The Plant Health (Scotland) Amendment Order 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Plant Health (Scotland) Order 2005 (S.S.I. 2005/613) (“the principal Order”).

Phytosanitary certificates

Article 4 amends article 15 of the principal Order (general provisions relating to certificates) to remove the requirement for phytosanitary certificates or phytosanitary certificates for re-export to be based on an inspection performed 14 days before the date of dispatch of the relevant material.

Notification requirements

Article 5(2)(a) amends article 19B of the principal Order (landing of trees in Scotland) to change the period during which notice must be given of the landing of plants to which article 19B applies from 24 hours in advance of landing to any time prior to or within 5 days of the landing of those plants. Article 5(2)(b) adds plants of the genera Prunus L. to the list of plants to which the notification requirement of article 19B applies.

Commission Implementing Decisions 2014/237/EU; (EU) 2015/237 and (EU) 2015/2434

Article 9(b) inserts item 17 into Schedule 3 of the principal Order (relevant material which may not be landed in Scotland if that material originates in certain third countries) for the purposes of implementing the prohibition on certain fruits and vegetables originating in India contained in Commission Implementing Decision 2014/237/EU on measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of harmful organisms as regards certain fruits and vegetables originating in India (OJ L 125, 26.4.2014, p.93) as amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/2434 (OJ L 334, 22.12.2015, p.61). Article 10(1)(d) introduces item 89 into Part A of Schedule 4 to the principal Order (relevant material, from third countries, which may only be landed in Scotland if special requirements are satisfied) for the purposes of implementing Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/237 (OJ L 39, 14.2.2015, p.21) (which amended Commission Implementing Decision 2014/237/EU) with the effect that Indian mango plants must be accompanied by an official statement describing the measures taken to ensure freedom from harmful organisms. Article 11 also implements Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/237 by inserting paragraph 9 into Part A of Schedule 5 to the principal Order (relevant material which may only be landed in Scotland if accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate) with the effect that Indian mango plants may only be landed in Scotland if they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/749

Articles 3(a), 10(1)(b), 10(2)(f), 12(a) and (b) and 13(a) and (b) implement Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/749 repealing Decision 2007/410/EC on measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Community of Potato spindle tuber viroid (OJ L 119, 12.5.2015, p.25) by removing the provisions inserted to implement Decision 2007/410/EC. Those provisions had been inserted by S.S.I. 2007/498 and article 14(a) revokes the relevant articles of S.S.I. 2007/498.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/789 and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/2417

Article 3(d) introduces a defined term “plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.)” into article 2(1) of the principal Order to implement Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/789 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.), as amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/ 2417 (OJ L 125, 21.5.2015, p.36 and OJ L 333, 19.12.2015, p.143 respectively) (“the Xylella Decisions”). Article 3(b) also ensures that references to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/789 are construed as references to the instrument as amended from time to time in light of the evolving risks posed by this particular bacteria and the likelihood of further technical amendments to the Xylella Decisions to address them. Article 5(3) removes paragraph (3)(c) from article 22 of the principal Order (exceptions from certain prohibitions and requirements) with the effect of removing the exemption for certain plants remaining within infected zones, to be accompanied by a plant passport. The Xylella Decisions are also implemented by article 6 which inserts a new article 28A into the principal Order, imposing obligations on professional operators working with plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) and by article 7 which creates an offence in relation to breach of the new article 28A (by amending article 45(1) of the principal Order). Article 8 amends the entry for Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) in Schedule 1 to the principal Order (plant pests which shall not be landed in or spread within Scotland) in line with a change in terminology by the European Commission. Article 9(b) further implements the Xylella decisions by amending Schedule 3 to the principal Order to introduce a ban on imports of plants of Coffea from Costa Rica or Honduras and article 10(1)(d) substitutes for item 86 new items 86 and 87 into Part A of Schedule 4 to the principal Order with the effect of imposing special requirements on the landing of plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) from third countries where the bacteria is not present and third countries where it is known to be present respectively. Article 10(2)(h) introduces landing and movement requirements in relation to plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) which have been grown for at least part of their life in a demarcated area in another member State by substituting a new item 40 in Part B of Schedule 4 to the principal Order (relevant material, from another part of the European Union, which may only be landed in or moved within Scotland if special requirements are satisfied). The Xylella Decisions are further implemented by articles 12(c) and 13(c). Article 12(c) substitutes paragraph 12 in Part A of Schedule 6 to the principal Order (relevant material, from Scotland, or elsewhere in the European Union, which may only be landed in or moved within Scotland if accompanied by a plant passport) with the effect that a plant passport is required for the landing in or movement within Scotland of any plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) which have been grown for part of their life in a demarcated area in another member State or any “host plants” regardless of where they were grown (“host plants” is defined by reference to the Xylella decisions). An exception is made where the host plants are landed or moved by a person for that person’s own use, rather than as part of that person’s trade, business or profession. Article 13(c) substitutes paragraph 12 in Part A of Schedule 7 to the principal Order (relevant material which may only be consigned to another part of the European Union if accompanied by a plant passport), with the effect that a plant passport is required for the movement from Scotland to another part of the European Union of plants specified in relation to Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) which have been grown for part of their life in a demarcated area in a member State or “host plants” regardless of where they were grown. As in Schedule 6, an exception is made where the movement is made for personal use and not as part of a trade, business or profession.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/893

Article 3(b) inserts a defined term into article 2(1) of the principal Order in relation to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/893 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (OJ L 146, 11.6.2015, p.16). The Decision is further implemented by article 10(1)(d) which inserts new item 88 into Part A of Schedule 4 to the principal order (in respect of imports from third countries where the harmful organism is known to be present) and by article 10(2)(h) which inserts item 41 into Part B of that Schedule to introduce landing and movement requirements in relation to imports of certain plants which have been grown or moved through demarcated areas in other member States. The Decision is also implemented by articles 12(c) and 13(c) which introduce paragraphs 13 into Schedules 6 and 7 to the principal Order respectively, with the effect that certain plants which originate in third countries where the beetle is known to be present or which have been grown or moved through a demarcated area in an EU member State require a plant passport to be landed in Scotland to be moved to another part of the EU.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1199

Article 9(a) amends item 8 of Schedule 3 to the principal Order for the purpose of implementing Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1199 recognising Bosnia and Herzegovina as being free from Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus (Spieckerman and Kotthoff) Davis et al. Item 8 contains a prohibition on the introduction into Scotland of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. from third countries, subject to certain exceptions. The amendment adds Bosnia and Herzegovina to the list of third countries excepted from the prohibition. There are other prohibitions relevant to imports of tubers and plants within the genus Solanum L at items 6 and 7 of Schedule 3 to the principal Order.

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1849

Article 9(b) implements Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/1849 on measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of harmful organisms as regards certain vegetables originating in Ghana (OJ L 268, 15.10.2015, p.33) by introducing item 18 into Schedule 3 to the principal order, with the effect of prohibiting the import of certain plants originating in Ghana.

Spanish potatoes

In light of the threat posed in relation to Epitrixcucumeris (Harris), Epitrixsimilaris (Gentner), Epitrixsubcrinita (Lec.) or Epitrixtuberis (Gentner) by imports of Spanish potatoes, article 10(2)(e) substitutes item 19b in Part B of Schedule 4 to the principal Order to require that all Spanish potatoes originating outside a demarcated area must be washed prior to landing in Scotland. The provision does not apply to potatoes originating in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla.

Potatoes originating in an area demarcated in relation to Epitrixcucumeris (Harris), Epitrixsimilaris (Gentner), Epitrixsubcrinita (Lec.) or Epitrixtuberis (Gentner) require to satisfy the conditions set out in item 19 of Part B of Schedule 4, including the requirement that they are washed or brushed or similarly cleansed.

Commission Implementing Directive 2014/78/EU

Article 10(1)(a) and (c) respectively insert items 7c and 85a into Part A of Schedule 4 to the principal Order in order to ensure full transposition of Commission Implementing Directive 2014/78/EU amending Annexes I, II, III, IV and V to Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (OJ L 183, 24.6.2014, p.23) (“the Implementing Directive”). The provisions transposed are points 11.4 and 18.1 in Annex IV, Part A, Section I of Council Directive 2000/29/EC (OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p.1), these points having been substituted and inserted (respectively) by Article 1 of, and point (4) of the Annex to, the Implementing Directive. The other provisions of the Implementing Directive were transposed by S.S.I. 2015/10 and by S.I. 2014/2420.

The Order also makes a number of small amendments to the principal Order (and revocations of articles in other orders) in consequence of the amendments described above and it corrects some typographical errors in the principal Order. Article 15 makes a minor amendment to the Plant Health (Scotland) Amendment Order 2015 (S.S.I. 2015/10) to correct a drafting error.

No business and regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for this Order as no impact upon business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen.