What would breach article 151(1) of The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995?

On these words an offence is committed where a person knowingly or recklessly provides the Registrar with information which is false or misleading in a material particular. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Breach of regulations under the Pension Schemes Act

Q: Is article 151(1) of The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 a strict liability offence?

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

article 151(1) of The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995

Revoked
Requires proof of a state of mind
Either way
Corporate, financial services, company law, employment, charity, electoral and tax

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

Offence in connection with the Registrar. 164A
1 Any person who knowingly or recklessly provides the Registrar with information which is false or misleading in
a material particular is guilty of an offence if the information—
a is provided in purported compliance with
a requirement under section 2, or
b is provided otherwise than as mentioned in paragraph (a) but in circumstances in which the person providing the information intends, or could reasonably be expected to know, that it would be used by the Registrar for the purpose of discharging his functions under this Act.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds: a person
Conduct: making a false or misleading statement
Fault element: Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof: No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach article 151(1)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

On these words an offence is committed where a person knowingly or recklessly provides the Registrar with information which is false or misleading in a material particular.
Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine: £5,000
Standard scale: Level 5
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Sentencing organisations: fines and the means of a corporate defendant All courts in England and Wales
How a fine on a company is arrived at from its turnover. Relevant far beyond the guidelines that state it, because a very large share of the offences in this corpus can only be committed by an organisation.
Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2014
Covers fraud, false accounting, bribery and money laundering, including offences committed by organisations.
Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status: Revoked
Revoked by: The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011
Revoked on: 6 April 2011
Made: 13 December 1995
In force from: Not determined
Extent: Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

This Order, which is made only for purposes corresponding to those of the Pensions Act 1995, amends the law relating to occupational pensions, state pensions and personal pensions.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Restricted informationarticle 102(3)
Information: penaltiesarticle 109(1)
Information: penaltiesarticle 109(4)
Information: penaltiesarticle 109(5)
Any person who knowingly or recklessly provides the Registrar with information which is false or misleading…article 164A(1)
Article 27: consequencesarticle 28(1)
Persons disqualified: consequencesarticle 30(3)
Trustees not to be indemnified for fines or civil penaltiesarticle 31(4)
Restriction on employer-related investmentsarticle 40(5)
“Blowing the whistle”article 48(12)
Other responsibilities of trustees, employers, etcarticle 49(8)
Removal or suspension of trustees: consequencesarticle 6(1)

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis: the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence: 0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Corporate, financial services, company law, employment, charity, electoral and taxOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1995