# The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Wales) Regulations 2024, Regulation 10: Power of entry, investigation and examination etc.

Extent: E+W

(1) An enforcement officer entering premises under or by virtue of regulation 9 (powers of entry) may—
(a) be accompanied by another enforcement officer, and if the enforcement officer has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the execution of their duty, a constable;
(b) bring any equipment or materials for the authorised purpose for which the power of entry is being exercised;
(c) make such examination and investigation as may in any circumstances be necessary;
(d) subject to paragraph (2), search those premises and seize and remove any documents (other than single-use vapes, or components of single-use vapes) in or on the premises, for the purpose of any examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (c);
(e) take such measurements and photographs and make such recordings as the enforcement officer considers necessary for the purpose of any examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (c);
(f) require the production of, or where the information is recorded in computerised form, the furnishing of extracts from, any documents which it is necessary for the enforcement officer to see for the purposes of any examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (c) and to inspect and take copies of, or of any entry in, the documents;
(g) require any person to provide the enforcement officer with such facilities and assistance with respect to any matters or things within the person’s control, or in relation to which that person has responsibilities, as are necessary to enable the enforcement officer to exercise any of the powers conferred by this regulation;
(h) direct that those premises or any part of them, or anything in them, be left undisturbed (whether generally or in particular respects) for so long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes of examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (c);
(i) take any samples, or cause samples to be taken, of any single-use vapes, or components of single-use vapes, found in or on those premises, and cause such single-use vapes or components to be analysed or tested;
(j) in the case of any single-use vape, or component of a single-use vape, found in or on those premises, take possession of it, and retain it for so long as is necessary for all or any of the following purposes—
(i) to dismantle it or to cause it to be dismantled (but not so as to damage or destroy it, unless that is necessary);
(ii) to examine it, and to subject it to any process or test, or cause it to be examined;
(iii) to ensure that it is not tampered with before the examination is completed;
(iv) to ensure that it is available for use as evidence in any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations;
(v) to ensure that it is retained for the purpose of compliance with any direction given by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 12
(k) once in or on those premises, make a purchase of a single-use vape, or enter into an agreement to secure provision of a single-use vape, without first giving notice, or obtaining a warrant to do so.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4), an enforcement officer may not exercise the power in paragraph (1)(d) without—
(a) the consent of a person entitled to grant access to material on or accessible from the premises, or
(b) the authority of a warrant granted under paragraph (3).
(3) A justice of the peace may by warrant authorise an enforcement officer to exercise the powers in paragraph (1)(d) in accordance with the warrant and, if need be by force, if the justice of the peace is satisfied there are reasonable grounds for believing that—
(a) there are documents on or accessible from the premises in question which are likely to be of substantial value (by themselves or together with other material) to an examination or investigation under paragraph (1)(c), and
(b) it is impracticable to communicate with a person entitled to grant access to the documents, or access to them is unlikely to be granted unless a warrant is produced.
(4) An enforcement officer may exercise the power in paragraph (1)(d) without consent or the authority of a warrant if the enforcement officer has reasonable grounds for believing that exercising the power is necessary to prevent the documents from being concealed, lost, altered, or destroyed.
(5) Where an enforcement officer removes a document under the power in paragraph (1)(d) that is “protected material”—
(a) the material may not be used for the authorised purpose, and
(b) the material must be returned to the premises from which it was removed, or to the person who had possession or control over it immediately before it was removed, as soon as reasonably practicable (but the enforcement officer may retain, or take copies of, any information contained in the document in relation to which no such entitlement exists).
(6) For the purposes of this regulation, “protected material” means—
(a) material subject to legal professional privilege,
(b) excluded material within the meaning of section 11 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, or
(c) journalistic material, within the meaning of section 13 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which is not excluded material.
(7) Nothing in paragraph (1)(f) compels the production by a person of any documents of which that person would, on grounds of legal professional privilege, be entitled to withhold production on an order for disclosure in an action in the County Court or High Court.
(8) An enforcement officer seeking to exercise a power under paragraph (1) must produce evidence of identity and authority if requested by a person who is, or who appears to be—
(a) a supplier of single-use vapes;
(b) an employee of a supplier referred to in sub-paragraph (a);
(c) the owner or occupier of any premises in which the enforcement officer seeks to exercise the power concerned.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2024/1324/regulation/10 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/environmental-protection-single-use-vapes-wales-regulations-2024/regulation-10
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.