The Seed Potatoes (England) Regulations 2015

Made: 30th November 2015

Laid before Parliament: 2nd December 2015

Coming into force: 1st January 2016

The Secretary of State has consulted with representatives of such interests as appear to the Secretary of State to be concerned with the following Regulations in accordance with section 16(1) of that Act.

Citation, commencement and application

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Seed Potatoes (England) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 1st January 2016.

• (2) They apply to England only.

• (3) They do not apply to seed potatoes intended for export from England to any country outside Great Britain.

Interpretation: general

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Plant Varieties and Seeds Act 1964;

• “authorised officer” means an officer of the Secretary of State or a person authorised by the Secretary of State for any purpose in connection with these Regulations;

• “basic seed potatoes” means—in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, seed potatoes intended mainly for the production of certified seed potatoes and which have been certified as basic seed potatoes in accordance with regulation 10;in relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, seed potatoes brought into England in a package or container bearing an official label, stating that the potatoes were certified as basic seed potatoes and the grade, in accordance with— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to paragraphs 2, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 of Part 1 of Schedule 2;

• “category” means the category of pre-basic seed potatoes, basic seed potatoes or certified seed potatoes ...;

• “certification” (and “certified” is to be construed accordingly) means—in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, certification in accordance with regulation 10; andin relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, certification by the Certification Authority in accordance with— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to regulation 10(2) and (3);

• “Certification Authority” means the authority concerned with the certification of seed potatoes in the country or territory where the seed potatoes were produced;

• “certified seed potatoes” means—in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, seed potatoes intended mainly for the production of potatoes other than seed potatoes and which have been certified (as certified seed potatoes) in accordance with regulation 10;in relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, seed potatoes brought into England in a package or container bearing an official label , stating that the potatoes were certified as certified seed potatoes and the grade, in accordance with— in the case of seed potatoes produced in Wales, Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Seed Potatoes (Wales) Regulations 2016 ;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to paragraphs 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 of Schedule 2;

• “Common Catalogue” means the common catalogue of varieties of species of agricultural plants published in the Official Journal of the European Union;

• “country granted equivalence” means a country that has been assessed by the Secretary of State that seed potatoes from that country are produced under conditions equivalent to the requirements of these Regulations;

• “Crown Dependency” means the Isle of Man and any of the Channel Islands;

• “equivalent grade” means— for Northern Ireland, an equivalent Union grade;for a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, a grade recognised by the Secretary of State as being equivalent to a GB grade;

• “equivalent Union grade” means—for “ GB grade PBTC”, “Union grade PBTC”;for “GB grade PB”, “Union grade PB”;for “GB grade S”, “Union grade S”;for “GB grade SE”, “Union grade SE”;for “GB grade E”, “Union grade E”;for “GB grade A”, “Union grade A”;for “GB grade B”, “Union grade B”;

• “GB Variety List” means a list of varieties of potato species prepared and published in accordance with regulation 3 of the National Lists Regulations;

• “genetically modified” has the same meaning as in the Deliberate Release Directive;

• “the GMO regulations” means— in relation to England, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 2002 ;in relation to Wales, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Wales) Regulations 2002;in relation to Scotland, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Scotland) Regulations 2002;in relation to Northern Ireland, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003;

• “grade” includes the GB grade;

• “growing crop certificate” means a growing crop certificate issued by the Secretary of State in accordance with Schedule 1;

• “lot” means a consignment or an identifiable part of a consignment which is recorded and listed as a separate item in an invoice, delivery note or other document provided in accordance with regulation 17;

• “marketing” means—selling, holding with a view to sale or offering for sale, orany disposal, supply or transfer for the purpose of commercial exploitation of seed potatoes to third parties,whether or not for consideration, and for these purposes “commercial exploitation” is not to be taken to include the supply of seed potatoes to official testing and inspection bodies, or the supply of seed potatoes to any person for the purpose of processing or packaging them provided that person does not acquire title to the seed potatoes supplied, and “market” and “marketed” are to be construed accordingly;

• ...

• “National Lists Regulations” means the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 2001[^f00003];

• “the Official Controls (Plant Health) Regulations” means the Official Controls (Plant Health and Genetically Modified Organisms) (England) Regulations 2019;

• “official document” means—for seed potatoes produced in England, a document issued or approved by the Secretary of State which meets the requirements of Part 2 of Schedule 2;for seed potatoes produced outside England, a document issued or approved by the Certification Authority in the country or territory where the seed potatoes were produced which meets the requirements of— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to the requirements of Part 2 of Schedule 2;

• “official examination” means an examination or inspection conducted by an authorised officer, including one conducted by way of sample;

• “official label” means—for seed potatoes produced in England, a label issued or approved by the Secretary of State, which has not been previously used and which meets the requirements of Part 1 of Schedule 2;for seed potatoes produced outside England, a label issued or approved by the Certification Authority in the country or territory where the seed potatoes were produced, which meets, as appropriate to the seed potatoes to which the label relates, the requirements of— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to the requirements of Part 1 of Schedule 2;

• “package or container” means—any package which has not been previously used for any purpose and is capable of being closed and sealed; orany container which has not been previously used for any purpose or which, since having been previously used, has been cleaned and disinfected, provided that the use of any container in respect of seed potatoes produced in England is subject to the approval of the Secretary of State;

• “potato” means any tuber or part of a tuber or any plant or part of a plant of Solanum tuberosum L or other tuber-forming species or hybrids of Solanum;

• “pre-basic seed potatoes” means—in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, seed potatoes intended mainly for the production of basic seed potatoes and which have been certified as pre-basic seed potatoes in accordance with regulation 10;in relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, seed potatoes brought into England in a package or container bearing an official label , stating that the potatoes were certified as pre-basic seed potatoes and the grade, in accordance with— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to paragraphs 1, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11 of Part 1 of Schedule 2;

• “protected region” means the county of Cumbria (excluding the districts of Barrow-in-Furness and South Lakeland) and the county of Northumberland (excluding the districts of Blyth Valley and Wansbeck);

• “seed potatoes” means—potatoes which bear that description or any description indicating their suitability for planting and propagation and which are capable of being used for planting and propagation; orany potatoes that are intended to be used for planting and propagation;

• “seed potatoes of a conservation variety” means any variety of seed potatoes listed as a conservation variety in the GB Variety List;

• “seed potatoes produced outside England” means—seed potatoes produced in any part of the British Islands other than England; orseed potatoes produced in a country granted equivalence;

• “the seed potatoes regulations” means— in relation to Wales, the Seed Potatoes (Wales) Regulations 2016;in relation to Scotland, the Seed Potatoes (Scotland) Regulations 2015;in relation to Northern Ireland, the Seed Potatoes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016;

• and “the relevant seed potatoes regulations”, in relation to any constituent part of the United Kingdom, means the seed potatoes regulations applicable in relation to that part;

• “test and trial seed potatoes” means—in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, seed potatoes which have been authorised by the Secretary of State in accordance with regulation 9;in relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, seed potatoes brought into England in a package or container which bears an official label in accordance with— in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to paragraphs 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11(c) of Part 1 of Schedule 2;

• “Union grade” means, in relation to seed potatoes produced in Northern Ireland— in the case of pre-basic seed potatoes, Union grade PBTC or Union grade PB, the minimum conditions for which are set out in Articles 2 and 3 of, and the Annex to, Directive 2014/21/EU;in the case of basic seed potatoes, Union grade S or Union grade SE of Union Grade E, the minimum conditions for which are set out in Article 1 of, and the Annex 1 to, Directive 2014/20/EU;in the case of certified seed potatoes, Union grade A or Union grade B, the minimum conditions for which are set out in Article 2 of, and the Annex 2 to, Directive 2014/20/EU;

• “GB grade” means— in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, the GB grade determined in accordance with Schedule 4 during certification, this being—in the case of pre-basic seed potatoes, GB grade PBTC or GB grade PB;in the case of basic seed potatoes, GB grade S, GB grade SE or GB grade E;in the case of certified seed potatoes, GB grade A or GB grade B;in relation to seed potatoes produced in Scotland or Wales, GB grade determined in accordance with the relevant seed potatoes regulations;

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) Any reference in these Regulations to a tolerance in relation to seed potatoes comprised in a sample is to be construed—

• (a) in relation to a tolerance for any disease or pest, damage and defect specified in Schedule 3, as a reference to the proportion of the weight of seed potatoes in the sample affected by the disease or pest, damage and defect, or any combination of such disease or pest, damage and defect, in relation to the total weight of the sample, expressed as a percentage;

• (b) in relation to a tolerance for dirt or other extraneous matter specified in Schedule 3, as a reference to the proportion of the weight of such matter in relation to the total weight of the sample, expressed as a percentage;

• (c) in relation to a tolerance for a deviation or disease specified in the tables in Schedule 4, as a reference to the number of plants of seed potatoes affected by the deviation or disease in relation to the total number of plants in the sample, expressed as a percentage.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interpretation: European instruments

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In these Regulations—

• “the Decision” means Commission Decision 2004/842/EC concerning implementing rules whereby Member States may authorise the placing on the market of seed belonging to varieties for which an application for entry in the national catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species or vegetable species has been submitted[^f00005] , as last amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/320;

• “the Deliberate Release Directive” means Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms[^f00006];

• “the Directive” means Council Directive 2002/56/EC on the marketing of seed potatoes[^f00007] , as last amended by Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2016/317;

• “Directive 2008/62/EC” means Commission Directive 2008/62/EC providing for certain derogations for acceptance of agricultural landraces and varieties which are naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion and for marketing of seed and seed potatoes of those landraces and varieties[^f00008];

• “Directive 2014/20/EU” means Commission Implementing Directive 2014/20/EU determining Union grades of basic and certified seed potatoes, and the conditions and designations applicable to such grades[^f00009];

• “Directive 2014/21/EU” means Commission Implementing Directive 2014/21/EU determining minimum conditions and Union Grades for pre-basic seed potatoes;

• “the Food and Feed Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on genetically modified food and feed[^f00011].

Marketing of seed potatoes

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• (1) No person may market any seed potatoes other than—

• (a) pre-basic seed potatoes;

• (b) basic seed potatoes;

• (c) certified seed potatoes;

• (d) scientific and selection seed potatoes; or

• (e) test and trial seed potatoes.

• (2) No person may market any seed potatoes treated with a product which is produced primarily as an application for inhibiting germination.

• (3) In this regulation, “scientific and selection seed potatoes” means—

• (a) in relation to seed potatoes produced in England, seed potatoes which have been authorised by the Secretary of State for marketing in accordance with regulation 8;

• (b) in relation to seed potatoes produced outside England, seed potatoes which have been authorised by the Certification Authority in the country or territory where the potatoes were produced for marketing in accordance with—

• (i) in the case of seed potatoes produced in the United Kingdom, the relevant seed potatoes regulations;

• (ii) in the case of seed potatoes produced in a Crown Dependency or a country granted equivalence, legislation recognised by the Secretary of State as having equivalent effect to regulation 8.

Marketing of conservation varieties

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• (1) No person may market seed potatoes of a conservation variety unless—

• (a) the variety is listed in the GB Variety List of varieties of potato species prepared and published in accordance with regulation 3 of the National Lists Regulations; and

• (b) those seed potatoes have been produced in the United Kingdom.

• (2) A person proposing to produce seed potatoes of a conservation variety must, before doing so, supply the Secretary of State, in such manner and form as the Secretary of State requires, with details in writing of the size and location of the area to be used to produce that seed.

• (3) Where the quantities specified in Article 14 of Directive 2008/62/EC would otherwise be likely to be exceeded, the Secretary of State may specify the maximum amount of seed potatoes of a conservation variety that may be marketed in any given production season, and may specify different maximum amounts for different persons or classes of persons.

• (3A) For the purposes of paragraph (3), Article 14 of Directive 2008/62/EC is to be read as if—