Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution (Scotland) Regulations 1996: implementation report 2020 to 2023
This implementation report, published every four years, summarises the status of water quality and the impact of action programmes on water quality and agricultural practices, in accordance with the Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution (Scotland) Regulations 1996.
6. Evaluation of the implementation of the Action Programme
6.1 Competent authority
The Scottish Government is the competent authority for enforcing and checking farmer compliance with the NVZ Action Programme measures. Inspections are undertaken by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division (SGRPID)
6.2 Inspections
Nitrate Vulnerable Zones Enforcement Inspections comprise a comprehensive review of compliance with all relevant aspects of the action programme measures for each selected agricultural business. This includes:
- a check that all relevant elements of the Fertiliser and Manure Plan are present
- an assessment of the records to confirm that the recorded information does not indicate a breach of any aspect of the NVZ Action Programme
- a field inspection to confirm that there are no obvious visual breaches of buffer strip requirements closed periods etc.
- A visual assessment of livestock manure storage facilities to confirm that they comply with the minimum storage capacity and that facilities are maintained free of structural defects and that there is no leakage.
During priority catchment work to check compliance with the Controlled Activities Regulations general binding rules Scottish Environment Protection Agency staff will also report on any observations of breaches of NVZ Action Programme.
During the period 2019-2023, 214 businesses were selected for inspection. The compliance rates are shown in table 6.1 below.
Reporting period |
2020 to 2023 |
|---|---|
Number of farmers inspected |
214 |
Percentage of farmer businesses visited during the reporting period |
2.85% |
Reporting period |
2016-2019 |
2020-2023 |
|---|---|---|
All requirements |
84% |
84% |
Nmax |
77% |
94% |
Record keeping |
94% |
98% |
Minimum storage requirements |
99% |
100% |
Closed periods for inorganic N fertiliser |
100% |
100% |
Closed periods for organic N |
99% |
99% |
Farm limit for organic N |
100% |
100% |
Individual field limit for organic N |
99% |
100% |
Temporary field heap restrictions |
99% |
99% |
6.3 Penalties for non-compliance
Failure to comply with the legislation is a breach of cross compliance (SMR1). Any non-compliance therefore normally results in a reduction from the farm business Basic Payment, although a warning letter may be issued for very minor infringements.
The Action Programme Regulations give Scottish Ministers the power to issue notices to farmers to require compliance with the requirements of the Action Programme. Failure to comply with such a notice, or with record keeping requirements, is a criminal offence, with an individual liable, on summary conviction, to a fine up to the statutory maximum, or on conviction on indictment, to an unlimited fine. No farmers have been prosecuted for an offence under this legislation to date.
Contact
Email: waterenvironment@gov.scot
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