UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 12(1) of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Directions by Local Authorities) (Scotland) Regulations 2020

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 person who contravenes

a direction under regulation 5(1), 6(1) or 7(1) commits 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 12(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. On these words an offence is committed where a person contravenes a direction under regulation 5(1), 6(1) or 7(1).
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Directions by Local Authorities) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ 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
27 August 2020
In force from
28 August 2020
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 make provision for a local authority to give directions relating to specified premises, events and public outdoor places in its area. A direction may only be given if the local authority considers that the necessity and proportionality conditions set out in regulation 3(1) are met. Before making a direction under these Regulations, a local authority must have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers under regulation 2(1), as it is amended from time to time. The local authority must also have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers under regulation 4A of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. In accordance with regulation 3, the local authority must review the direction at least once every 7 days and it must be revoked or revoked and replaced when it is determined on review that the requirements of necessity and proportionality are no longer met. The local authority must publicise the making of a direction given under these Regulations in accordance with regulation 9 and inform any neighbouring local authority that such a direction has been made, in accordance with regulation 10. Regulation 11 provides that a direction made under these Regulations may be enforced by an officer designated by a local authority or a constable. Regulation 12 makes provision for offences and penalties under these Regulations. Regulation 13 provides that a fixed penalty may be issued by a constable to any person they reasonably believe has committed an offence under these Regulations who is aged 18 or over. The effect of regulation 13(6) is that Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued to a person under regulation 8 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Aberdeen City) Regulations 2020 and regulation 9 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 will be taken into account in determining the penalty payable where a FPN is issued under these Regulations. Regulation 14 makes a parallel amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 in order that FPNs issued under these Regulations will be taken into account in determining the penalty payable in relation to a FPN issued under them. Regulation 15 provides that these Regulations expire on 31 January 2021. They must be reviewed at least every 42 days, with the first review being carried out by 9 October 2020. A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared for these Regulations.

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 0.92.

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