Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
UK subordinate legislation renamed - The Official Controls, Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 (PH/10)
Letter from Lorna Slater MSP, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, to the Convener, 8 November 2021
Dear Mr Carson
The Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment) Regulations 2021, renamed The Official Controls, Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 (PH/10)
EU exit legislation - protocol with Scottish Parliament
The Official Controls, Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021 were subject to the negative procedure and were laid on 30 March 2021. The Scottish Parliament agreed on 17 March 2021 that it was content for Scottish Ministers to give their consent to the Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment) Regulations 2021, now renamed as the Official Controls, Plant Health, Seeds and Seed Potatoes (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021, including Scottish devolved matters, as set out in the notification to the Parliament.
The Regulations were made in exercise of the powers conferred by section 8(1) of, and paragraph 21 of Schedule 7 to, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and Articles 22(2) and (3) and 144(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (the Official Controls Regulation) on 29 March 2021 and came into force on 20 April 2021.
PH/10 as laid varies in relation to the notification that was presented to the Scottish Parliament. Regulation 2 of PH/10 amends Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 (the Plant Health Regulation) to amend Article 2(9)(d) to make a deficiency change which had been missed in previous deficiency fixing Sis. This removes a reference to “Union territory” and replaces it with “Great Britain”. In error, this was not included in the original notification to the Scottish Parliament.
This change does not amount to a policy change and is consistent with the consent that was granted and the variation is not significant to need any further process.
I am copying this letter to the Convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.
NB: The approval for PH/10 was granted by Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee.
Kind regards
Lorna Slater