The Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (Scotland) Regulations 2017

Arrangements for official measures

22.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Scottish Ministers may make such arrangements as they consider necessary or desirable with any person (“A”) for the purpose of enabling A to carry out official measures on the Scottish Ministers’ behalf.

(2) The Scottish Ministers must not make any arrangement under paragraph (1) unless satisfied that A will not—

(a) derive any private gain from any official measures that A is to carry out under the arrangement; or

(b) carry out any official measures under the arrangement except under the supervision of the Scottish Ministers.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may include in any arrangement under paragraph (1) such conditions as they consider necessary or desirable for the purposes referred to in that paragraph and paragraph (2), including conditions—

(a) specifying—

(i) the official measures that A must carry out;

(ii) the species of plant material in respect of which A may carry out the official measures;

(iii) the methods to be used in connection with the carrying out of the official measures by A;

(iv) the fees that A may charge in relation to the carrying out of the official measures by A;

(v) the records that A must keep in connection with the carrying out of the official measures by A;

(b) prohibiting A from—

(i) charging fees in relation to the official measures that A carries out under the arrangement except to the extent that these do not exceed the costs that A incurs in carrying them out;

(ii) carrying out the official measures except under the supervision of the Scottish Ministers;

(c) prohibiting A from making any further arrangement with any other person (“B”) for any purpose in connection with the carrying out of the official measures that A has arranged with the Scottish Ministers under paragraph (1) to carry out, unless—

(i) the Scottish Ministers have approved the proposed conditions of the further arrangement and A has received the prior written approval of the Scottish Ministers to make the further arrangement;

(ii) the further arrangement includes a condition prohibiting B from making any subsequent arrangement for any purpose connected with the carrying out of the official measures in respect of which the Scottish Ministers made the arrangement under paragraph (1) with A;

(iii) the further arrangement includes an acknowledgment by A that the Scottish Ministers may vary, revoke or suspend the further arrangement if it appears to the Scottish Ministers that B is not complying, or has failed to comply, with any condition of the further arrangement; and

(iv) the further arrangement includes the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph and for these purposes references in those sub-paragraphs to A are to be construed as references to B and references to “the arrangement” are to be construed as references to the further arrangement.

(4) The Scottish Ministers must not approve the making of any further arrangement under (3)(c)(i) unless satisfied that B will not—

(a) derive any private gain from any official measures that B is to be authorised to carry out under the further arrangement; or

(b) carry out any official measures under the further arrangement except under the supervision of the Scottish Ministers.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may, by giving notice to A or B (as the case may be), vary, suspend or revoke an arrangement under paragraph (1) or further arrangement under paragraph (3)(c)(i), or any conditions of an arrangement or further arrangement made under this regulation.

(6) A notice given under paragraph (5) must specify—

(a) in the case of a variation or revocation, the date from which the variation or revocation takes effect;

(b) in the case of a suspension, the period during which the suspension has effect.

(7) When a variation, revocation or suspension has effect, the Scottish Ministers may, for any purposes in relation to these Regulations, continue to have regard to such of the official measures carried out under an arrangement (or further arrangement) which was varied, revoked or suspended as appear to the Scottish Ministers to be official measures carried out in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

(8) In this regulation, “official measures” include official inspections.