UK Offence Report

2 It is an offence for a supplier to whom Part 3 applies— a to contravene, without reasonable excuse,…

regulation 12(2) of The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014

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

2 It is an offence for

a supplier to whom Part

3 applies—

a to contravene, without reasonable excuse, regulation 10;

b to knowingly or recklessly make

a false entry in

a record;

c to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with

a request under regulation 11;

d to knowingly or recklessly give false or misleading information to the enforcement authority; or

e to otherwise obstruct or fail to assist the enforcement authority in the exercise of its functions under these Regulations.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 supplier
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 (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

“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: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

nce for a supplier to whom Part 3 applies— a to contravene, without reasonable excuse, regulation 10; b to knowingly or recklessly make a false entry in a record; c to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a request under regulation 11; d to knowingly or recklessly give false or misleading information to the enforcement authority; or

What would breach regulation 12(2)?

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. On these words it is an offence to whom Part 3 applies— a to contravene, without reasonable excuse, regulation 10.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. 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
3 June 2014
In force from
20 October 2014
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 powers in sections 88, 89, 90 and 96(2) of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (asp 12), which enable the Scottish Ministers to require suppliers of goods to charge for the supply of carrier bags of any type. They provide for suppliers of goods as defined in regulation 4 to apply a minimum consideration of 5 pence for certain single use carrier bags supplied new for the purposes of taking goods away or of enabling goods to be delivered. Regulation 2 defines terms used in these Regulations, with the effect in particular that a “single use carrier bag” is a carrier bag fitting a description in regulation 3(2), (3), (4) or (5). Regulation 3 specifies the type of carrier bags which attract the minimum charge, with the effect that the requirement to charge the minimum consideration applies to certain types of single use carrier bag as follows:— regulation 3(2) has the effect that the requirement to charge applies to a bag made from paper or other types of natural material, other than a cloth bag, or a bag intended for multiple re-use (for which see the definition in regulation 3(6)); regulation 3(3) has the effect that the requirement to charge applies to a plastic bag which is no more than 49 micrometres thick; regulation 3(4) has the effect that the requirement to charge applies to a plastic bag that is no more than 404 millimetres wide, or no more than 404 millimetres high, or no more than 439 millimetres wide and 439 millimetres high; and regulation 3(5) has the effect that the requirement to charge applies to a plastic bag not intended for multiple re-use, so that the charge applies to such bags where they would not otherwise be subject to the charge under regulation 3(3) or (4). Regulation 3 also has the effect that the charge does not apply to a small paper bag or a small plastic bag as those terms are defined in regulation 3(7). Regulation 5 provides for these Regulations to be enforced by the local authority. Regulation 6 provides for the minimum charge to be applied to bags supplied new for taking goods away, or for delivery of goods. The charge does not therefore apply to used bags. Regulation 7 and the Schedule make provision for circumstances in which the requirement to charge does not apply. Regulation 8 has the effect that Part 3 of these Regulations, which makes provision in respect of the net proceeds raised by the charge and the keeping and producing of records, applies only to suppliers who have 10 or more full-time equivalent members of staff at the beginning of any reporting year. Regulation 9 provides for the supplier to ascertain the net proceeds raised by the charge by deducting the amounts specified in the regulation from the consideration paid for single use carrier bags in a reporting year as defined in regulation 2. Regulation 10 provides for a supplier to keep the specified records, and regulation 11 enables a local authority to request that certain records are produced to the authority. Regulation 12 provides for offences, and for penalties on conviction of an offence. Regulation 13 provides for the powers of an enforcement authority. A draft of these Regulations was notified to the European Commission in accordance with Article 8 of the Technical Standards Directive (Directive 98/34/EC). A Business Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from the Scottish Government Environmental Quality Division, Area 1-D North, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ, and online at www.legislation.gov.uk.

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