Thank you for making time to consider the two sets of regulations. I ask that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee recommend that both instruments be approved.
The primary purpose of the instruments is to correct the deficiencies in domestic legislation dealing with the protection of plants and plant products, the marketing of forest reproductive material and the governance of environmental impact assessment. The changes will be necessary should we leave the EU without a deal, and they are aimed at minimising disruption to trade.
Currently, Scotland operates under a regime that gives effect to the EU plant health, forest reproductive material and environmental impact assessment directives, which are implemented in Scotland through various plant health and forestry legislation. The directives set out controls on the import and movement of plant and FRM material into and around the EU, as well as on the governance of forestry-related developments.
The SSIs update existing implementing legislation to ensure that it can operate effectively if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The changes that the instruments will make are largely technical—for example, amending the designation of the EU “protected zones” in the UK to the international designation of “pest-free areas”, ensuring that EU goods will be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates rather than EU plant passports and creating new offences.
To respect devolution and Scottish Government competency, the regulations will apply to Scotland only. Similar regulations apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Together, they provide UK-wide arrangements for pests and diseases, which do not respect borders.
Regrettably, the plant health regulations had to be withdrawn and re-laid due to a minor technical error. The change was made quickly and there was no disruption to the original instrument’s scheduled date.
A robust import regime is key to protecting plant and tree health. The instruments define the EU as a third country but do not prescribe that phytosanitary checks be performed on all EU imports. The need for physical checks will be assessed according to the risk of the particular import. As the phytosanitary risk will not have changed on day 1, it is considered that the draft regulations are a proportionate, risk-based response designed to maintain the current inspection regime and to minimise any disruption to trade in the event of a no-deal exit.