The Seeds (Variety Lists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Arrangements for official measures

10.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the Department may make arrangements, in such form as it considers necessary or desirable for the purpose of enabling any person to act under its supervision to carry out official measures.

(2) The Department shall not make an arrangement under this regulation unless it is satisfied that such an arrangement has provision for the purpose of preventing any person from—

(a) deriving any private gain from any official measures carried out under the arrangement; and

(b) carrying out any official measures under the arrangement except under the official supervision of the Department.

(3) An arrangement under this regulation may include such conditions as the Department considers necessary or desirable for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2), including conditions—

(a) specifying—

(i) the official measures that the person with whom the arrangement is made shall carry out under it;

(ii) the species of plant varieties on which the person may carry out the official measures;

(iii) the methods to be used in connection with the official measures the person carries out under the arrangement;

(iv) the amounts that may be charged by the person with whom the arrangement is made in relation to the official measures the person carries out under it; and

(v) the records that must be kept by the person with whom the arrangement is made in connection with the official measures that person carries out;

(b) prohibiting the person with whom the arrangement is made from—

(i) carrying out the official measures except under official supervision; and

(ii) charging amounts in relation to the official measures that person carries out under the arrangement except to the extent that these do not exceed the costs that person incurs in carrying them out; and

(c) prohibiting the person with whom the arrangement is made from making any further arrangement for any purpose in connection with the carrying out of any of the official measures that person has arranged with the Department to carry out unless—

(i) the Department has first approved all the conditions of the further arrangement and the person with whom the arrangement was made has received the prior written approval of the Department to make the further arrangement;

(ii) the further arrangement includes a condition prohibiting the making of any subsequent arrangements for any purpose in connection with the carrying out of any of the official measures in respect of which the Department made the arrangement;

(iii) the further arrangement includes an acknowledgment by the person with whom it is made that the Department may vary, suspend or revoke the further arrangement, whether or not they also vary, suspend or revoke the arrangement they made with the person seeking their approval for the further arrangement, if it appears to them that the person with whom the further arrangement is made is not complying, or has failed to comply, with any condition of the further arrangement; and

(iv) the further arrangement includes the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

(4) The Department shall not approve the making of a further arrangement by any person with whom they make an arrangement under this regulation unless it is satisfied that the person with whom the further arrangement is to be made—

(a) will not derive any private gain from any official measures he is to be authorised to carry out under the further arrangement; and

(b) will not carry out any official measures under the further arrangement except under official supervision of the Department.

(5) The Department may vary, suspend or revoke an arrangement or the conditions of an arrangement made under this regulation, or a further arrangement or any of the conditions of a further arrangement under this regulation, by giving notice in writing to the person with whom the arrangement or further arrangement is made, and a further arrangement or any of the conditions of that arrangement may be varied, suspended or revoked under this paragraph notwithstanding that the arrangement in respect of which it was made or the conditions of that arrangement are not also varied, suspended or revoked.

(6) A notice of a variation, suspension or revocation of an arrangement or further arrangement, or of a condition of an arrangement or further arrangement, shall specify—

(a) in respect of a variation or a revocation, a date on and after which the variation or revocation shall have effect; and

(b) in respect of a suspension, a period during which suspension shall have effect.

(7) When a variation, suspension or revocation has effect, the Department may, for any purposes in relation to these Regulations or a determination under these Regulations, continue to have regard to such of the official measures carried out under an arrangement which was varied, suspended or revoked as appear to it to be official measures carried out in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.