The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made in response to the danger to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales. Section 45B of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of (amongst other things) preventing danger to public health from “vessels, aircraft, trains or other conveyances arriving at any place”.

The Regulations place a requirement on certain categories of people arriving in Wales from outside the common travel area—

• to provide information about where they will reside in Wales and other related matters, and

• to isolate for a period of 14 days.

Regulation 4 requires persons arriving in Wales by ship or aircraft to provide information electronically to the Secretary of State. In practice this will be done by completing an online form on www.gov.uk for this purpose. Where a person is accompanied by a child for whom they are responsible, they must also provide the child's information.

Regulation 5 provides that a person must notify the Secretary of State of any changes to the information provided as soon as reasonably practicable. This will also be done using the same online facility.

Schedule 1 sets out the types of information required to be provided under regulation 4 or 5. This will be the information that must be included when filling in the online form.

In some cases the information required in Schedule 1 will depend on the circumstances (for example, under paragraph 1(d) the person must provide passport details or details of the other travel document that permits the person to travel if they do not possess a passport). Persons who fall into one of the categories set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2 are not required to provide information under regulations 4 and 5. If the person does not hold the information they do not have to provide it (regulation 6).

Regulations 7 and 8 require the following categories of persons to isolate for a period of 14 days upon their arrival in Wales—

(a)

a person arriving in Wales by ship or aircraft from outside the common travel area,

(b)

a person arriving in Wales from the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man who has, within a period of 14 days ending with the person's arrival in Wales, arrived in the common travel area from a place outside that area, or

(c)

a person who arrives in Wales from elsewhere in the United Kingdom who has in the previous 14 days arrived from a place outside the common travel area.

These persons must not leave or be outside of the premises where they are isolating before the end of the last day of isolation (other than for reasons set out in regulation 10).

Regulation 8 further provides that where a person arrives in Wales from another part of the United Kingdom who has in the previous 14 days arrived from a place outside the common travel area, they must notify the Secretary of State prior to, or as soon as practicable after arriving in Wales, of the address at which they will reside (again using the online form).

Schedule 2 (introduced by regulation 9) sets out the categories of person who are exempt from the requirement to isolate. Regulation 10 provides that the requirement to isolate ceases to apply if the person travels to leave Wales (paragraph (3)), sets out the limited circumstances in which a person may be permitted to be temporarily outside the place at which they are isolating (paragraph (4)), permits a person to change the place where they are isolating if they have to do so for legal reasons or are otherwise unable to stay at the original place (paragraph (5)) and provides that the requirement to isolate does not apply to a person subject to certain requirements imposed under the Coronavirus Act 2020 or immigration legislation.

Regulation 13 provides police officers with powers to direct or remove persons to a place where they are isolating if they reasonably suspect that the person is in breach of a requirement to isolate.

Regulation 14 provides that contravention of a requirement imposed by these Regulations is an offence, as is the obstruction of a person exercising functions under these Regulations. A person found guilty of an offence under these Regulations may be fined and there is no limit on the fine that may be imposed.

Regulation 16 provides that fixed penalties may be imposed on persons who are suspected of committing an offence under these Regulations as an alternative to prosecution. Where the alleged offence relates to a breach of a requirement to isolate the penalty is £1000, in other cases the penalty is £60 (£30 if paid within 14 days) rising each time a similar fixed penalty notice is issued up to a maximum of £1920.

Regulation 17 sets out the circumstances in which information provided under these Regulations (and equivalent Regulations made as respects England, Scotland or Northern Ireland) may be disclosed or used. Regulation 18 prevents information provided under these Regulations from being used to incriminate a person in proceedings for any offence other than one under these Regulations of the offence of making a false statement other than under oath.

The necessity and proportionality of these Regulations must be reviewed every 21 days (regulation 19).

The Welsh Ministers' Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared as to the likely cost and benefit of complying with these Regulations.