

(a) provision for the imposition of monetary penalties for non-compliance
with requirements, whether penalties—

(i) of a specified amount, or

(ii) of an amount calculated in a specified manner, or

(iii) 10of an amount, not exceeding a specified maximum or a
maximum calculated in a specified manner, decided by a
specified person or a person of a specified description, or

(iv) by way of suspending, or withholding, payment of any
amounts;

(b) 15provision for recovery of amounts due in respect of monetary penalties,
including provision for any of interest, set-off and security for
payment;

(c) provision about the giving of advice or warnings;

(d) provision for the imposition of restrictions (including prohibitions) on
20carrying out activities;

(e) provision for the acceptance of undertakings to take, or refrain from
taking, particular actions;

(f) provision giving persons functions in connection with enforcement of
requirements;

(g) 25provision about review of, or appeals against, things done (including
decisions made) in connection with enforcement of requirements.

(5) In subsection (4)(a) “specified manner” includes (in particular) a manner
framed by reference to a specified matter such as a person’s profits, income or
turnover.

(6) 30Regulations under this section are subject to affirmative resolution procedure.

Part 4 Intervention in agricultural markets

Exceptional market conditions

17 Declaration relating to exceptional market conditions

(1) 35The Secretary of State may make and publish a declaration in accordance with
this section if the Secretary of State considers that there are exceptional market
conditions which justify making the powers conferred by or referred to in
section 18 available for use.

(2) In this Part “exceptional market conditions” exist where—

(a) 40there is a severe disturbance in agricultural markets or a serious threat
of a severe disturbance in agricultural markets, and

(b) the disturbance or threatened disturbance has, or is likely to have, a
significant adverse effect on agricultural producers in England in terms
of the prices achievable for one or more agricultural products.

(3) A declaration must—

(a) state that the Secretary of State considers that there are exceptional
market conditions which justify making the declaration,

(b) describe the exceptional market conditions in question, in particular by
5specifying—

(i) the disturbance or threatened disturbance in agricultural
markets,

(ii) any agricultural product which is or is likely to be affected by
the disturbance or threatened disturbance, and

(iii) 10the grounds for considering that the conditions in subsection
(2)(a) and (b) are met in relation to that disturbance or
threatened disturbance;

(c) describe the grounds for considering that the exceptional market
decisions justify making the powers conferred by or referred to in
15section 18 available for use; and

(d) state that the powers conferred by or referred to in section 18 are (unless
the declaration is revoked sooner) available for use in relation to the
exceptional market conditions until such day as the declaration may
specify.

(4) 20A declaration has effect from when it is published until the end of the day
specified under subsection (3)(d) (which may not be later than the last day of
the period of three months beginning with the day on which it is published).

(5) The Secretary of State may revoke a declaration by making and publishing a
further declaration stating that the declaration is revoked.

(6) 25If at any time during the period of seven days ending with the day specified
under subsection (3)(d) the Secretary of State considers that—

(a) there continue to be exceptional market conditions, and

(b) they justify extending the availability of the powers conferred by or
referred to in section 18,

30the Secretary of State may make and publish a further declaration extending
the effect of the original declaration for such period (not exceeding three
months) as the further declaration may specify.

(7) The fact that a declaration under this section has expired or been revoked does
not prevent the Secretary of State from making and publishing another
35declaration relating in whole or part to the same exceptional market
conditions.

(8) A copy of any declaration made and published under this section must be laid
before Parliament by the Secretary of State as soon as practicable after it is
published.

(9) 40In this section and section 18 a reference to agricultural markets, agricultural
producers or agricultural products includes horticultural markets,
horticultural producers or horticultural products (as the case may be).

18 Exceptional market conditions: powers available to Secretary of State

(1) This section applies during the period for which a declaration under section 17
45has effect.

(2) The Secretary of State may give, or agree to give, financial assistance to agricultural
producers in England whose incomes are being, or are likely to be, adversely affected by
the exceptional market conditions described in the declaration.

(3) The Secretary of State may also make such use as the Secretary of State
5considers appropriate of any available powers under retained direct EU
legislation which provides for the operation of public intervention and aid for
private storage mechanisms, in response to a declaration under section 17.

(4) Financial assistance under subsection (2) may be given by way of grant, loan,
guarantee or in any other form.

(5) 10The financial assistance may be given subject to such conditions as the
Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(6) The conditions may (among other things) include provision under which the
financial assistance is to be repaid or otherwise made good (with or without
interest).

(7) 15Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents the Secretary of State from giving, or
agreeing to give, financial assistance under subsection (2)—

(a) after the end of the period for which the declaration has effect, but

(b) in response to an application duly made during that period.

Retained direct EU legislation relating to public market intervention and private storage aid

19 20Modification in connection with exceptional market conditions and for
general purposes

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify retained direct EU legislation
relating to public market intervention or aid for private storage, for the purpose of
altering the operation of provisions of such legislation, so far as they have effect in
25relation to England in connection with exceptional market conditions which are the
subject of a declaration under section 17.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify retained direct EU legislation
relating to public market intervention or aid for private storage, for either or
both of the following purposes—

(a) 30securing that provisions of such legislation cease to have effect in
relation to England, otherwise than in connection with exceptional
market conditions which are the subject of a declaration under section
17;

(b) altering the operation of provisions of such legislation, so far as they
35have effect in relation to England otherwise than in connection with
such market conditions (pending the achievement of the purpose in
paragraph (a) in relation to those provisions).

(3) Regulations under this section are subject to negative resolution procedure.

(4) In this section “retained direct EU legislation relating to public market
40intervention or aid for private storage” includes—

(a) Articles 8 to 18 of the CMO Regulation;

(b) Council Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 of 16 December 2013
determining measures on fixing certain aids and refunds related to the
common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (so far as
45relating to public market intervention and aid for private storage);

(c) the following Commission Regulations (so far as relating to public
market intervention and aid for private storage)—

(i) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238 of 18 May
2016 supplementing the CMO Regulation with regard to public
5intervention and aid for private storage;

(ii) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240 of 18
May 2016 laying down rules for the application of the CMO
Regulation with regard to public intervention and aid for
private storage;

(iii) 10Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 of 20 April
2017 supplementing the CMO Regulation as regards the Union
scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and
as regards the reporting of market prices of certain categories of
carcasses and live animals.

15Part 5 Marketing standards and carcass classification

20 Marketing standards and carcass classification

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations, in relation to products that—

(a) fall within a sector listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1, and

(b) 20are marketed in England,

make provision about the standards with which those products must conform
(“marketing standards”).

(2) The regulations may cover matters such as—

(a) technical definitions, designation and sales descriptions;

(b) 25classification criteria such as grading into classes, weight, sizing, age
and category;

(c) the species, plant variety or animal breed or the commercial type;

(d) the presentation, labelling, packaging, rules to be applied in relation to
packaging centres, marking, years of harvesting and use of specific
30terms;

(e) criteria such as appearance, consistency, conformation, product
characteristics and the percentage of water content;

(f) specific substances used in production, or components or constituents,
including their quantitative content, purity and identification;

(g) 35the type of farming and production method, including oenological
practices;

(h) coupage of must and wine (including definitions of those terms),
blending and restrictions thereof;

(i) the frequency of collection, delivery, preservation and handling, the
40conservation method and temperature, storage and transport;

(j) the place of farming or origin, excluding poultrymeat and spreadable
fats;

(k) restrictions as regards the use of certain substances and practices;

(l) specific use of products;

(m) 45the conditions governing the disposal, the holding, circulation and use
of products not in conformity with the marketing standards, and the
disposal of by-products;

(n) the use of terms communicating value-added characteristics or
attributes.

(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the
classification, identification and presentation of bovine, pig and sheep
5carcasses by slaughterhouses in England.

(4) Regulations under subsection (1) or (3) may include provision about
enforcement, which may (among other things) include provision—

(a) about the provision of information;

(b) conferring powers of entry;

(c) 10conferring powers of inspection, search and seizure;

(d) about the keeping of records;

(e) imposing monetary penalties;

(f) creating offences;

(g) about appeals;

(h) 15conferring functions (including functions involving the exercise of a
discretion) on a person.

(5) Regulations under this section are subject to affirmative resolution procedure.

21 Power to reproduce modifications under section 20 for wine sector

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations modify Annex 7 of the CMO
20Regulation as it applies for the purposes of Section 2 of Chapter 1 of Title 2 of
that Regulation (designations of origin, geographical indications and
traditional terms in the wine sector), so as to reproduce any modifications to
that Annex made by regulations under section 20(1).

(2) Regulations under this section are subject to negative resolution procedure.

25Part 6 Producer organisations and fairness in the supply chain

Producer organisations

22 Producer and interbranch organisations etc: application for recognition

(1) An organisation of agricultural producers that meets the conditions in
30subsection (2) may apply to the Secretary of State to become a recognised
producer organisation.

(2) The conditions are—

(a) that the organisation is made up of producers all operating in a single
agricultural sector (its “members”);

(b) 35that the organisation was formed on the initiative of one or more of its
members;

(c) that the organisation has a specified minimum number of members, or
its members have a specified minimum production, or both;

(d) that the organisation is a body corporate or other body having legal
40personality, or is a clearly defined part of such a body;

(e) that the constitution of the organisation meets specified requirements;

(f) that the organisation carries out, on behalf of its members, one or more
specified activities;

(g) that the organisation does not engage in specified prohibited activities.

(3) An association of recognised producer organisations that meets the conditions
5in subsection (4) may apply to the Secretary of State to become a recognised
association of producer organisations.

(4) The conditions are—

(a) that the association is made up of recognised producer organisations all
operating in a single agricultural sector (its “members”);

(b) 10that the association was formed on the initiative of one or more of its
members.

(5) An organisation of agricultural businesses that meets the conditions in
subsection (6) may apply to the Secretary of State to become a recognised
interbranch organisation in a particular agricultural sector (the “relevant
15sector”).

(6) The conditions are—

(a) that the organisation is made up of businesses all operating in one or
more agricultural sectors (its “members”);

(b) that the organisation has—

(i) 20at least one member which is an agricultural producer in the
relevant sector, and

(ii) at least one member which is involved in the processing or
distribution of agricultural products in the relevant sector;

(c) that the organisation was formed on the initiative of one or more of its
25members;

(d) that the organisation has a specified minimum number of members, or
its members who are agricultural producers have a specified minimum
production in the relevant sector, or both;

(e) that the organisation carries out, on behalf of its members, one or more
30specified activities;

(f) that the organisation does not engage in specified prohibited activities.

(7) The Secretary of State may by regulations set out additional conditions that an
organisation of agricultural producers, an association of recognised producer
organisations or an organisation of agricultural businesses must meet in order
35to be able to make an application under this section.

(8) The Secretary of State must by regulations specify the time period within
which an application under subsection (1), (3) or (5) must be determined.

(9) The Secretary of State must notify a decision on whether to grant an application
to—

(a) 40the applicant, and

(b) the Competition and Markets Authority,

and, in the case of a decision to grant an application, must publish the decision
online.

(10) The Secretary of State may by regulations make further provision about
45applications under this section, such as provision about—

(a) the evidence to be supplied with an application;

(b) the factors to be taken into account in deciding an application;

(c) time periods and deadlines;

(d) application fees;

(e) reviews and appeals.

(11) In this section—

• 5“agricultural sector” means a sector listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1;

• “specified” means specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

23 Recognised organisations: competition exemptions and further provision

(1) Schedule 2 amends Schedule 3 to the Competition Act 1998 (general
exclusions) so as to exclude agreements between members of recognised
10organisations from the Chapter 1 prohibition.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make further provision about
recognised organisations.

(3) The type of provision that may be made in the regulations includes—

(a) ongoing requirements with which a recognised organisation must
15comply;

(b) provision about the monitoring and enforcement of those
requirements.

(4) Provision made by virtue of subsection (3) may (among other things) include
provision—

(a) 20about the provision of information;

(b) about the keeping of records;

(c) about the suspension or withdrawal of recognition;

(d) imposing monetary penalties;

(e) about appeals;

(f) 25conferring functions (including functions involving the exercise of a
discretion) on a person.

(5) The regulations may also include provision about the extent to which, and the
circumstances in which, recognised organisations may delegate certain
functions, which may include a procedure requiring that an organisation
30request permission from the Secretary of State.

(6) In this section, “recognised organisation” means—

(a) a recognised producer organisation,

(b) a recognised association of producer organisations, or

(c) a recognised interbranch organisation.

24 35Regulations under sections 22 and 23

(1) The power to make regulations under sections 22 and 23 includes power to
make provision allowing the Secretary of State to delegate functions, including
the function of deciding applications for recognition under section 22.

(2) Regulations under sections 22 and 23 may provide for exceptions or additional
40provision relating to a specified agricultural sector (“sector-specific
provision”), including providing exceptions to the conditions in section 22 or
imposing additional conditions for recognition, if the Secretary of State is
satisfied that—

(a) there is a need for sector-specific provision due to market conditions or
other circumstances creating adverse effects on agricultural producers
in that sector, and

(b) the sector-specific provision is appropriate to remedy or mitigate the
5adverse effects.

(3) Regulations under sections 22 and 23 are subject to negative resolution
procedure, unless the regulations contain new sector-specific provision.

(4) Regulations under sections 22 and 23 which contain new sector-specific
provision are subject to affirmative resolution procedure.

(5) 10Before making regulations containing new sector-specific provision, the
Secretary of State must consult persons who are representative of the sector to
which the regulations will apply, or who may otherwise be affected by the
sector-specific provision.

(6) In this section—

• 15“agricultural sector” means a sector listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1;

• “new sector-specific provision” means sector-specific provision that did
  not apply by virtue of any retained direct EU legislation immediately
  before this section came into force.

Fair dealing with agricultural producers

25 20Fair dealing obligations of first purchasers of agricultural products

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations in accordance with this section for
the purpose of promoting fair contractual dealing by the first purchasers of
agricultural products.

(2) The regulations are to impose obligations on the first purchasers of agricultural
25products in relation to contracts they make for the purchase of agricultural
products from producers.

(3) The kinds of obligations that may be imposed under the regulations in relation
to a contract are—

(a) obligations to contract in writing;

(b) 30obligations to include in the contract terms dealing with specified
matters, or not to include such terms;

(c) where terms dealing with specified matters are included in the contract
(whether or not further to paragraph (b))—

(i) obligations relating to the provision that must be made by those
35terms;

(ii) obligations to comply with specified principles and practices as
to the provision that should be made by those terms.

(4) The following are examples of the matters that may be specified under
subsection (3)(b) and (c)—

(a) 40the quantity and quality of products to be purchased;

(b) how products are to be provided (including timing of deliveries);

(c) pricing mechanisms (including mechanisms for adjustments,
premiums and deductions);

(d) payment (including timing and method of payments);

(e) 45charges for processing products;