Rural Enterprise Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 3043 of 2000).

These Regulations, which extend to England only, supplement the Community legislation listed in the Schedule to the Regulations. This Community legislation inter alia provides for assistance to be paid from the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund towards investment in agricultural holdings and promoting the adapting and development of rural areas. The Regulations operate within the scope of these provisions to encourage diversification by those in the agricultural sector, or to encourage rural development more generally, by enabling assistance to be paid for new agricultural or rural projects. The Regulations implement a part of the England Rural Development Programme approved by the European Commission under Article 44 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 and provide for the payment of financial assistance by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of those projects which he has approved (reg.3). In addition, the Regulations provide for the making of claims for, and the payment of, financial assistance following approval (regs. 6 and 7) and also contain provisions creating obligations on those in receipt of financial assistance concerning the provision of information (reg. 8) and record-keeping (reg. 9).