UK Offence Report

Records of decisions etc.

regulation 30(4) of The Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989

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

4 If without reasonable excuse

a person having custody of relevant records intentionally obstructs

a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (3) he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

1 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 (intentionally).

“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: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

4 If without reasonable excuse a person having custody of relevant records intentionally obstructs a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (3) he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 30(4)?

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£50
Standard scale
Level 1
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 1 value when the instrument came into force (1989-04-07); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean £200.

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 March 1989
In force from
7 April 1989
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 establish valuation and community charge tribunals and provide for the determination of appeals under section 23 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 in connection with the system of community charges payable from 1st April 1990. Parts II and III make provision for the establishment of the tribunals on 1st May 1989. Regulation 3 establishes tribunals for each of the areas set out in Schedule 1. Regulation 4 provides for the determination of the number of members of each tribunal and their appointment. Regulations 5 and 6 regulate the appointment of members and the duration of their appointments. Regulations 7 and 8 deal with the appointment of the tribunal’s president and its chairmen. Regulation 9 provides for the circumstances in which a person is to be disqualified from membership of a tribunal. Regulation 10 introduces Schedule 2, which sets out the allowances payable to members. Matters relating to the staff, administration and accommodation and equipment for tribunals are dealt with in regulations 11 to 14. Part IV provides for the procedure for dealing with appeals in relation to community charges. Regulation 16 makes provision for the areas in respect of which tribunals are to have jurisdiction under section 23 of the 1988 Act. Procedure prior to the hearing of an appeal is dealt with in regulations 17 to 20. Regulation 21 sets out the circumstances in which an appeal may be disposed of by written representations. Regulation 22 deals with notice of a hearing, regulation 23 with disqualification from participating in the determination of an appeal, and regulations 24 to 27 with procedure and evidence. Regulations 28 to 30 deal with decisions and orders made by the tribunal and their recording. Regulation 31 enables a tribunal to review a decision, regulation 32 deals with appeals to the High Court on a question of law, and regulation 33 with the disposal of appeals by reference to arbitration.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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