The Plant Protection Products Amendment (No. 3) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which extend to Scotland only, further amend the Plant Protection Products Regulations 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”), which implement Council Directive 1991/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (“the 1991 Directive”).

The Regulations amend the definition of “the Directive” in the 1995 Regulations so as to implement Commission Directive 2000/80/EC which revokes a number of Directives that amended the 1991 Directive and which amendments are consolidated in that Directive (regulations 3 and 4 and the Schedule). Commission Directive 2000/80/EC also adds lambda-cyhalothrin to Annex I of the 1991 Directive. The amendment of that definition also implements–

(a)  Commission Directive 2001/21/EC (as from 1st January 2002); S

(b)  Commission Directive 2001/47/EC; and S

(c)  Commission Directive 2001/49/EC,which add amitrole, diquat, pyridate, thiabendazole, paecilomyces fumosoroseus and flupyrsulfuron-methyl to Annex I of the 1991 Directive. The amendment also implements Commission Directive 2001/36/EC which substantially amends Annex II and III to the 1991 Directive. Annex II and III set out the requirements for the dossier to be submitted by an applicant respectively for the inclusion of an active substance in Annex I and for the approval of a plant protection product. S

Regulation 5 of the Regulations amends regulation 25A of the 1995 Regulations. It enables the Scottish Ministers to arrange with the agreement of the UK Ministers, for any of their functions under or for the purposes of the 1995 Regulations or the 1991 Directive to be exercised on their behalf by a Minister of the Crown. Such an arrangement may include provision for any fees or payments payable under any enactment to any part of the Scottish Administration in respect of that function to be collected by a Minister of the Crown or Government Department on behalf of that part of the Scottish Administration.

Regulations 6 and 7 of the Regulations deal with transitional arrangements for provisional approvals. Their purpose is to disapply regulation 13(5)(a)(i) of the 1995 Regulations. The effect of regulation 6 is that it is not necessary to revoke any provisional approvals of plant protection products that contain the active substance flupysulfuron-methyl now added to Annex I of the 1991 Directive. Any such approvals will remain in effect until replaced by a decision made on an application for a standard approval, subject to a longstop date. Regulation 7 deals with provisional approvals in respect of plant protection products containing the active substance fenhexamid. On the coming into force of these Regulations any such provisional approvals which have expired shall be deemed to have revived until replaced by a decision made on an application for a standard approval, subject to a longstop date.

Finally, the Regulations revoke the Plant Protection Products Amendment (No. 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2001, which amended the 1995 Regulations and which amendment is superseded by these Regulations (regulation 8).