UK Offence Report

Penalties for contravening Regulations

regulation 7(1) of The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

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

7 1 Subject to paragraph (2), a person who— a contravenes any of the provisions of regulation 3(1), (2) or (3) or 6(1) or (2); b commences an operation listed in the Table in regulation 5(1) without giving the notice required by that paragraph; c commences an operation listed in the Table in regulation 5(1) without the consent required by that paragraph; or d carries out an operation listed in the Table in regulation 5(1) in breach of a condition imposed under regulation 5(4); is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1000.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
acting without the licence or authorisation required
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

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 gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

The defence, as drafted

on, repair, connection or disconnection of a water fitting, it shall be a defence to prove— a that the work in question was carried out by or under the direction of an approved contractor, and b that the contractor certified to the person who commissioned that work that the water fitting complied with the requirements of these Regulations.

What would breach regulation 7(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. Starting the activity before the licence is granted, rather than on the day it takes effect under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.
  2. Carrying on after a licence has expired, been surrendered or been suspended.
  3. Relying on somebody else's authorisation, where the provision requires the person doing the act to hold one.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
2 July 2009
In force from
3 August 2009
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations make provision for preventing contamination and waste of water supplied by a water undertaker. They do not apply to certain water fittings in connection with water supplied for non-domestic purposes, or to water fittings lawfully installed before 3rd August 2009: regulation 2. Part II of the Regulations deals with the principal requirements. Regulations 3 and 4 impose general requirements in relation to water fittings. Water fittings must not be installed, connected, arranged or used in such a manner that they are likely to cause waste, misuse, undue consumption or contamination, or erroneous measurement, of the water supplied. They must be of an appropriate quality or standard, and be suitable for the circumstances in which they are used; and they must be installed, connected or disconnected in a workmanlike manner. Regulation 5 requires a person who proposes to install certain water fittings to notify the undertaker, and not to commence installation without the undertaker’s consent. The undertaker may withhold consent or grant it on certain conditions. This requirement does not apply to some fittings which are installed by a contractor who is approved by the water undertaker or certified by an organisation specified by the Secretary of State or National Assembly of Wales under The Water Supply (Water Fittings) 1999. Where an approved contractor installs, alters, connects or disconnects a water fitting, he must provide a certificate stating whether it complies with the Regulations: regulation 6. Part III of the Regulations deals with enforcement etc. Regulation 7 provides for a fine not exceeding £1000 for contravening the Regulations. It is a defence to show that the work on a water fitting was done by or under the direction of an approved contractor, and that the contractor certified that it complied with the Regulations. Regulation 8 enables water undertakers and persons acting on behalf of the Department of the Environment who enter premises to carry out inspections, measurements and tests for the purposes of the Regulations. Regulation 9 requires the water undertaker to enforce the requirements of the Regulations; this duty is enforceable by the Department. Regulation 10 enables the Department to relax the requirements of these Regulations on the application of the water undertaker. Regulation 11 requires the water undertaker to publicise any method of installation that it may approve for the purpose of the Regulations. Regulation 12 provides for disputes arising under the Regulations between a water undertaker and a person who has installed or proposes to install a water fitting to be referred to arbitration. Regulation 13 requires the water undertaker to publish an annual report detailing levels of enforcement activities. Regulation 14 provides for the water undertaker to carry out works and recover costs in respect of contamination incidents from the person responsible. Regulation 15 revokes The Water Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991. These regulations were notified in draft to the European Commission in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC, as amended by Directive 98/48/EC.

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 0.92.

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