The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

PART 3 Operator liability in respect of arrivals

Interpretation

4.  In this Part—

“authorised person” (“person awdurdodedig”) means—

(a)

in relation to passengers arriving on a vessel, the Secretary of State;

(b)

in relation to passengers arriving on an aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority(1);

“child” (“plentyn”) means a person under the age of 18;

“immigration officer” (“swyddog mewnfudo”) means a person appointed by the Secretary of State as an immigration officer under paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971(2);

“international passenger service” (“gwasanaeth teithwyr rhyngwladol”) means a commercial service by which passengers travel on a vessel or aircraft from outside the common travel area to a port in Wales;

“operator” (“gweithredwr”) means operator of an international passenger service;

“passenger” (“teithiwr”) means a person travelling on an international passenger service who is not a member of that service’s crew;

“port” (“porthladd”) includes an airport, heliport or seaport;

“qualifying test” (“prawf cymhwysol”) is a test that is a qualifying test for the purposes of regulation 6A of the International Travel Regulations;

“relevant passenger” (“teithiwr perthnasol”) means a passenger who fails, without reasonable excuse, to produce a required notification when requested to do so by an immigration officer pursuant to regulation 6A(2) of the International Travel Regulations;

“required notification” (“hysbysiad gofynnol”) means a valid notification of a negative test result from a qualifying test for the purposes of regulation 6A of the International Travel Regulations—

(a)

taken by the person in possession of that notification, or

(b)

taken by a child and treated as being in their possession by virtue of that regulation;

“the requirement to possess notification of a negative test result” (“y gofyniad i feddu ar hysbysiad o ganlyniad prawf negyddol”) means the requirement in regulation 6A(1) of the International Travel Regulations;

“responsible individual” (“unigolyn cyfrifol”) means an individual who—

(a)

has custody or charge of the child for the time being, or

(b)

has parental responsibility for the child within the meaning given in section 3 of the Children Act 1989(3).

“vessel” (“llestr”) means every description of vessel used in navigation (including a hovercraft within the meaning of Hovercraft Act 1968) which is 24 metres or more in length.

Requirement to ensure passengers possess notification of a negative test result

5.—(1) An operator must ensure that a passenger who arrives in Wales on an international passenger service is in possession of a required notification.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply in relation to a passenger—

(a) whom the operator, or a person acting on behalf of the operator, reasonably believes is not required to comply with the requirement to possess notification of a negative test result or has a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with that requirement;

(b) who is a child, travelling without a responsible individual; or

(c) who is a transit passenger, who has a right to reside in the United Kingdom and does not have the right to enter the country or territory from which the international passenger service departs.

(3) In this regulation, “transit passenger” means a person who, has arrived in the country or territory from which the international passenger service departs with the intention of passing through to Wales without entering that country or territory.

Offences

6.—(1) An operator who fails to comply with the requirement in regulation 5(1) commits an offence.

(2) An offence under paragraph (1) is punishable on summary conviction by a fine.

(3) In relation to the offence in paragraph (1), it is a defence for an operator to show that the relevant passenger presented a document purporting to be a required notification which the operator, or a person acting on behalf of the operator, could not reasonably have been expected to know was not a required notification.

Fixed penalty notices

7.—(1) An authorised person may issue a fixed penalty notice to any operator who the authorised person reasonably believes has committed an offence under regulation 6(1).

(2) A fixed penalty notice is a notice offering the operator to whom it is issued the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty to—

(a) the Welsh Ministers; or

(b) a person designated by the Welsh Ministers for the purposes of receiving payment under this regulation.

(3) Where an operator is issued with a notice under paragraph (1) in respect of an offence—

(a) no proceedings may be taken for the offence before the end of the period of 28 days following the date the notice is issued;

(b) the operator may not be convicted of the offence if the operator pays the fixed penalty before the end of that period.

(4) A fixed penalty notice must—

(a) give reasonably detailed particulars of the circumstances alleged to constitute the offence, including the name of the relevant passenger;

(b) state the period during which (because of paragraph (3)(a)) proceedings will not be taken for the offence;

(c) specify the amount of the fixed penalty;

(d) state the name and address of the person to whom payment of the fixed penalty may be paid or evidence of the defence is to be provided; and

(e) specify permissible methods of payment.

(5) The amount of the fixed penalty for the purposes of paragraph (4)(c) is £1,000.

(6) In any proceedings, a certificate that—

(a) purports to be signed on behalf of—

(i) the Welsh Ministers, or

(ii) any person designated by the Welsh Ministers under paragraph (2)(b), and

(b) states that the payment of a fixed penalty, was, or was not, received by the date specified in the certificate,

is evidence of the facts stated.

Prosecutions

8.  Proceedings for an offence under regulation 6(1) may only be brought by an authorised person.

Power to use and disclose information

9.—(1) This regulation applies to any person (“ P”) who holds information described in paragraph (2) relating to a relevant passenger (“relevant information”).

(2) The information referred to in paragraph (1) is—

(a) information provided by, or on behalf of, the relevant passenger by way of explanation for failing to comply with regulation 6A of the International Travel Regulations,

(b) information about the steps taken, pursuant to the International Travel Regulations, in relation to the relevant passenger, including details of any fixed penalty notice issued under those Regulations,

(c) personal details of the relevant passenger, including their—

(i) full name,

(ii) date of birth,

(iii) passport number, or travel document reference number (as appropriate), issue and expiry dates and issuing authority,

(iv) home address,

(v) telephone number,

(vi) email address,

(d) journey details of the relevant passenger, including—

(i) their time and date of arrival in Wales,

(ii) the name of the operator of the international passenger service on which they arrived or through which their booking was made,

(iii) the flight number or vessel name,

(iv) the departure and arrival locations of the international passenger service.

(3) P may only use relevant information where it is necessary for the purpose of carrying out a function under these Regulations.

(4) P may only disclose relevant information to another person (“the recipient”) where it is necessary for the recipient to have the relevant information for the purpose of carrying out a function under these Regulations.

(5) This regulation does not limit the circumstances in which information may otherwise lawfully be disclosed under any other enactment or rule of law.

(6) Nothing in this regulation authorises the use or disclosure of personal data where doing so contravenes the data protection legislation.

(7) For the purposes of this regulation “data protection legislation” and “personal data” have the same meanings as in section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018(4).

Review

10.  The Welsh Ministers must review the need for the requirement imposed by regulation 5 of these Regulations by 8 February 2021 and at least once every 28 days after that date.

Expiry

11.—(1) These Regulations expire at the end of 7 June 2021.

(2) The expiry of these Regulations does not affect the validity of anything done pursuant to these Regulations before they expire.

(1)

The Civil Aviation Authority is a body corporate established by section 1 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971 (c. 75).

(2)

1971 c. 77. Paragraph 1 was amended by paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Health Protection Agency Act 2004 (c. 17), and by S.I. 1993/1813.

(3)

1989 c. 41.

(4)

2018 c. 12.