Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Public Health Information) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020.

(2) Regulations 1, 2, 3(1), 3(4) and 6(1) come into force at 4.00 a.m. on 12th December 2020.

(3) All other provisions come into force on 14th December 2020.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the International Travel Regulations” means the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) Regulations 2020( 2);

“the Passenger Information Regulations” means the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Public Health Information for Passengers Travelling to England) Regulations 2020( 3).

Amendment of the International Travel Regulations

3.—(1) The International Travel Regulations are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 3 (requirement to provide information)—

(a) in paragraph (3), for “14th” substitute “10th”;

(b) in paragraph (4)(b) for “14” substitute “10”.

(3) In regulation 4 (requirement to self-isolate), in paragraphs (1)(b) and (7)(a), for “14th” substitute “10th”.

(4) In Schedule A1 (exempt countries and territories), in Part 1—

(a) omit the entry for “The Canary Islands”;

(b) insert entries for “Botswana” and “Saudi Arabia” at the appropriate places.

(5) In Schedule 1 (passenger information)—

(a) in paragraph 2(a)(ii), for “14” substitute “10”;

(b) in paragraph 2(ha), for “14th” substitute “10th”.

(6) In Schedule 2 (persons not required to comply with regulation 3 or 4)—

(a) in paragraph 3(1)(b), for “14” (in both places) substitute “10”;

(b) in paragraph 39, in the definition of “international elite sportsperson”, for “14th” substitute “10th”.

Amendment of the Passenger Information Regulations

4.—(1) The Passenger Information Regulations are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 3 (information requirement), after paragraph (9) insert—

“(9A)  If, following the coming into force of any provision which amends the information required to be provided by regulation 3, an operator provides information to a passenger that would have complied with the information requirement but for the coming into force of that amending provision, it is a defence for the operator to show that it was not reasonably practicable for the amended information to be provided. ”.

(3) In Part 1 of the Schedule (specified information)—

(a) for “14” substitute “10”;

(b) after “It is a legal requirement that you wear a face covering on public transport in the UK.” insert—

“(4)  If you are required to self-isolate, you may be able to shorten the self-isolation period by opting into a test to release scheme, depending on which part of the UK you are in. For further information and a list of providers please visit www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-test-to-release-for-international-travel . ”.

(4) In Part 2 of the Schedule, for “14” substitute “10”.

Amendment of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) (Amendment) (No. 26) Regulations 2020

5.—(1) The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) (Amendment) (No. 26) Regulations 2020( 4) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2 (amendment of the International Travel Regulations), in paragraph (7), in the new Schedule 2A to be inserted—

(a) in paragraph 2(1)(d), for “NHS Act 2006, the NHS (Wales) Act 2006” substitute “National Health Service Act 2006( 5), the National Health Services (Wales) Act 2006( 6)”;

(b) in paragraph 2(2)(d)(iii) and paragraph 3(1)(c)(i) and (ii), for “ISO standard 17025” substitute “ISO/IEC standard 17025( 7)”;

(c) in paragraph 3(1)(d), before “ISO standard 22870” insert “ISO standard 15189( 8) and”;

(d) in paragraph 5(3), in ‘Form B: positive test result’ for “14” substitute “10”.

(3) Omit regulation 3 (amendment of the Passenger Information Regulations).

Transitional and saving provisions

6.—(1) In relation to any person who arrived in England on or after 10th July 2020 but before 4.00 a.m. on 12th December 2020, the International Travel Regulations apply as if the amendments made by regulation 3(4) had not been made.

(2) In relation to any booking made before 14th December 2020, the requirement in regulation 3(1) of the Passenger Information Regulations (“the information requirement”) is to be regarded as complied with even if the information provided to passengers does not include the amendments made by regulation 4(3) and (4).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. 2020/568) (“the International Travel Regulations”) to:

(a) amend the requirement to self-isolate (regulation 4 of the International Travel Regulations) so that it applies to people who have, within the 10 days prior to their arrival in England, been in or transited through a non-exempt country or territory;

(b) amend the length of time for which a person is required to self-isolate so that a person must self-isolate until the end of the 10th day after the day on which they last departed from or transited through such a country or territory, or until they depart from England or become required to self-isolate under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. 2020/1045);

(c) amend the list of exempt countries and territories by adding Botswana and Saudi Arabia and removing the Canary Islands.

Consequential amendments are made to:

(a) the information that passengers are required to provide under Schedule 1 to the International Travel Regulations; and

(b) the information that operators are required to provide to passengers under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Public Health Information for Passengers Travelling to England) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. 2020/567).

These Regulations also correct drafting errors in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) (Amendment) (No. 26) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. 2020/1337), which themselves amend the International Travel Regulations with effect from 15th December 2020.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. An explanatory memorandum has been published alongside this instrument atwww.legislation.gov.uk.