UK Offence Report

Interference with operation of low emission zone scheme

regulation 12(1) of The Low Emission Zones (Emission Standards, Exemptions and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2021

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 commits an offence if, with intent to avoid payment of, or with intent to avoid being identified as having failed to pay, a penalty charge payable under section 6(2) of the 2019 Act, the person— a interferes with any approved device used for or in connection with a low emission zone scheme, b interferes with any traffic sign or direction used for or in connection with a low emission zone scheme, c causes or permits the registration plate of a motor vehicle to be obscured, d makes or uses any false document, or e makes a false representation in response to a penalty charge notice served in accordance with regulation 6.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: with intent to.

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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Low Emission Zones (Emission Standards, Exemptions and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

in Scotland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (CP(S)A 1995 s.225(2)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

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
24 March 2021
In force from
31 May 2021
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 the operation of low emission zone schemes. In Part 2— a regulation 2 and schedules 1 to 3 set out the emission standards with which vehicles must comply in order for those vehicles to be driven within a low emission zone, and b regulation 3 sets out the vehicles which are permanently exempt from the requirement to comply with those standards within a low emission zone. Regulations 4 to 12 in Part 3 make provision for penalty charges imposed as a consequence of a contravention of section 6(1) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, and for the enforcement of a low emission zone scheme by the local authority, or authorities, operating the scheme. Regulation 4 and schedule 4 specify— a the penalty charges, including certain surcharges, for non-compliance with the emission standards set by these Regulations where an exemption does not apply, b the discount for early payment of a penalty charge. Regulation 5 establishes the circumstances under which a person other than the registered keeper of a vehicle is to be held liable for a penalty charge. Regulation 6 provides for penalty charge notices to be served by local authorities. Regulation 6(2) establishes that a penalty charge notice must be served before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the detection date. Regulation 6(5) sets out the required content of a penalty charge notice. Regulation 7 allows a local authority to serve a charge certificate, with the effect of increasing the charge in question by 50 per cent, on a person who has failed to pay a penalty charge within the timeframe specified at regulation 7(2). Regulation 8 sets out the manner in which representations may be made against a penalty charge notice served under regulation 6, and the grounds on which such representations can be made. Regulation 9 specifies the procedure and consideration that a local authority must afford to any representations received under regulation 8. Regulation 9(1) requires a local authority to provide notice of its decision in response to representations, addressing each ground on which the representations are made and stating whether it is accepted or refused by the local authority. Regulation 9(2) allows a local authority to cancel a penalty charge notice upon acceptance of a representation made under regulation 8(4). Regulation 9(3) and (4) provide that where a local authority does not accept any representations made under regulation 8 it must serve a notice of rejection which contains information as to how an appeal against that rejection may be made. Under regulation 9(5) the local authority can serve a fresh penalty charge notice in relation to the alleged contravention that was the subject of the cancelled penalty charge notice. An appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against the imposition of a penalty charge may be made under regulation 10. A local authority may appoint an agent to undertake enforcement measures on its behalf under regulation 11. Offences associated with the interference with the operation of a low emission zone scheme are created under regulation 12. A person guilty of an offence under regulation 12(1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (“BRIA”) has been prepared in relation to these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. A copy of the BRIA can be obtained from Transport Scotland, Buchanan House, 58 Port Dundas Rd, Glasgow G4 0HF or online at www.legislation.gov.uk.

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