The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health Fees etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020
| Jurisdiction | Wales |
| Citation | SI 2020/44 |
| Year | 2020 |
2020 No. 44 (W. 5)
Agriculture, Wales
Animals, Wales
Plant Health, Wales
The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health Fees etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020
Made 21th January 2020
Laid before the National Assembly for Wales 22th January 2020
Coming into force 31th January 2020
The Welsh Ministers are designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19721in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Union2, and in relation to the veterinary and phytosanitary fields for the protection of public health3.
The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, and, with the consent of Treasury, in exercise of powers conferred by section 56(1) of the Finance Act 19734.
As required by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety5there has been open and transparent public consultation during the preparation of these Regulations.
PART 1
General
Title, application and commencement
1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health Fees etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales and come into force on 31 January 2020.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Agency” (“yr Asiantaeth”) means the Food Standards Agency;
“audit” (“archwiliad”) means an audit of a competent authority carried out for the purposes of Article 6 in relation to relevant legislation;
“auditor” (“archwilydd”) means a person carrying out an audit on behalf of a competent authority;
“designated authority” (“awdurdod dynodedig”) means an authority designated by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 3;
“the EU Official Controls Regulations” (“Rheoliadau Rheolaethau Swyddogol yr UE”) means the EU Regulation and the Implementing Regulations and Delegated Regulations made under it;
“the EU Regulation” (“Rheoliad yr UE”) means Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15th March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products6;
“enforcement officer” (“swyddog gorfodi”) means an officer authorised by the Welsh Ministers or a designated authority to enforce the EU Official Controls Regulations and these Regulations;
“the Feed and Food Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Bwyd Anifeiliaid a Bwyd”) means the Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations 20097;
“food authority” (“awdurdod bwyd”) in relation to any relevant legislation has the same meaning as it has in that relevant legislation;
“inspector” (“arolygydd”), in relation to any relevant legislation, means an inspector, veterinary inspector, or other officer authorised by the Welsh Ministers or other designated authority to act under that relevant legislation;
“local authority”(“awdurdod lleol”) means a county council or county borough council;
“official auxiliary” (“cynorthwyydd swyddogol”) means a representative of the Welsh Ministers appropriately trained and acting under the responsibility or supervision of an official veterinarian to perform certain official controls or certain tasks related to other official activities;
“official controls” (“rheolaethau swyddogol”) means the activities referred to in Article 2(1) other than those listed in Article 1(4);
“official veterinarian” (“milfeddyg swyddogol”) means a veterinarian appointed by the Welsh Ministers and appropriately qualified to carry out official controls and other official activities for verification of compliance with the rules referred to in Article 1(2);
“other official activities” (“gweithgareddau swyddogol eraill”) has the meaning given by Article 2(2);
“premises” (“mangre”) includes any means of transport;
“relevant legislation” (“deddfwriaeth berthnasol”) means European and domestic legislation governing the areas listed in sub-paragraphs (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of Article 1(2), with the exception of food and food safety, feed and feed safety legislation in so far as—
(a) such legislation is defined as “relevant feed law” or “relevant food law” in the Feed and Food Regulations,
(b) such legislation involves substances the use or presence of which on crops to produce or process food or feed may result in residues of those substances in food or feed, or
(c) it relates to feed additives or medicated feedingstuffs.
(2) In the definition of “relevant legislation” in paragraph (1)—
(a)
(a) “medicated feedingstuffs” means any mixture of feed with a veterinary medicinal product having properties for treating or preventing disease, restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions in animals, or products and feed or feeds which are ready-prepared for marketing and intended to be fed to animals without further processing, and
(b)
(b) “zootechnical additives” means feed additives in the categories mentioned in Article 6.1(d) and (e) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003of the European Parliament and of the Council on additives for use in animal nutrition8, with the exception of those belonging to the functional groups listed in paragraph 4(a), (b) and (c) of Annex 1 to that Regulation.
(3) Unless otherwise provided in this regulation, terms used in these Regulations have the same meaning as they have in the EU Regulation.
(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to an “Article” or “Title” is to an Article or Title of the EU Regulation.
Designations for the purposes of Article 4
3.—(1) The Agency is designated as the competent authority for the purposes of Article 4 in relation to welfare requirements of animals, to the extent that it is designated as the competent authority mentioned in regulation 4(1) of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (Wales) Regulations 20149.
(2) In any other case the Welsh Ministers are designated as the competent authority for the purposes of Article 4 in relation to areas governed by the relevant legislation.
(3) Local authorities and local food authorities (including any that are enforcement authorities under any relevant legislation) are designated authorities in relation to functions of enforcement and execution (other than prosecution) which they exercise under relevant legislation.
(4) Any designated authority must draw up written records (on paper or electronic form) of official controls and other official activities that they perform, and such records must contain—
(a)
(a) a description of the purpose of the relevant official controls and other official activities,
(b)
(b) the control methods applied,
(c)
(c) the outcome, and
(d)
(d) where appropriate, any action required by the designated authority.
(5) Where non-compliance has been identified by any designated authority through the application of official controls, it must promptly inform the business operator of the non-compliance.
Exchange of information
4. The Welsh Ministers and any other designated authorities may disclose information to each other and to other competent authorities in the United Kingdom and other member States for the purposes of applying these Regulations and the EU Official Controls Regulations.
PART 2
Audits and official controls
Powers of auditors
5.—(1) An auditor may exercise the powers in this regulation and carry out an audit in accordance with the EU Official Controls Regulations if so authorised—
(a)
(a) in relation to carrying out an audit of the activities of a designated authority, by the designated authority, or
(b)
(b) in relation to carrying out an audit pursuant to regulation 6(2), by the Welsh Ministers.
(2) For the purposes of carrying out an audit, an auditor may enter premises to which an inspector has a power of entry under relevant legislation (“audit premises”) as if the auditor were an inspector meeting the criteria for gaining such entry under that relevant legislation.
(3) An auditor exercising a power of entry may be accompanied by any person whose assistance is reasonably required by the auditor.
(4) An auditor may request such information from any person at any premises that is subject to an audit as may reasonably be required for purposes of the audit, and may inspect such records as may reasonably be required for those purposes.
(5) An auditor may make or require copies of such records.
(6) When exercising the powers conferred by this regulation, an auditor must, upon request, produce evidence of authorisation under these Regulations.
(7) This regulation does not apply where an auditor undertakes an audit in accordance with regulation 7 on behalf of the Agency.
Powers of the Welsh Ministers in relation to audits of designated authorities
6.—(1) The Welsh Ministers may make a written request to a designated authority to provide information by a specified date about any audits it has carried out or undergone or which it plans to carry out or undergo.
(2) The Welsh Ministers may require an auditor to carry out an audit of a designated authority.
(3) The designated authority must provide such assistance to that auditor as may reasonably be required in order for the auditor to carry out the audit effectively.
Powers of the Agency undertaking audits on behalf of the Welsh Ministers
7.—(1) Where the Welsh Ministers arranges for the Agency to undertake an audit, the audit provisions of...
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