The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) 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 Restrictions Regulations”) to—

(a) require all persons who are subject to the obligation in regulation 16 to take measures to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus on their premises to undertake a specific assessment of the risk of exposure to coronavirus on those premises and to consult on that;

(b) make specific provision about the measures that must be taken to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus on retail premises;

(c) make provision imposing duties on the proprietors of schools and further education institutions preventing pupils or students from attending to their premises, subject to some limited exceptions;

(d) make consequential and other minor changes to ensure consistency with the new provisions.

The Regulations also amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Functions of Local Authorities etc.) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1011 (W. 225)) (“the Functions of Local Authorities Regulations”). The amendment is consequential on the making of the Restrictions Regulations and requires a local authority, when deciding whether to give an event direction under the Functions of Local Authorities Regulations, to have regard to whether the event may result in people gathering in contravention of the relevant Schedule to the Restrictions Regulations. The Regulations also revoke spent enactments relating to the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 4) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1219 (W. 276)).

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.