UK Offence Report

Inspection of parking places and production of records

article 8 of The Control of Off-Street Parking (England and Wales) (Metropolitan Districts) Order 1986

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

8 It shall be

a condition of every licence—

a that any person authorised in that behalf in writing by the district council may, subject to production if requested of his authority, at all reasonable hours enter upon and inspect the licensed parking place; and

b that the holder of the licence shall, on being given reasonable notice for the purpose by any such person, produce to that person and permit him to examine and make copies of, or take extracts from, any records required by virtue of article 7(c)(v) of this Order to be kept in connection with the operation of that parking place; but if any such person discloses to any other person otherwise than in the performance of his duty any information with regard to the operation of that parking place or to any trade secret obtained by him at that parking place or from any such examination, or if any member or officer of the council to whom any such information is disclosed by reason of his official position discloses that information to any other person otherwise than in the performance of his duty, that person or, as the case may be, that member or officer shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding £100.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 holder
Conduct
breaching the provision
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 holder 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 article 8?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Control of Off-Street Parking (England and Wales) (Metropolitan Districts) Order 1986.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£100
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
12 February 1986
In force from
1 April 1986
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.

This Order applies, with appropriate modifications, the provisions of section 43 of, and Schedule 4 to, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c.27) to Metropolitan Districts. These provisions deal with the control of public off-street parking. Articles 3 and 4 of the Order enable metropolitan district councils in England and Wales by regulations to designate controlled areas in which under article 5 the provision of public off-street parking places will require a licence from the council. The procedure for such designation is set out in Part I of the Schedule. Articles 6 and 7 provide for permanent or limited licences and for the terms and conditions of licences. Inspection of parking places is provided for in article 8. District councils are required by article 9 to give reasons for their decisions. Article 10 and Part II of the Schedule deal with the transfer, surrender, variation and revocation of licences. Provision for appeals against decisions with respect to licences and for compensation in certain cases is made in articles 11 and 13 and in Parts III and IV of the Schedule. Contravention by the holder of a licence of its terms and conditions is an offence (article 12) as also is the operation of a public off-street parking place without a licence (article 14). District councils are required by article 15 to apply the principles of the control to their own public off-street parking places situated in a controlled area. Article 16 gives the Secretary of State power to suspend the control in an emergency. Part V of the Schedule provides for permissible periods of unlicensed operation of public off-street parking places in certain cases.

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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