2021 No. 48 (W. 11)

Public Health, Wales
Transport, Wales

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

Made

Laid before Senedd Cymru

Coming into force

The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 45B, 45F(2) and 45P(2) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 F1.

Annotations:
Amendments (Textual)
F1

1984 c. 22. Part 2A was inserted by section 129 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c. 14).

PART 1General

Title, commencement and applicationI11

1

The title of these Regulations is the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

2

These Regulations come into force at 4.00 a.m. on 18 January 2021.

3

These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Annotations:
Commencement Information
I1

Reg. 1 in force at 18.1.2021 at 4.00 a.m., see reg. 1(2)

InterpretationF112

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F9PART 2Pre-Departure Testing

Annotations:

Amendment of the International Travel RegulationsF93

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART 3Operator liability in respect of arrivals

InterpretationI24

In this Part—

  • authorised person” (“person awdurdodedig”) F15F6... means

    1. a

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

    2. b

      in relation to passengers arriving on an aircraft, the Civil Aviation Authority F2;

  • F16...

  • F12“common travel area” (ardal deithio gyffredin) has the meaning given in section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971;

  • F14eligible traveller has the meaning given in regulation 3 of the International Travel Regulations;

  • 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 F3;

  • 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;

  • F13the International Travel Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Teithio Rhyngwladol”) means the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2022;

  • F18...

  • operator” (“gweithredwr”) F17F7... 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;

  • F5...

  • F19...

  • F20...

  • F21...

  • 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 F227(3) of the International Travel Regulations;

  • F23...

  • F24...

  • 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.

F10Requirement to implement and maintain processes and systems5

1

An operator must implement and maintain adequate processes and systems to ensure that passengers arriving in Wales on international passenger services—

a

have complied with the requirement in regulation 6 (requirement to provide passenger information) of the International Travel Regulations, if they are passengers required to comply with that regulation;

b

are in possession of evidence that they are person described in Schedule 5 (exempt persons), if they claim to be such a person on a facility referred to in regulation 6(1) of the International Travel Regulations;

c

are in possession of a required notification, if they are passengers required to comply with regulation 7 (requirement to possess notification of a negative test result) of the International Travel Regulations;

d

are in possession of eligibility evidence, if they have indicated on a facility referred to in regulation 6(1) of the International Travel Regulations that they meet the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility criteria.

2

For the purposes of paragraph (1) a passenger (“P”) is not considered to be required to comply with the requirements in regulation 6 or 7 of the International Travel Regulations if the operator, or a person acting behalf of the operator, would have cause to reasonably believe that—

a

P is not required to comply with the relevant requirement,

b

P has a reasonable excuse which would protect P from liability for breach of the relevant requirement under regulation 13 (offences), or

c

P is being lawfully compelled to travel to the United Kingdom in the course of an extradition, prisoner repatriation or deportation.

3

An operator must retain such records and information as are required to show that they have complied with paragraph (1).

4

An authorised person may request from an operator copies of such records and information as the authorised person considers are required to determine whether the operator has complied with paragraph (1).

5

A request under paragraph (4) must specify the period within which the operator must provide the records and information requested.

6

In determining whether an operator has complied with paragraph (1), an authorised person must have regard to the following matters so far as they have information about them—

a

the regime by which the operator complies with paragraph (1), together with the approach to retaining contemporaneous evidence;

b

the existence and quality of any guidance or training programmes for those involved in the day-to-day operation of the processes and systems;

c

whether the operator has—

i

appointed a named contact to assist the authorised person in determining if the operator has complied with paragraph (1), and

ii

notified the authorised person of the identity of that contact;

d

the speed and effectiveness of any response the operator makes to any recommendations made by the authorised person intended to secure the operator’s compliance with paragraph (1);

e

any failure to comply with a request under paragraph (4);

f

any other matter the authorised person considers appropriate.

7

In this regulation “eligibility evidence” means—

a

evidence described in regulation 3(3)(b), 3(4)(b) or 3(6)(b) of the International Travel Regulations,

b

where P intends to take advantage of the exemption in regulation 3(6) of the International Travel Regulations (P is under the age of 18), evidence of P’s age, or

c

a facility referred to in regulation 6(1) of the International Travel Regulations which indicates that P’s vaccine status is: “Vaccine Status: Verified Exempt/Full.

Requirement to ensure passengers possess notification of post arrival testing arrangementsF105A

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Requirement to ensure that certain passengers do not arrive at ports in WalesF105B

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Requirement to check vaccination statusF105C

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Requirement to check exemptionsF105D

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25Offences6

1

An operator who fails to comply with a requirement in—

a

regulation 5(1),

b

regulation 5(3), or

c

a request under regulation 5(4) to provide records and information within the period specified for the purposes of regulation 5(5),

commits an offence.

2

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

Fixed penalty noticesI37

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.

Annotations:
Commencement Information
I3

Reg. 7 in force at 18.1.2021 at 4.00 a.m., see reg. 1(2)

ProsecutionsI48

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

Annotations:
Commencement Information
I4

Reg. 8 in force at 18.1.2021 at 4.00 a.m., see reg. 1(2)

Power to use and disclose informationI59

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 F266 or 7 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 F4.

ReviewI610

The Welsh Ministers must review the need for the requirement imposed by F27regulation 5 of these Regulations by 8 February 2021 and at least once every 28 days after that date.

ExpiryI711

1

These Regulations expire at the end of F831 May 2022.

2

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

Vaughan Gething Minister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made in response to the danger to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales. Section 45B of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of (amongst other things) preventing danger to public health from “vessels, aircraft, trains or other conveyances arriving at any place”.

Part 2 of these Regulations amends the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/574 (W. 132)) (“the International Travel Regulations”) to introduce a requirement for persons travelling to Wales from outside the common travel area to possess a notification of a negative coronavirus test upon arrival in Wales.

Regulation 3(2) of these Regulations inserts a new regulation 6A into the International Travel Regulations, which sets out the notification requirements and provides details of persons who are exempt from these requirements. Regulation 6A also references a new Schedule 1A into the International Travel Regulations, which is inserted by regulation 3(6) and provides further details as to what constitutes a valid test and notification for the purposes of regulation 6A and gives further details in relation to categories of exempt persons.

Regulation 3(3) amends regulation 14 of the International Travel Regulations so that a breach of the requirements in regulation 6A is a criminal offence and a non-exhaustive list of reasonable excuses that can be raised in defence are listed.

Regulation 3(4) amends regulation 16 of the International Travel Regulations so that a fixed penalty notice can be issued in relation to an offence committed under regulation 6A.

Part 3 of these Regulations introduces a requirement for persons operating international passenger services (“operators”) arriving into Wales from outside the common travel area to ensure that passengers on such services possess notification of a negative test result (regulation 5(1)). A breach of this requirement is an offence (regulation 6(1)).

Regulation 7 allows an authorised person to deal with an offence under regulation 6(1) by way of fixed penalty notice. A fixed penalty notice must give details of the particulars of the offence, including the name of the passenger who has failed to provide notification of a negative test result.

A full impact assessment has not been completed due to the urgent nature of this instrument. An Explanatory Memorandum has been published alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.