The Pressure Vessels (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland in the withdrawal agreement (“the Protocol”) requires that the EU legislation listed in Annex 2 to that Protocol is implemented in Northern Ireland. Annex 2 includes Directive 2014/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of simple pressure vessels (OJ L 96, 29.3.201, p, 45) (“the SPV Directive”); it also includes Directive 2014/68/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment (OJ L 189, 27.6.201, p. 164) (“the PE Directive”).

The SPV Directive was implemented on a UK wide basis by the Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1092) (“SPV Regulations”). The PE Directive was similarly implemented on a UK wide basis by the Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1105) (“the PE Regulations”). Both of these sets of Regulations have been amended by the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/696) to address failures of retained EU law to operate effectively and other deficiencies arising from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union but those amendments prospectively (with effect from IP completion day) only extend to England and Wales and Scotland.

These Regulations amend the SPV and PE Regulations in respect of Northern Ireland only to make sure that the SPV and PE Directives and the Protocol are implemented in respect of Northern Ireland.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.