The legislation governing the Direct Payment schemes was incorporated into UK law by the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Act 2020. This took effect immediately following 31 January 2020 which was the day the UK left the European Union. Leaving the EU provides the UK with the flexibility to amend the rules governing the Direct payment Schemes to better suit the needs of UK agriculture.
A number of retained European Regulations and domestic Statutory Rules have been further revised due to Northern Ireland amending legislation introduced in 2021. These are The Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (SR40/2021) and The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (SR42/2021). The consolidated guides to the Regulations below show all of these amendments. These consolidated guides will be a useful reference for all rules governing the 2021 Direct Payment Schemes in Northern Ireland.
The consolidated guides are not legal documents and have no legal effect. They are provided for illustrative purposes only. The relevant legislation as published on legislation.gov.uk should be consulted for legal purposes.
2021 Consolidated Guide to Reg 639-2014