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Respond to plant health incidents

URN: LANCS102
Business Sectors (Suites): Incident Management in the Land-based Sector
Developed by: Lantra
Approved on: 2023

Overview

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This standard is suitable for those who work in arboriculture, forestry, environmental conservation, agriculture, horticulture and game and wildlife management. 

It is applicable to all environments susceptible to plant health incidents and emergencies and applies to both plants, trees and plant products. It relates to the activities that you need to undertake before, during and after a plant health incident or emergency has been identified as being present.

To meet this standard, you will be able to:
• prepare for plant health incidents and emergencies
• take actions to protect plant health
• monitor plant health
• identify pests and diseases 
• report notifiable (quarantine) pests and diseases
• take action to contain and manage pest and disease outbreaks
• monitor and improve response

For you to fully understand the content of the standard, and the activities it describes, it is important that you are able to understand the terms used within the standard. See Glossary for some definitions that should help you with this.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

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  1. be aware of potential pests and diseases that could affect the plants, trees or plant products in your care
  2. keep up to date with pest and disease alerts
  3. implement measures to protect the plants, trees or plant products in your care from pests and diseases
  4. regularly monitor the plants, trees or plant products in your care for signs of pests and diseases
  5. identify pests and diseases that are notifiable (quarantine) and report to the responsible organisation in accordance with requirements
  6. for pest and disease incidents which are subject to statutory action, follow the statutory measures defined by the responsible organisation to contain and manage the outbreak 
  7. for non-notifiable pest and disease incidents take the appropriate action to minimise the impacts of the outbreak
  8. implement contingency plans to minimise the impact of plant health incidents
  9. seek specialist advice where necessary
  10. monitor the outcome of the plant health incident and take action to improve response
  11. complete records and documentation as required by legislation and your organisation’s policies and procedures

Knowledge and Understanding

You need to know and understand:

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  1. the pests and diseases that could affect the plants or trees in your care
  2. how to keep up to date with pest and disease alerts
  3. measures to protect the plants, trees or plant products in your care from pests and diseases, including biosecurity measures
  4. the importance of regular monitoring of the plants, trees or plant products in your care for signs of pests and diseases and how often this should be done 
  5. how to recognise possible incidents of pests and diseases and which are notifiable (quarantine) and which are not (non-quarantine)
  6. how to report a notifiable (quarantine) pest or disease incident, who it should be reported to and the requirements for notification
  7. the importance of following the statutory measures defined by the responsible organisation when responding to a notifiable pest and disease incident
  8. the actions that can be taken to minimise the impact of non-notifiable pest and disease incidents
  9. the importance of contingency plans to minimise the impact of plant health incidents and what they should contain
  10. where to seek specialist advice and training
  11. the importance of monitoring the outcome of the plant health incident and using the lessons learned to improve future actions
  12. the records and documentation that needs to be completed in accordance with legislation and the policies and procedures of your organisation

Scope/range

Scope Performance

Scope Knowledge

Values

Behaviours

Skills

Glossary

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Biosecurity
Measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms and non-native species

Possible actions to contain and manage an outbreak:
• Removal and destruction or treatment of affected plant material
• Implementing containment measures to prevent onward movement of potentially affected plant material
• Restricting movement (e.g. of personnel/traffic) in and out of affected areas
• Thorough cleaning and disinfection of equipment, PPE, vehicles, machinery and other related items which could cause the spread of the pest and/or disease
• Tracking and tracing potentially affected plants
• Maintaining communication with all involved
• Monitoring the results of management action

Responsible organisations e.g.
• DEFRA
• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
• Forestry Commission (FC)
• Forest Research (FR)
• Scottish Government (SG)
• SASA (a division of the Scottish Government Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate (ARE)
• NatureScot
• Scottish Forestry (SF)
• Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
• Welsh Government
• DAERA Plant Health Directorate

Links To Other NOS

External Links

Version Number

1

Indicative Review Date

2028

Validity

Current

Status

Original

Originating Organisation

Lantra

Original URN

LANCS102

Relevant Occupations

Forestry, Environmental Conservation, Farmer, Horticulture, Arboriculture

SOC Code

5111

Keywords

plant; tree; pests; diseases; outbreak; incident