"the Act" means the Fisheries Act 1981;

"application" means an application for grant under this Scheme and "applicant" shall be construed accordingly;

"the appropriate closing date" has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph 4(3);

"the appropriate decommissioning date" has the meaning assigned to it in paragraph 7(3);

"approval" means approval granted under paragraph 6 of this Scheme;

"authorised officer" means any officer authorised in writing by the Ministers for the purposes of this Scheme;

"the Commission" means the Commission of the European Community;

"the Community waters" means the sea falling under the sovereignty or within the jurisdiction of the member States;

    (2) The Ministers may-

(a) select an application for approval according to the rank in which it has been placed under sub-paragraph (1) provided that approval of that application, together with any application higher in rank, will not result in the total of the bids relating to those applications exceeding the relevant amount; and

(b) where selection of an application would have that result, place the application on a reserve list in the same rank.

    (3) In exercising their powers under sub-paragraphs (1)(e) or (2) the Ministers shall have regard to-

    (3) The Ministers shall in writing-

(a) notify applicants of the result of their applications; and

(b) notify applicants whose applications they have approved under this paragraph of any conditions which they have determined or amended under sub paragraph (2).

    (3) In this Scheme "the appropriate decommissioning date" means such date as the Ministers may from time to time determine.

    (4) The Ministers shall publish a notice specifying the appropriate decommissioning date in such manner as they consider appropriate.

    (5) A claim form submitted in pursuance of a notice published under sub-paragraph (4) shall be in writing, shall be made in such form and manner, shall include such information and declarations and shall be delivered to such address as the Ministers may specify in the notice or from time to time require and (without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) shall include declarations that-

(a) the vessel has been decommissioned in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 8;

(b) all licences and claims to licences have been surrendered in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 9(1)(a); and

(c) the vessel has been removed from the register.

    (2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), an authorised officer may enter upon any premises which are, or which such officer has reasonable cause to believe are, relevant premises.

    (3) The power conferred by sub-paragraph (2) may be exercised in relation to premises used as a dwelling house only where reasonable notice of the intended exercise of the power has been given to all residents of that dwelling house.

    (4) Any authorised officer who has entered any premises in accordance with paragraph (2) may inspect those premises, and any documents on those premises which are or which such officer has reasonable cause to believe are, relevant documents.

    (5) An authorised officer entering premises by virtue of this paragraph may be accompanied by such other person as the officer considers necessary and sub-paragraphs (2), (4), (6) and (7) and paragraph 14 shall apply in relation to such other person when acting under the instructions of the officer as if they were authorised officers.

    (6) An authorised officer may-

(a) require any applicant or an employee, servant or agent of the applicant to produce any relevant documents and to supply such additional information in possession of the person or under their control relating to an application as the officer may reasonably request;

(b) inspect any such documents and, where any such documents are kept by means of a computer, have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with those documents;

(c) require that copies of, or extracts from, any relevant documents be produced; or

(d) remove and retain for a reasonable period any such relevant document which the officer has reason to believe may be required as evidence of proceedings under this Scheme or which the Ministers may be required to make available to the Commission pursuant to Article 38(6) of Council Regulation 1260/99 and, where any such document is kept by means of computer, require it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.

    (7) An authorised officer shall not be liable in any civil or criminal proceedings for anything done in the purported exercise of the powers conferred on the officer by this Scheme if the court hearing such proceedings is satisfied that-

(a) the act was done in good faith;

(b) that there were reasonable grounds for doing it; and

(c) that it was done with reasonable skill and care.

    (8) In this Scheme-

"premises" includes any vessel or other vehicle; and

"relevant documents" means any documents relating to the vessel in respect of which of which an application has been made;

"relevant premises" means the vessel in respect of which of which an application has been made and any premises in which relevant documents are retained or in which an authorised officer has reasonable grounds to believe such documents may be retained.

they may revoke the approval of such application or withhold the grant or any part of the grant in respect of the application and, where any payment by way of grant has been made, may recover on demand as a debt an amount equal to the whole or any part of the payment which has been so made.

    (2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b), the circumstances are-

(a) the application or any part of it was not an application which the applicant was entitled under paragraph 3 to make;

(b) the applicant or an employee, servant or agent of an applicant-


(i) has failed to comply with any requirement imposed under paragraph 8, 9, 10 or 14;

(ii) has intentionally obstructed any officer in the exercise of the powers of the officer under paragraph 15; or

(iii) has given information on any matter relevant to the giving of the approval or the making of a payment relevant to the approval which is false or misleading in a material respect; or



(c) there has been damage or destruction of the vessel resulting in the payment to any person of any amount under a policy of insurance or by way of compensation or damages (regardless of whether or not the method of decommissioning the vessel had been approved under paragraph 8(2) before such damage or destruction occurred).

    (3) Before revoking an approval or reducing or withholding any grant or making a demand by virtue of paragraph (1), the Ministers shall-

(a) give the applicant a written explanation of the reasons for the step proposed to be taken;

(b) afford the applicant the opportunity of making written representations within such time as the Ministers consider reasonable; and

(c) consider any such representations.

(a) Commission Decision 98/124/EC on the multiannual guidance programme for the fishing fleet of the United Kingdom for the period 1st January 1997 to 31st December 2001 (O.J. No. L39, 12.02.98, p.35); and

(b) Council Decision 97/413/EC relating to the objectives and detailed rules for restructuring the Community fisheries sector over the period 1st January 1997 to 31st December 2001 with a view to achieving a lasting balance between the resources and their exploitation (O.J. No. L 175, 3.7.97, p.27).