Reminder to register with Defra
Following the announcement of a new biosecurity strategy last week, the Association would like to remind members of the importance of registering with the appropriate competent authority (Defra in England, SASA in Scotland and DAERA in Northern Ireland) as per existing plant regulations.
Plant health regulations were introduced by the European Union in December 2019 and adopted by the UK upon departure from the European Union in December 2020. One of the aims of the regulations is to prevent the spread of pests and diseases, and this can only be achieved by improving the level of traceability in plants and plant material movements.
Traceability of plants and plant material requires competent authorities to have an up-to-date register of landscape professionals, whom they can contact in the event of a pest or disease outbreak. Currently, there is no central register of landscape professionals, which limits the effectiveness of any future strategy.
The plant health regulations state that any landscape business professionals involved in, and therefore legally responsible for, one or more of the following activities concerning plants, plant products or other objects must register as a professional operator:
- Planting
- Breeding
- Production, including growing, multiplying and maintaining
- Introduction into, and movement within and out of, the Union territory
- Making available on the market
- Storage, collection dispatching and processing
Association members who are paid for a service such as landscape construction, which involves providing plants or plant products to a client for a fee, should therefore register with the relevant competent authority.
Association members whose role involves producing landscape or garden designs only are not required to register as professional operators. However, landscape designers whose role also includes purchasing plants on behalf of a domestic or commercial customer are required to register as professional operators.
Registration as a professional operator is free. Stakeholders are required to register with the appropriate competent authority:
England: Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
Scotland: Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)
Northern Ireland: Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
Once registered, professional operators must record plant passports received from authorised operators* together with details of the authorised operator (name and address) who sold them the plants. Professional operators need to record this information (physically or digitally) for 3 years.
*Authorised operators are businesses authorised to issue plant passports and may include nurseries or wholesalers. Note: Authorised operators are distinct from professional operators.
