UK Offence Report

Amendment of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995

regulation 2(4) of The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007

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

4 Insert new sub-paragraphs (1B) and (1C) in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 as follows– 1B A pharmacist shall not provide under an electronic prescription form a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. 1C A pharmacist may refuse to supply drugs or appliances ordered on a prescription form where– a the pharmacist or other person is subjected to or threatened with violence by the person presenting the prescription form or requesting the provision of drugs or appliances in accordance with an electronic prescription form, or by any person accompanying that person; or b the person presenting the prescription form or requesting the provision of drugs or appliances in accordance with an electronic prescription form, or any other person accompanying that person, commits or threatens to commit a criminal 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 2(4)?

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 National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007, 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 here: this instrument amends another one, and the penalty for the offence is in the instrument being amended.

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
6 March 2007
In force from
1 April 2007
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 amend the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (“the principal Regulations”) which regulate the provision of pharmaceutical services under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. Regulation 2(2) inserts into the principal Regulations definitions of “advanced electronic signature”, “electronic communication”, “electronic prescription form”, “electronic signature”, “e Pharmacy Service” and “non-electronic prescription form” and substitutes a new definition of “prescription form”, to provide for the electronic transmission of prescriptions. Regulation 2(3) substitutes a new sub-paragraph 3(1) to Schedule 1 of the principal Regulations to provide that a pharmacist shall dispense drugs ordered on an electronic prescription form, as well as on a non-electronic prescription form. Sub sub paragraph (a)(iv) now refers only to an order for listed drugs signed by a dentist, and omits the previous reference in sub paragraph 1(a) of the principal Regulations to “drugs, not being scheduled drugs”. Regulation 2(4) inserts into Schedule 1– i a new sub-paragraph 3(1B) to restrict the provision of controlled drugs ordered on an electronic prescription form; and ii a new sub-paragraph 3(1C) to give a pharmacist the right to refuse to supply drugs and appliances in specified circumstances. Regulation 2(5)(b) amends the principal Regulations to provide that evidence of exemption on the grounds of age need not be produced if the patient’s date of birth is computer printed on a prescription form. Regulation 2(5) makes various other amendments to the principal Regulations as a consequence of the introduction of electronic prescription forms and the revocation of the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2001, and their replacement by the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2007. Regulation 2(6) amends paragraph 3(11) of Schedule 1 in consequence of the introduction of electronic prescription forms. References in the principal Regulations to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 have been replaced by references to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

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 “commits 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