UK Offence Report

Inspections

regulation 4 of The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011

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

Offences 18

1 It is an offence for

a person—

a wilfully to obstruct an inspector in the exercise of the powers or duties conferred on the inspector by these Regulations;

b without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with

a requirement imposed under Schedule

3 or to prevent another person from complying with such

a requirement; or

c to make

a statement—

i which that person knows to be false or misleading in

a material particular; or

ii recklessly and which is false or misleading in

a material particular, where that statement is made in purported compliance with any requirement imposed under Schedule

3 for the supply of information to an inspector.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: wilfully, recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

r duties conferred on the inspector by these Regulations; b without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with a requirement imposed under Schedule 3 or to prevent another person from complying with such a requirement; or c to make a statement— i which that person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular; or ii recklessly and whi

What would breach regulation 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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£10,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
22 December 2011
In force from
Not determined
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 Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”) and form part of the implementation of Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide (OJNo L 140, 5.6.2009, p.114.) (“the Directive”). In particular, they implement Article 15 of the Directive, which deals with the inspection of carbon dioxide storage complexes. Regulation 4 inserts new regulations 14 to 18 into the 2011 Regulations. Regulation 14 provides for routine inspections of carbon dioxide storage complexes and for additional inspections. Regulation 15 and Schedule 3 deal with the powers and duties of inspectors appointed under the Energy Act 2008. Regulation 16 imposes a duty on Scottish Ministers, as the licensing authority, to prepare inspection reports. Regulation 17 deals with admissibility of evidence. Regulation18 creates offences concerning the obstruction of inspectors, failure to comply with the requirements of an inspector and the provision of false information in connection with an investigation. Regulation 6 inserts the new Schedule 3 which is referred to in the new regulation 15. Regulation 5 amends Schedule 2 to the 2011 Regulations, which sets out the provisions to be included in a storage permit. It is amended to add to the list of obligations for which financial security must be provided, the operator’s obligation to make financial contribution to Scottish Ministers for costs incurred by them after a site is closed. A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the costs of business or the voluntary sector is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same 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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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