Plant health legislation for forestry

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Plant health legislation

Plant health laws on biosecurity standards for the agri-food chain include the regulation of tree and wood pests. The regulation takes a risk-based approach to plant protection, and the pest and disease control measures are stringent.

The laws, which originate from the EU, now apply in the UK. You can find them at legislation.gov.uk. This assimilated law is now domestic law and will be updated when amendments are made. Read more at:

Plant Health Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council (legislation.gov.uk)
Phytosanitary Conditions Regulation: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (legislation.gov.uk)
Official Controls Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Legislation.gov.uk)

Domestic enforcement legislation enables the Forestry Commission, as a designated competent authority for England, to carry out our obligations and enforce the rules detailed in the legislation above. The Official Controls (Plant Health and Genetically Modified Organisms) (England) Regulations 2019.

Separate legislation applies in:

The Dutch Elm Disease (Local Authorities) Order 1984

Subsequent amendments include SI 1988 No. 604.

The Dutch Elm Disease (Local Authorities) Order 1984 sets out the powers available to certain local authorities, as listed in the schedule to the order, to take steps to prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease. Each local authority may exercise the powers only in respect of their own area.

Officers (appointed by the local authority) who suspect the presence on any premises of elm trees infected by this disease, on production of their authority (if required), may enter on any land to inspect trees and to take samples.

Where the disease is present, the officer may either take action themselves, or they may require the owner or occupier to do so, to prevent the spread of the disease by destroying the tree, usually by burning on site. Exceptionally, the officer may authorise the removal of the tree to another place for destruction.

The order also prescribes offences and penalties for failing to comply with a notice served.

Plant Health Act 1967

The primary legislation governing plant health in Great Britain is the Plant Health Act 1967 (c.8). This prescribes the Forestry Commissioners as the “competent authority in Great Britain as regards the protection of forest trees and timber”. The act empowers the Forestry Commissioners to:

make orders to prevent the introduction and spread of forestry pests and diseases
require local authorities to undertake certain work to prevent the spread of specified pests or diseases

It also makes provision for the creation of offences and imposition of fees for certain work.

The Plant Health (Fees) (Forestry) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015

The Plant Health (Fees) (Forestry) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015 provide for fees to be charged by the Forestry Commission for certain plant health services in the timber trade sector, including plant health examinations (namely documentary checks, identity checks and plant health checks on certain wood, wood products and bark imported from third countries). They also provide for fees for:

inspections in connection with an authority to issue plant passports
applications and inspections related to licences
applications for export phytosanitary certification
authorisation to apply the ISPM 15 mark to wood packaging

The fees were amended in England on 15 July 2021 to make inflationary adjustments to the cost of providing the export phytosanitary certification service and an authority to issue plant passports.

You can find the statutory instrument that relates to this change at The Plant Health (Fees) (Forestry) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.

In Wales, the relevant fees legislation is the Plant Health (Fees) (Forestry) (Wales) Regulations 2019.

Plant health legislation for forestry

Applies to England