The Vegetable Seeds Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

Arrangements for official measures

29.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the Department may make arrangements, in such form as it is of the opinion may be necessary or desirable, for the purpose of enabling any person to act under the Department’s responsibility in carrying out official measures.

(2) The Department shall not make an arrangement under this regulation unless it is satisfied that it will make provision for the purpose of preventing the person with whom the arrangement is made, and any other 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 supervision of the Department.

(3) An arrangement under this regulation may include such conditions as the Department is of the opinion are necessary or desirable for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) above, 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 and category of seed in respect of which that person may carry out the official measures;

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

(iv) the fees that may be charged by the person with whom the arrangement is made in relation to the official measures carried 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 carried 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 fees in relation to the official measures carried out under the arrangement except to the extent that these do not exceed the costs incurred 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 arranged with the Department, 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 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 acknowledgement by the person with whom it is made that the Department may vary, suspend or revoke the further arrangement, whether or not it also varies, suspends or revokes the arrangement it made with the person seeking approval for 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 it makes 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 that person 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.

(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 to the person with whom the arrangement or further arrangement is made, and a further arrangement may be varied, suspended or revoked under this paragraph notwithstanding that the arrangement in respect of which it was made is 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,

and the variation, suspension or revocation shall have effect in accordance with the notice.

(7) When a variation, suspension or revocation has effect the Department may, for any purpose 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 the Department to be official measures carried out in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.