Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020

Plant Protection Products (PPPs) play a vital role in supporting plant health and crop production. Safe supply and use of PPPs protect our crops and natural landscapes from native and invasive non-native species, support domestic food production, and help to maintain our recreational, transport and amenity areas.

The 2020 Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020, or the 2020 Regulations, are in place to enable regulatory authorities to support compliance and enforce legal requirements that apply to the placing on the market and use of PPPs throughout the supply chain. The 2020 Regulations supplement the Plant Protection Products Regulations 2011 and the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012. Implementation of the 2020 Regulations brings several benefits to Great Britain. They enable Defra, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, working with the regulatory authorities, to understand how PPPs are being sold and used in Great Britain, to support businesses and organisations to be compliant with their legal obligations and to ensure PPPs are used sustainably and in accordance with the conditions of use.

The 2020 Regulations apply to PPPs and their components, which may include active substances, safeners, synergists or co-formulants that could form a component part of a PPP. They also apply to adjuvants.

Under the 2020 Regulations, the competent authorities are the Secretary of State for England, the Scottish Ministers for Scotland and the Welsh Ministers for Wales. The main regulatory authority for the competent authorities is currently the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The 2020 Regulations require certain businesses and users of PPPs to register with the relevant competent authority:

1. Businesses that produce, manufacture, process, import, store, distribute and sell PPPs, their components and adjuvants to be used with PPPs are subject to the 2020 regulations.
2. Any person or business that uses PPPs and any adjuvants in a professional capacity in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) are also subject to the 2020 Regulations, and therefore have a legal obligation to register.
3. Sellers of amateur PPPs are also subject to the 2020 Regulations and need to register by 22 June 2022. Amateur PPPs are not intended for professional use and amateur users do not need professional certification to apply them.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs administers these registrations on behalf of the Welsh Government. Further information on the 2020 Regulations at The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020: policy statement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), 

To register as a business that produces, manufactures, processes, imports, stores, distributes and sells PPPs, their components and adjuvants, visit Professional plant protection products (PPPs): register as a business that places them on the market - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 

To register as a professional user or a PPP or any adjuvants visit Plant protection products (PPPs): register as a professional user - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To register as a seller of amateur PPPs visit Amateur plant protection products (PPPs): register as a seller - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Article 28 of Regulation 1107/2009 states that a PPP cannot be placed on the market or used in Great Britain unless it has been authorised by the relevant competent authority (the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)).

PPPs that are produced, stored or moved in Great Britain but are intended for use only outside Great Britain do not need authorisation.

The 2020 Regulations require operators to register with the competent authority (Defra) and include a system of risk-based official controls.

Businesses that are producing, storing or moving PPPs in Great Britain solely for export are legally required to register to comply with the 2020 Regulations and may be inspected by the relevant authority

Background

The competent authorities in Great Britain (Secretary of State for England, Scottish Ministers for Scotland, Welsh Ministers for Wales) are required by the retained Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council to draw up and keep an up-to-date list of operators that either place on the market or use professional Plant Protection Products (PPPs) and components in Great Britain.

Operators in Great Britain are also required by section 5 of The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020 to notify the competent authorities of their business activity in respect of PPPs and components being placed on the market and professionally used.

Section 5(1) of The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020 requires that each operator notifies the competent authority (Welsh Government) of the:

• name of the operator (the company name) 
• activities carried out by the operator that relate to plant protection products (PPPs) and components being placed on the market and pesticides being sustainably used
• addresses where those activities are carried out

Site contact details may include the contact details of an employee or agent who is authorised to act on behalf of each operator, in respect of the operator’s inclusion on the list.

To fulfil these legal obligations, operators must provide an email address and telephone number as part of their registration. In some cases, these might be personal data if they are the contact details of a specific individual or employee of the organisation.  Some of this information will amount to personal data. Where it does, the data controller will be the Welsh Government, though in practice the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) collects the information from operators on our behalf. 

If you are a sole trader or a partner of an unincorporated partnership, your personal data would likely be:

• the name of the sole trading business or partnership
• other information relating to your company

What do we do with your information?

The Welsh Government will provide the list of operators to the Health and Safety Executive, who will use it to select businesses for official controls according to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.

Who do we share the information with?

It will be shared with The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the purposes of applying The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.

Data from operators with sites in Wales will be shared with Defra. This is because, in practice, Defra collects the data on behalf of the Welsh Government. This exchange of information is in accordance with Regulation 4 of The Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.

How long will we keep your information?

We will keep data submitted through the PPP registration forms for as long as we need to maintain an up-to-date list of PPP operators. We are required to do this as a competent authority, under Article 10 of the retained Regulation (EU) 2017/625.

We will only delete data relating to a site or business after 2 years if we are notified, or become aware, that:

• a site has permanently closed
• the business has stopped trading for any reason

Your rights in relation to your information

You have the right to:

• access to the personal data that we are processing about you; 
• require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data; 
• the right (in certain circumstances) to object to processing;
• the right for your data to be ‘erased’; 
• lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.

For further information about the information which Welsh Governments holds and its use, or if you wish to exercise your rights under the GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ

Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.wales

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113