The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination in Wales.

These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1609 (W. 335)) (“the principal Regulations”).

The principal Regulations are amended to make temporary modifications to the restrictions and requirements applying to an Alert Level 4 area under Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations. The temporary provisions allow groups of up to 4 people from 2 different households to exercise together outdoors (though the exercise continues to have to start and finish from the place where the people are living).

To provide for temporary modifications of this nature, a corresponding amendment is made to regulation 4(8). This means the restrictions and requirements for each alert level (set out in Schedules 1 to 4) apply to an area subject to any temporary modifications specified in relation to that area in Schedule 5. So in addition to looking at Schedule 5 to determine which of Schedules 1 to 4 applies to an area, you must also consider how the relevant Schedule may have been modified by Schedule 5.

Part 3A of Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations prohibits proprietors of schools in Wales in an Alert Level 4 area from allowing pupils to attend school premises. It also prohibits proprietors of further education institutions from allowing students to attend those institutions. This is subject to certain exceptions in both cases.

These Regulations amend Part 3A of Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations so that the prohibition on school proprietors applies only in relation to pupils in year 3 or above. It also amends that Part so that the prohibition on proprietors of further education institutions does not apply if the student is undertaking a course in engineering, construction, hospitality, catering, or agriculture and needs to attend the institution to complete their course.

These Regulations also make further minor amendments to Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared as to the likely cost and benefit of complying with these Regulations.