UK Offence Report

1 A contravention, or failure to comply with, any of the provisions of regulations 7, 8, 14, 15, 16(1) to…

regulation 42(1) of The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

1 A contravention, or failure to comply with, any of the provisions of regulations 7, 8, 14, 15, 16(1) to (4), 17 to 32 and 34 to 40 shall be an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 42(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.

  1. Not doing what the provision requires under the Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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.

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
Status not determined
Made
25 March 2005
In force from
1 April 2005
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations are made under the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 (“the Order”). Part II of the Order establishes the Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services Regulation and Improvement Authority (“the Regulation and Improvement Authority”) and Part III provides for the registration and inspection of establishments and agencies, including independent health care establishments and agencies, by the Regulation and Improvement Authority. It also provides powers for regulations governing the conduct of establishments and agencies. Regulation 4 provides that “listed services” include treatment using the prescribed techniques and technology set out in regulation 4(1). Regulation 4(2) then excepts certain techniques and technology from being listed services, and regulation 3 excludes certain establishments from the definition of an independent hospital under Article 2 of the Order. These include establishments providing medical or psychiatric treatment but which have no overnight beds for patients, establishments which are service hospitals under the Armed Forces Act 1981, or which are establishments catering for offenders. In addition, independent clinics (as defined in these Regulations) are excluded, as are establishments where general practitioners provide HPSS services, but where there may be a small minority of private patients who also receive treatment. The private residence of a patient is also excluded provided that treatment is provided there only to that patient, as are surgeries and consulting rooms (which are separate from a hospital) which provide medical services under arrangements made on behalf of patients by their employers or others, and sports grounds and gymnasia where treatment is given to those taking part in sporting activities and events. Regulation 4(3) modifies the definition of cosmetic surgery for the purpose of Article 2(7) of the Order. Regulation 5 defines the meaning of the term “independent clinic” and regulation 6 excepts certain establishments from being an independent medical agency. By regulation 7, each establishment or agency must have a statement of purpose consisting of the matters set out in Schedule 1, and a patients' guide to the establishment or agency must be carried on in a manner which is consistent with the statement of purpose. Regulations 10 to 14 make provision about the fitness of the persons carrying on and managing an establishment or agency and require satisfactory information to be obtained in relation to the matters prescribed in Schedule 2. Where the provider is an organisation, it must nominate a responsible individual in respect of whom this information must be available (regulation 10). Regulation 11 prescribes the circumstances where a manager must be appointed for the establishment or agency, and relation 13 imposes general requirements in relation to the proper conduct of the establishment or agency, and the need for appropriate training. Part III makes provision about the conduct of establishments or agencies, in particular about the quality of the services to be provided in an establishment or agency, including matters relating to privacy, dignity and religious observance, the staffing of the establishment or agency and the fitness of workers and about complaints and record keeping (regulation 21 and Schedule 3). Provision is also made about the suitability of premises and the fire precautions to be taken and the management of establishments and agencies. The registered provider is required to visit the establishment or agency as prescribed (regulation 26), and regulation 27 imposes requirements relating to the financial viability of the establishment or agency. Regulations 28 to 32 deal with the giving of notices to the Regulation and Improvement Authority. Part IV and Schedule 4 set out additional requirements that apply to independent hospitals, and Part V sets out additional requirements applying to independent medical agencies. Part VI deals with miscellaneous matters. In particular, regulation 42 provides for offences. A breach of regulations 7, 8, 14, 15, 16(1) to (4), 17 to 32 and 34 to 40 may found an offence on the part of the registered person. However, no prosecution may be brought unless the Regulation and Improvement Authority has given the registered person a notice which sets out in what respect it is alleged he is not complying with a regulation, and what action, and by when the Regulation and Improvement Authority considers it is necessary in order to comply with the regulation.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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 0.88.

Basis
the provision says the conduct “is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.88 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