Title, application and commencement

1. This Order–

(a) may be cited as the Poultry Compartments (England) Order 2010;

(b) applies in England; and

(c) comes into force on 15th March 2010.

Competent authority

2. The Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of Commission Regulation EC (No) 616/2009 implementing Council Directive 2005/94/EC as regards the approval of poultry compartments and other captive bird compartments with respect to avian influenza and additional preventive biosecurity measures in such compartments(4) as amended from time to time.

Applications

3. Applications for approval of compartments must be made on the forms provided by the Secretary of State on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website.

Power of inspectors

4.–(1) An inspector may, for any purpose relating to this Order–

(a) enter any premises certified as a compartment under this Order and any administrative site which contains records relevant to the certification of a site as a compartment;

(b) require the keeper to produce or copy any document or record;

(c) remove and retain a copy of any document or record;

(d) have access to, and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with records;

(e) where a record is kept by means of a computer, require the record to be produced in a form which may be taken away;

(f) be accompanied by a representative of the European Commission or any people or things the inspector considers necessary.

(2) A person required to do anything by an inspector acting under paragraph (1) must, unless they have reasonable cause, do so without delay.

(3) For the purposes of this article an inspector means any person approved as an inspector under the Animal Health Act 1981.

Inspections

5.–(1) The Secretary of State must inspect all production sites before approving them as a compartment or part of a compartment.

(2) Once production sites are approved as compartments the Secretary of State must reinspect those sites at intervals determined by an assessment of risk associated with each premises.

(3) When inspecting production sites the Secretary of State must also inspect administrative sites which hold records relevant to the approval of these production sites as compartments or parts of compartments.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order implements Commission Regulation EC (No) 616/2009 which makes provision for the recognition of poultry compartments which meet high standards of biosecurity (OJ No L 181, 14.7.2009, p 16). Since application for recognition is voluntary the only sanction for failure to comply with the requirements of this Order is removal of certification as a compartment.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs website is at www.defra.gov.uk.

A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.