Title and coming into force

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022.

(2) These Regulations come into force at 6.00 a.m. on 21 January 2022.

Amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020

2.—(1) The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020( 2) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 16ZA(1)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a), after “entry to” insert “indoor parts of”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (b)—

(i) in paragraph (i), after “food or drink” insert “indoors”;

(ii) in paragraph (ii), after “food or drink” insert “indoors”;

(iii) in paragraph (iii), after “food or drink” insert “indoors”.

(3) In regulation 28(3)(b), omit “or (2A)”;

(4) In regulation 37—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), omit “, (2A)”;

(b) in paragraph (2)(b)—

(i) in paragraph (i), omit “or” at the end;

(ii) omit paragraph (ii).

(5) In Schedule 2—

(a) in paragraph 2—

(i) in sub-paragraph (1)(a), omit “or outdoors in regulated premises,”;

(ii) omit sub-paragraph (2A);

(iii) in sub-paragraph (4), in the words before paragraph (a) omit “, (2A)”;

(iv) omit sub-paragraph (6)(j).

(b) in paragraph 4—

(i) in sub-paragraph (1), for the words from “unless—” to the end of paragraph (c) substitute “held to any extent indoors.”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (2)—

(aa) omit paragraph (g);

(bb) in paragraph (j)(ii), omit “or where it is held outdoors”;

(iii) omit sub-paragraph (3)(b).

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 principal Regulations”) to—

• amend Schedule 2 (Alert Level 2 Restrictions) to the principal Regulations to remove all restrictions on outdoor gatherings and events;

• make amendments that are related to these changes, including amendments to regulation 37(2) of the principal Regulations (which relates to an offence of participating in a large gathering outdoors in a private dwelling);

• amend regulation 16ZA of the principal Regulations (specific measures applicable to licensed premises) so that the requirement to control entry to premises and for customers to be seated when ordering food or drink only applies to indoors parts of the premises.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. In accordance with the Code, a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely cost and benefit of complying with these Regulations has not been carried out, due to the need to put them in place urgently to ensure that the principal Regulations’ restrictions and requirements continue to be proportionate.