The Countryside Access (Local Access Forums) (Wales) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make non-textual amendments to the Countryside Access (Local Access Forums) (Wales) Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”) to ensure that Local Access Forums (“LAFs”) are able to continue to meet and take decisions during the period of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Other than Regulations 1 and 6, these Regulations cease to have effect on 30 April 2021. Regulation 1 and 6 cease to have effect two years after they come into force.

Regulation 2 of these Regulations enables LAFs to hold remote meetings as opposed to having to have them in a single physical location.

Regulation 3 makes provision about temporary appointments to LAFs, by giving the appointing authorities the power to choose not to exercise the requirements in regulations 7(a) and (b) in relation to appointments made during the period beginning with the day these Regulations come into force and ending at the end of 30 April 2021. It further provides that such appointments may only be made for a term of up to 9 months from the date of the appointment. The purpose of this provision is to allow any LAF members that have recently come to the end of their term of appointment to be reappointed quickly and simply if it is not possible to conduct a full recruitment round at present.

Regulation 4 allows papers for meetings to be sent electronically.

Regulation 5 allows the election of the Chair or Deputy Chair to be undertaken by means other than secret ballot, if that is not an option for them and allows the LAFs to decide on their own procedure.

Regulation 6 allows the person presiding to exclude the public from a particular item of business if he considers it appropriate to do so.

Regulation 7 provides that for the purpose of calculating the 12 month period for which a member has not attended meetings before membership may be terminated, the period between the day these Regulations come into force and ending with the first day after Day One on which a meeting of the forum, or any committee of the forum, is held is not to be taken into consideration.

Regulation 8 requires annual reports approved after 31 March 2020 and before 30 April 2021 to be published on the appointing authority’s website.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.