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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 principal Regulations”) to—

These Regulations also amend the new regulation 16A to be inserted into the principal Regulations at 7.00 a.m. on 11 October 2021 by the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 17) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1119 (W. 271)).

Regulation 16A(1) requires the person responsible for certain premises to take reasonable measures to ensure that an adult is permitted to be present on the premises only if they have evidence of particular matters, including vaccination with an authorised vaccine. These Regulations amend regulation 16A, before it comes into force, to provide that evidence of the following is acceptable for the purposes of regulation 16A(1)—

The amendments also—

These amendments to regulation 16A are required to maintain consistency with regulation 2A of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/574 (W. 132)), as amended by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel, Operator Liability and Public Health Information to Travellers) (Wales) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1109 (W. 265)), from 4 October 2021 and by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 11) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1126 (W. 273)) from 11 October 2021. Regulation 2A provides that a person arriving in Wales from outside the common travel area is subject to reduced coronavirus testing requirements if they have been vaccinated with a qualifying vaccine, and regulation 16A of the principal Regulations provides that evidence of vaccination with the same qualifying vaccine is acceptable for the purposes of regulation 16A(1).

Regulation 16A is also amended to make it clear that a person participating in a religious service in premises ordinarily used as a place of worship is considered to be normally seated. This means that the requirements of regulation 16A(1) do not apply to a religious service of more than 500 people indoors in premises ordinarily used as a place of worship, which in practice means that those requirements don’t apply to any religious service held in premises ordinarily used as a place of worship.

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.