The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination in Wales.

These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1609 (W. 335)) (“the Restrictions Regulations”) to—

(a) permit a person living in an Alert Level 4 area (which currently includes the whole of Wales) to leave the place where they are living to exercise with 1 other person (this is in addition to the existing provision which permits a person to leave their home to exercise with a member of the person’s household or extended household or the person’s carer);

(b) provide that automatic car washes may continue to be open in an Alert Level 4 area;

(c) in all Alert Levels, permit a household that has ceased to be treated as part of an extended household to form a new extended household, provided that at least 10 days have passed since any member of the household last participated in a gathering with a member of any other household in the previous extended household;

(d) make consequential and other minor changes to ensure consistency with the new provisions.

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.