Welsh Statutory Instruments
Public Health, Wales
Made
at 12.02 p.m. on 12 March 2021
Laid before Senedd Cymru
at 6.00 p.m. on 12 March 2021
Coming into force
at 4.00 a.m. on 13 March 2021
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Textual Amendments
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/574 (W. 132)) (the “International Travel Regulations”), the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/48 (W. 11)) (“the Operator Liability Regulations”) and the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/154 (W. 38)) (“the No. 3 Regulations”).
The International Travel Regulations impose requirements on persons entering Wales after having been abroad. They include a requirement for persons arriving in Wales to isolate for a period determined in accordance with those Regulations.
The requirements imposed by the International Travel Regulations are subject to exceptions, and certain categories of person are exempt from having to comply.
Part 2 of these Regulations makes amendments to Part 4 of the International Travel Regulations, which makes provision regarding enforcement and offences which may be committed under those Regulations. Regulation 2 amends regulation 14 of the International Travel Regulations to make provision for a reasonable excuse defence in relation to the offences under those Regulations for failure to provide passenger information and providing false or misleading information in relation to the requirements to provide, or notify changes to, passenger information.
Part 3 of these Regulations amends Schedule 1A to the International Travel Regulations. Schedule 1A to those Regulations provides further details as to what constitutes a valid test and notification for the purposes of regulation 6A of those Regulations, which sets out the requirement to possess notification of a negative test before arriving in Wales. Regulation 3 amends the required content of the notification of a negative test result set out in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1A.
Part 4 of these Regulations amends Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the International Travel Regulations. Schedule 2 to those Regulations exempts certain categories of worker from having to isolate, or in certain circumstances, provide passenger information. Regulation 4 widens the scope of the exemption for aircraft crew at paragraph 10 of Schedule 2 to the International Travel Regulations to include crew that are otherwise required to travel to the United Kingdom for work purposes.
Part 5 of these Regulations amends Schedule 4 to the International Travel Regulations. Regulation 5 makes removals and additions to Schedule 4 to update the list of specified sporting events.
Part 6 of these Regulations makes miscellaneous amendments to various cross-references in the International Travel Regulations and to provide a constable with the power to request evidence from a person that they have booked and paid for day 2 and day 8 tests to be taken after their arrival in Wales. It also makes provision providing an immigration officer with the power to issue a fixed penalty notice to any adult the officer reasonably believes has committed an offence under regulation 12E of the International Travel Regulations.
Part 7 of these Regulations makes technical amendments to the Welsh language text of paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 to the International Travel Regulations.
Part 8 of these Regulations makes a technical amendment to regulation 2 of the No. 3 Regulations.
Part 9 of these Regulations amends the Operator Liability Regulations in consequence of the amendment made to the International Travel Regulations by Part 3 of these Regulations.
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 costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.