PA1 PA6 certificate-Safe Use of Pesticides

I need to do a few courses shortly, however, according to info on the internet, (as I read it)..... for commercial applications, I do not need to go on a course or to be registered to apply fertilizers, weedkillers/pesticides if I am born before 31 december 1964? (I was born in 1960)

 

Perhaps after government research "they"have realised if we have lived this long we might have a small amount of common sense and dont need anymore nannying.

 

I will most probably attend the courses, but just want to check if I am legally obliged to have a PA1 and PA6 certificate if I fertilize my client's lawn

from what I understand, I do not need to be certified as I have 'grandfathers rights'?

does not make much sense really?

 

I always thought you had to be born before 1968.

 

I think you're ok to apply fertilizer without the certificates Dim, as fertilizer on its own is not a pesticide.
However, if the fertilizer also contains weed or moss killer, then strictly speaking you would need the certificates.
Not sure about the 'grandfather' rule though and whether it still applies or not.

 

no, it's 1964

I contacted a college today who specializes in landskills training and this was their response:

Thank you for your email.

This is a question that we have been asked before and this is a bit of a grey area.

I think that you would need a certificate of competence as (regardless of when you are born) you would be applying pesticides to land not owned or occupied by you. See second bullet point below which states – It is a legal requirement that any person wishing to apply pesticides to land or property not owned/occupied by them or their immediate employer must have a certificate of competence.

I attach the following for your information –
HSE AFAG Guide 202 – Application of Pesticides by Hand Held Applicators
NPTC Pesticides Learners Guide
Section 2 of the Code of Practice for using Plant Protection Products (produced by Defra, HSE & Pesticides Safety Directorate)

Have a read and see what you think.

Information that I have found from the NPTC assessment centre, an NPTC assessor for Pesticides and NPTC literature is as follows:-
NB. This extract taken from NPTC website – Safe Use of Pesticides Learners Guide (see attachment)
It is a legal requirement that any person:-

• Born after 31 December 1964 unless working under the direct and personal supervision of a certificate holder
• Wishing to apply pesticides to land or property not owned or occupied by them or their immediate employer
• Who is required to supervise a person who does not hold a certificate but is required to use pesticides

MUST HAVE A ‘CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCE’

Information that I have found from a trainer as follows:-
He feels that HSE would expect any person to be competent and adequately trained and provide evidence of this. The only way to prove competence is to have a Certificate of Competence. You may wish to contact HSE to discuss further – their website is www.hse.gov.uk.

NPTC also advise:-
Grandfather Clause applies to people born before 31 December 1964. People covered by this clause are not certificate holders and cannot therefore supervise a non certificate holder. A certificate holder who intends to supervise a non-certificate holder must be present at all times standing by and watching the work.

I think you may find the flow charts on the attached Code of Practice useful.

I only hope that this information is of some help to you. I am sorry that I cannot give you a more defined answer but you really need to read the information and see what you think

--------------------------------------------------------

so, even they are not very sure .... but will do the course irrespective, as part of the training involves stuff like callibrating, and details on backpack nozzles etc

not cheap though ... costs over £500 from the company who responded to me via email

 

The law.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag202.pdf

 

The Grandfather Law should not apply.
Remember we are all decrepid and non-computer savvy, so we won't have been made aware of any such regulations!:yess:

Good excuse anyway!

 

thanks Dai ... from the link you posted:

quote:

Under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (COPR), operators must have had relevant training and be competent for the duties they are to perform. Operators born after 31 December 1964 [FONT=Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Arial,Helvetica]o r [/FONT][/FONT]who will be spraying as a commercial service must hold the appropriate Certificate of Competence (see Table 1) issued by the National Proficiency Tests Council (NPTC) or Scottish Skills Testing Service (SSTS), unless they will be under the direct and personal supervision of a person who holds such a certificate. If born before 31 December 1964 and working on their own or their e m p lo y e r’s land, operators still need to be able to demonstrate competence and show proof of appropriate training.
-------------------------------------

so, whats the point in mentioning 1964? .... from the above, everyone needs the certificate

and just to clarify .... you only need the certificate if you use commercial grade pesticides .... i.e. if you buy stuff from homebase etc you do not need the certificates ....

so, I could go to B&Q and buy roundup and use it .... but if I wanted something stronger that is only available from farmers outlets, I would need to have the certificate, and would need to produce it when I buy the stuff

that is what I understand from reading a few forums .... I may be wrong, and it is still not 100% clear, as many on the forums are confused

 

Taking the law as it stands, even I should be certificated. Yeah, right.

 

As a Civil Serpent, and use these bullet points daily on documents

What they fail to mention is the word OR,
The gubernment take it that everyone reading knows this

SO
It is a legal requirement that any person:-

• Born after 31 December 1964 unless working under the direct and personal supervision of a certificate holder OR
• Wishing to apply pesticides to land or property not owned or occupied by them or their immediate employer OR
• Who is required to supervise a person who does not hold a certificate but is required to use pesticides

MUST HAVE A ‘CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCE’


Just IMHO, and how every gov tax bullets sched is to be read

so you can spray away on your land and poison your next door neighbour so long as they are not your client and you are spraying their land

Jack McH

 

So you're assuming that commercial users of stuff bought from the likes of B&Q, Homebase, etc. don't need to be 'competent' despite 'competent' normally meaning you need to have passed the training courses?

I suggest you confirm that in writing with the HSE.

 

Dunno .... that's the whole confusion

but I do know that my 90 year old neighbour can go buy it at B&Q and merrily spray left right and centre with no certificate?

 

As I said in an earlier post yes Born before 1964 he can spray all day long in HIS garden and poison YOUR Garden

BUT YOU can not spray in HIS garden and poison YOUR garden

Elf and Safety mate Elf and Safety


Jack McH