UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Quarries (Explosives) Regulations 1988

the instrument as a whole of The Quarries (Explosives) Regulations 1988

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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Quarries (Explosives) Regulations 1988, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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 November 1988
In force from
1 January 1990
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 apply to the keeping, handling and use of explosives (including detonators) at quarries (regulation 3), subject to the exceptions specified in that regulation. The Regulations— a impose duties on the owners of quarries at which explosives and detonators are used with respect to the appointment of quarry managers and the provision of facilities and equipment relating to the carrying out of safe shotfiring operations (regulation 4); b impose duties on quarry managers with respect to the keeping, handling and use of explosives and detonators and the carrying out of shotfiring operations (regulation 5); c impose restrictions on persons who may handle explosives and detonators (regulation 6); d impose requirements on quarry managers with respect to the appointment of shotfirers and trainee shotfirers and impose restrictions on who may fire shots (regulation 7); e impose duties on shotfirers with respect to the firing of shots (regulation 8); f impose duties on quarry managers and shotfirers with respect to the use of exploders (regulation 9); g impose duties on quarry managers and shotfirers in the event of misfires (regulation 10); h impose restrictions in connection with the charging, firing and priming of shots (regulation 11); i specify prohibited activities near explosives and detonators (regulation 12). The Regulations provide for the issue of certificates of exemption by the Health and Safety Executive (regulation 13) and modify sections 102(2) and 103(2) of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 so that persons treated as quarry managers for the purposes of that Act and regulations made thereunder are treated as quarry managers for the purposes of these Regulations (regulation 14). The Regulations also disapply section 157 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 (defence in certain legal proceedings) in relation to any legal proceedings or prosecution arising out of these Regulations (regulation 15). The Regulations revoke Regulation 11 of the Quarries (General) Regulations 1956, the Quarries (Explosives) Regulations 1959 and the Tregargus Quarry (Explosives) Special Regulations 1960 and provide that any reference to the Mines and Quarries Act 1954, the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969 or the Mines (Management) Act 1971 in any of those Acts, in regulations made under any of those Acts, or in health and safety regulations, shall be treated as including a reference to these Regulations (regulation 16).

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 0.70.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.70 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