UK Offence Report

The Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (revoked)

Northern Ireland Statutory Rule 2006 No. 82 — creates 3 criminal offences.

3offences created
0recorded in force
0revoked
Made
6 March 2006
In force from
31 March 2006
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Agriculture, plant health, food production and rural affairs
Made under
Plant Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“this Order”), which applies to Northern Ireland, revokes and consolidates with amendments the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993 (SR 1993 No. 256). This Order also implements— a Council Directive 2002/89/EC (OJ No. L355, 30.12.2002, p.45) amending Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community; b Commission Directive 2004/103/EC (OJ No. L313, 12.10.2004, p.16) on identity and plant health checks of plants, plant products or other objects, listed in Part B of Annex V to Council Directive 2000/29/EC which may be carried out at a place other than the point of entry into the Community or at a place close by and specifying the conditions related to these checks; c Commission Directive 2004/105/EC (OJ No. L319, 20.10.2004, p.9) determining the models of phytosanitary certificates or phytosanitary certificates for re-export accompanying plants, plant products or other objects from third countries and listed in Council Directive 2000/29/EC; d Commission Directive 2005/16/EC (OJ No. L57, 3.3.2005, p.19) amending Annexes I to V to Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community; e Commission Directive 2005/17/EC (OJ No. L57, 3.3.2005, p.23) amending certain provisions of Directive 92/105/EEC concerning plant passports; f Commission Decision 2005/260/EC (OJ No. L78, 24.3.2005, p.50) which comprises Decision No 2/2005 of the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products concerning the amendments to the Appendices to Annex 4; and g Commission Decision 2005/870/EC (OJ No. L.319, 7.12.2005, p.9) recognising Bulgaria as being free from Clavibacter michiganensis (Smith) Davis et al. spp. sepedonicus (Spieckerman and Kotthoff) Davis et al. This Order comes into operation on 31st March 2006. Part 2 of this Order imposes restrictions and requirements on relevant material imported into Northern Ireland from third countries, including material coming via another country in the European Community where the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (“the Department”) has agreed to inspect that material in Northern Ireland. “Relevant material” is defined in Article 2. The principal controls are in Article 5, which contains general prohibitions and restrictions on relevant material being landed in Northern Ireland, Article 6, which requires importers to provide the Department with advance notice of landing of relevant material and Article 7, which imposes requirements for relevant material to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. Article 8 exempts certain relevant material which is brought into Northern Ireland in a person’s baggage from these prohibitions and requirements. Article 9 imposes requirements relating to the contents, display and presentation of documents required to accompany relevant material. Articles 10 to 12 provide that certain relevant material shall not be removed from an area of plant health control (defined in Article 10(2)) until, having satisfied himself as to the matters specified in Article 12, an inspector has discharged that material. Articles 13 and 14 provide for an officer for Revenue and Customs to be able to detain relevant material from which an inspector considers a plant pest may spread. Article 15 contains general requirements to be met by phytosanitary documentation. Articles 16 to 18 introduce provisions to allow relevant material to be inspected at its place of destination provided that place is approved by the relevant authorities and the material is accompanied by a plant health movement document. Part 3 of this Order contains the prohibitions and restrictions that apply to relevant material coming to Northern Ireland from another part of the European Community (which includes other parts of the United Kingdom) and on the movement of that material within Northern Ireland. The requirements for such material to be accompanied by a plant passport are imposed by Article 21. Part 4 of this Order imposes a requirement on plant traders to be registered in respect of their activities (Articles 25 to 28) and provides for the Department to be able to authorise them to issue plant passports (Article 29). Part 5 contains special arrangements governing trade in relevant material between Northern Ireland and Switzerland. Part 6 contains general enforcement powers given to plant health inspectors. Part 7 imposes additional requirements in respect of certain solanaceous species (potatoes and tomatoes). Part 8 provides for the Department to be able to license activities that would otherwise by prohibited by this Order. Part 9 imposes requirements to notify the presence of certain pests to the Department. Part 10 contains offences for non-compliance with this Order or with requirements imposed under it (Article 44(1)); in relation to making statements or failing to disclose information for the purpose of procuring a plant health document (Article 44(3)) and for dishonestly issuing, altering or re-using a plant passport (Article 44(4)). (Contravention of any prohibition on landing imposed by this Order is an offence under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2) and not under this Order.) A person found guilty of an offence under this Order is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (Article 45). A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this Order as it has no impact on the costs for business.

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

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