The Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997

Title, extent and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997, shall apply in Great Britain and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the 1985 Act” means the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985;

“active substance” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2(1) of the Plant Protection Products Regulations;

“aerial application” means the application of a prescribed plant protection product from an aircraft in flight;

“agricultural” has the meaning assigned to it in section 24(1) of the 1985 Act;

“contravenes” includes “fails to comply with”;

“creature” means any living organism other than a human being or plant;

“crops” includes any form of vegetable produce;

“ground water” means any waters contained in underground strata;

“organism” means any animal, plant, fungus or micro-organism capable of carrying on life processes;

“the Plant Protection Products Regulations” means the Plant Protection Products Regulations 1995(1);

“plant” means any form of vegetable matter, while it is growing and after it has been harvested, gathered, felled or picked, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of this definition, includes—

“prescribed plant protection product” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 3;

“sell” includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for the purpose of sale and“sale” shall be construed accordingly;

“substance” means any chemical element or compound which occurs naturally or by manufacture and includes any impurity which results from the manufacturing process;

“supply” includes offer to supply;

“surface water” means estuarial and coastal waters and any lake, loch, pond, reservoir, river, stream or watercourse including the bottom, channel or bed of any lake, loch, pond, reservoir, river, stream or, as the case may be, watercourse which is for the time being dry.

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule so numbered in these Regulations.

Meaning of “prescribed plant protection product”

3.—(1) In these Regulations “prescribed plant protection product” means any plant protection product (as that expression is defined in regulation 2(1) of the Plant Protection Products Regulations)—

(a)the placing on the market and use of which are subject to the prohibitions specified in regulation 3(1) and (2) of the Plant Protection Products Regulations(2), or which is approved under regulation 9 of those Regulations(3), and

(b)which is a substance, preparation or micro-organism to which paragraph (2) below applies.

(2) This paragraph applies to any substance, preparation or micro-organism—

(a)prepared or used for destroying any pest;

(b)prepared or used for protecting plants or plant products from harmful organisms or for rendering harmful creatures harmless;

(c)prepared or used for regulating the growth of plants.

(3) In this regulation—

• “pest” means—

  (a)

  any organism harmful to plants or plant products;

  (b)

  any undesired plant; and

  (c)

  any harmful creature;

• “preparation” means a mixture or solution composed of two or more substances.

Prohibitions as to advertisement, storage, sale, supply and use

4.—(1) No person shall advertise any prescribed plant protection product unless—

(a)the Ministers jointly have given an approval under regulation 5 to the advertisement of that plant protection product;

(b)the Ministers jointly have given a consent under regulation 7(a) to the advertisement of prescribed plant protection products; and

(c)(i)the conditions of the approval related to advertisement; and

(ii)the conditions of the consent,

have been complied with.

(2) No person shall store any prescribed plant protection product unless—

(a)the Ministers jointly have given an approval under regulation 6 to the storage of that plant protection product;

(b)the Ministers jointly have given a consent under regulation 7(b) to the storage of prescribed plant protection products; and

(c)(i)the conditions of the approval related to storage or required by the approval to be specified on the labelling; and

(ii)the conditions of the consent,

have been complied with.

(3) No person shall sell any prescribed plant protection product unless—

(a)the Ministers jointly have given a consent under regulation 7(b) to the sale of prescribed plant protection products; and

(b)the conditions of the consent have been complied with.

(4) No person shall supply any prescribed plant protection product unless—

(a)the Ministers jointly have given a consent under regulation 7(b) to the supply of prescribed plant protection products; and

(b)the conditions of the consent have been complied with.

(5) No person shall use any prescribed plant protection product unless—

(a)the Ministers jointly have given a consent under regulation 7(c) to the use of prescribed plant protection products; and

(b)(i)the conditions of the consent imposed under regulation 7(c)(i), and

(ii)in the case of prescribed plant protection products used by aerial application, the conditions of the consent imposed under regulation 7(c)(ii),

have been complied with.

Approvals for advertisement

5.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the Ministers may jointly give their approval, in relation to any prescribed plant protection product which has been approved under the Plant Protection Products Regulations, to the advertisement of that plant protection product.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, an approval given under this regulation may be given in the form of an approval, expiring at the end of the period for which the plant protection product has been approved under the Plant Protection Products Regulations or, where the Ministers have jointly granted a period of grace under regulation 13(6) of those Regulations for the disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of existing stocks, at the end of such period.

(3) An approval given under this regulation may be given subject to conditions imposed when or after it is given and the Ministers may jointly at any time amend such conditions.

(4) The Ministers may jointly at any time review, revoke or suspend an approval given under this regulation.

Approvals for storage

6.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, the Ministers may jointly give their approval, in relation to any prescribed plant protection product which has been approved under the Plant Protection Products Regulations, to the storage of that plant protection product.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, an approval given under this regulation may be given in the form of—

(a)an approval, expiring at the end of the period for which the plant protection product has been approved under the Plant Protection Products Regulations or, where the Ministers have jointly granted a period of grace under regulation 13(6) of those Regulations for the disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of existing stocks, at the end of such period; or

(b)an experimental permit, to enable testing and development to be carried out with a view to providing the Ministers with safety and other data.

(3) An approval given under this regulation may be given subject to conditions imposed when or after it is given and the Ministers may jointly at any time amend such conditions.

(4) The Ministers may jointly at any time review, revoke or suspend an approval given under this regulation.

Consents as to advertisement, sale, supply, storage and use

7.  The Ministers may jointly give their consent to—

(a)the advertisement of prescribed plant protection products, subject to the conditions specified in Schedule 1;

(b)the sale, supply and storage of prescribed plant protection products, subject to the conditions specified in Schedule 2;

(c)the use of prescribed plant protection products, subject to—

(i)the conditions specified in Schedule 3, and

(ii)in the case of the use of prescribed plant protection products by aerial application, the conditions specified in Schedule 4,

and where they have given a consent under this regulation the Ministers shall jointly publish, in such manner as they consider appropriate, a notice specifying the fact.

Seizure, disposal etc

8.—(1) Where there has been a breach, in relation to any prescribed plant protection product, of any of the specified prohibitions imposed by regulation 4, any condition of an approval imposed under regulation 5 or 6 or any condition of a consent given under regulation 7, either of the Ministers shall have the power—

(a)to seize or dispose of the plant protection product or require the holder of the approval, or any other person appearing to the Minister to be the owner or the person in charge of that plant protection product, to dispose of it;

(b)to seize or dispose of anything treated with the plant protection product or require any person appearing to the Minister to be the owner or the person in charge of anything so treated to dispose of it;

(c)to require the holder of the approval, or any other person appearing to the Minister to be the owner or the person in charge of the plant protection product, to take such remedial action as appears to that Minister to be necessary as a result of the contravention including, where it appears to be necessary as a result of the contravention, recovery of the plant protection product from the market in Great Britain.

(2) If any prescribed plant protection product has been imported into Great Britain in contravention of any of the specified prohibitions imposed by regulation 4, any condition of an approval imposed under regulation 5 or 6 or any condition of a consent given under regulation 7, either of the Ministers may, by notice in writing served on the person appearing to him to be the owner, the importer or the person in charge of the product, require that it shall be exported from the United Kingdom within such period as that Minister reasonably may determine.

Release of information to the public

9.—(1) The Ministers may, at the request of any person, at such reasonable time and place as they may determine, make any evaluation held by them available to that person for inspection.

(2) The Ministers may, at the request of any person, supply that person with a copy of any evaluation held by them on payment of such fee (which may not exceed the cost reasonably attributable to the supply) as the Ministers, with the consent of the Treasury, may determine.

(3) The Ministers may, at the request of any person to whom an evaluation has been made available for inspection under paragraph (1) above or to whom a copy of an evaluation has been supplied under paragraph (2) above, make available at such reasonable time and place as they may determine for inspection by that person any study reports held by them to which the evaluation relates.

(4) No person to whom any information or document has been made available for inspection under paragraph (1) or (3), or to whom a copy of any information or document has been furnished under paragraph (2), shall make any commercial use of it nor, unless authorised in writing by the Ministers to do so, publish any part of it.

(5) In this regulation—

“approval” means any approval given under regulation 5 or 6(2)(a);

“commercial use”, in relation to any information or document, includes the use of that information or document in any manner whatsoever in connection with the manufacture, distribution, importation, advertisement, sale, supply, storage, use or export of any plant protection product but does not include the use of that information or document for the purpose of books, journals or other publications with the written authorisation of the Ministers;

“evaluation” means a written evaluation of study reports or other data examined in the course of an appraisal of the active ingredient of a plant protection product leading to the giving of an approval, the amendment of any conditions imposed in relation to an approval, or the revocation of an approval, of that prescribed plant protection product;

“study reports” means study reports and any other data relating to an application for an approval or the continuance of an approval including the amendment of the conditions imposed in relation to an approval.

(6) This regulation is without prejudice to the provisions of the Environmental Information Regulations 1992(4).