UK Offence Report

The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006

UK Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 1463 — creates 2 criminal offences.

2offences created
0recorded in force
2revoked
Made
25 May 2006
In force from
1 July 2006
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries
Made under
European Communities Act 1972

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations revoke and replace the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2748) which implemented the European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/95/EC (OJ No. L37, 13.3.03, p.19) on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“the Directive”), as amended by Decision 2005/618/EC (OJ No. L214, 19.8.05, p.65) establishing the maximum concentration values for certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. These Regulations incorporate the further amendments to the Annex of the Directive by Commission Decision 2005/717/EC (OJ No. L271, 15.10.05, p. 48), Commission Decision 2005/747/EC (OJ No L280, 25.10.05, p.18) and Commission Decision 2006/310/EC (OJ No. L115, 28.4.06, p.38). These Decisions amend the list of exempt applications set out in the Annex. These Regulations apply to new electrical and electronic equipment within the categories set out in Schedule 1 and to electric light bulbs and to luminaires for use in households that are put on the market on or after 1st July 2006. They do not apply to: a spare parts for the repair of electrical and electronic equipment or to the reuse of such equipment put on the market before 1st July 2006 (regulation 5(1)); and b the applications of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and polybrominated diphenyl ethers listed in Schedule 2 (regulation 5(2)). General requirements relating to the putting on the market on or after 1st July 2006 of electrical and electronic equipment are set out in regulations 7 to 9. New equipment put on the market must not contain more than the permissible maximum concentration values of hazardous substances (regulation 7). Regulations 8 and 9 set out requirements relating to technical documentation. The Secretary of State has the duty of enforcing the Regulations (regulation 10) and may appoint any person to act on his behalf. The Secretary of State has the power to serve a compliance notice (regulation 11) and make test purchases (regulation 12). Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with a requirement of regulation 7, 8 or 9 shall be guilty of an offence (regulation 13). Penalties for such offences are set out in regulation 14. The current maximum fine under level 5 on the standard scale is £5000. Proceedings in relation to offences may be commenced within 12 months of the offence being committed (regulation 15). A defence of due diligence is provided in regulation 16 and the liability of persons other than the principal offender is set out in regulation 17. There is provision for service of documents under the Regulations under regulation 18. Regulation 19 amends the Enterprise Act 2002 (Part 9 Restrictions on Disclosure of Information) (Specification) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/693) by substituting for the reference to the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005 a reference to these Regulations. These Regulations will be included amongst the subordinate legislation which has been specified for the purposes of Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 relating to the disclosure of information. A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry. As these Regulations transpose the Directive, a transposition note (TN) setting out how the Government will transpose the Directive into UK law has been prepared. Copies of the RIA and TN are available from the Science and Innovation Group, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS. Copies of these documents have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

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