41. Where the commission by any person of an offence under these Regulations is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person will be guilty of the offence; and a person may be convicted of the offence by virtue of this regulation whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.
42.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, it will, subject to paragraph (2), be a defence for the accused to prove that he or she took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by the accused or by a person under his or her control.
(2) If in any case the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to an act or default of another person, or to reliance on information supplied by another person, the accused will not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless—
(a)at least seven clear days before the hearing; and
(b)where the accused has previously appeared before a court in connection with the alleged offence, within one month of his or her first such appearance,
the accused has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in the accused’s possession.
43.—(1) Where an offence under these Regulations which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of—
(a)any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(b)any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,
he or she as well as the body corporate will be deemed to be guilty of that offence and will be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) In paragraph (1)(a) “director”, in relation to any body corporate established by or under any enactment for the purpose of carrying on under national ownership any industry or part of an industry or undertaking, being a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of that body corporate.
44. Where an offence under these Regulations which has been committed by a Scottish partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, that partner, as well as the partnership will be deemed to be guilty of that offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
45.—(1) An officer of a relevant body is not personally liable in respect of any act done by him or her—
(a)in the execution or purported execution of the Official Control Regulations; and
(b)within the scope of his or her employment,
if the officer did that act in the honest belief that his or her duty under the Official Control Regulations required or entitled the officer to do it.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) is to be construed as relieving any relevant body of any liability in respect of the acts of their officers.
(3) Where an action has been brought against an officer of a relevant body in respect of an act done by the officer—
(a)in the execution or purported execution of the Official Control Regulations; but
(b)outside the scope of his or her employment,
the authority may indemnify the officer against the whole or a part of any damages which the officer has been ordered to pay or any costs which the officer may have incurred if they are satisfied that the officer honestly believed that the act complained of was within the scope of his or her employment.
(4) In so far as a food authority is a relevant body for the purposes of this regulation, a public analyst appointed by a food authority must be treated for the purposes of this regulation as being an officer of the authority, whether or not the analyst’s appointment is a whole-time one.
(5) In this regulation “relevant body” means a body acting as—
(a)a competent authority;
(b)an enforcement authority as defined in regulation 22; or
(c)a relevant enforcement authority.
46.—(1) Any document which is required or authorised under these Regulations to be served on a person may be served—
(a)by delivering it to that person;
(b)in the case of an incorporated company or body, by delivering it to their secretary at their registered or principal office, or by sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to the secretary at that office; or
(c)in the case of any other person, by leaving it or sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his or her usual or last known residence.
(2) Where a document is to be served on the occupier of any premises under these Regulations and it is not reasonably practicable to ascertain the name and address of the person on whom it should be served, or the premises are unoccupied, the document may be served by addressing it to the person concerned in the capacity of “occupier” of the premises (naming them), and—
(a)by delivering it to some other person at the premises; and
(b)if there is no other person at the premises to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it or a copy of it to some conspicuous part of the premises.
47.—(1) The Feed (Hygiene and Enforcement) (Wales) Regulations 2005(1) are amended as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) In Schedule 1 (specified feed law) for the words “The Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations 2005” there shall be substituted the words “The Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations 2006”.
48. The Official Feed and Food Controls (Wales) Regulations(2) are revoked.
S.I. 2005/3368 (W.265).
S.I. 2005/3254 (W.247).