UK Offence Report

1 A water authority, which applies or introduces any substance or product in contravention of regulation…

regulation 27(1) of The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990

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 water authority, which applies or introduces any substance or product in contravention of regulation 25(1) or a notice given under regulation 25(4), or uses any process in contravention of a prohibition imposed under regulation 26(1) or without complying with a condition imposed by virtue of regulation 26(2), shall be guilty of an offence and liable— a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; b on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
an water authority
Conduct
breaching a condition of a licence, permit or consent
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 an water authority 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 27(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. Holding a valid licence but doing the thing it allows outside the hours, place or limits its conditions set under the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990.
  2. Failing to do something a condition positively requires - a record, a notification, a monitoring step - even though the licensed activity itself is carried on properly.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£2,000
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
23 January 1990
In force from
1 May 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 supplement Part VIA (Quality of Water) of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 (“the 1980 Act”). They are primarily concerned with the quality of water supplied in Scotland for drinking, washing and cooking and with arrangements for the publication of information about water quality. The Regulations come into force on 1st May 1990, except regulations 13, 17, 18, 19 and 30 which come into force on 1st July 1990. Effect is given in Part II of the Regulations to Article 7 of Council Directive 80/778/EEC(OJ No. L229, 30.8.80, p.11) which relates to the quality of water intended for human consump tion. Part IV of the Regulations gives effect to paragraphs 1 to 4 of Article 12 (monitoring of the quality of water intended for human consumption) of that Directive. In Part IV of the Regulations, regulation 23 gives effect, in part, to Article 2 of Council Directive 75/440/EEC (quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water) and to paragraph 3 of Article 4 of that Directive. Part I of the Regulations defines terms that are used in the Regulations. Part II prescribes standards of wholesomeness in respect of water that is supplied by water authorities (the regional and island councils) and private suppliers for drinking, washing or cooking. In particular, it provides that water is to be regarded as wholesome if it contains concentrations or values in respect of various properties, elements, organisms and substances which do not contravene prescribed maximum and, in some cases, minimum concentrations or values. Some of the prescribed maximum and minimum concentrations and values are specified in regulation 3 but most are listed in Tables A to E which appear in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. They include the maximum admissible and minimum required concentra tions and values specified in Annex I to Council Directive 80/778/EEC. Part III enables the Secretary of State or, in the case of private water supplies, the Secretary of State or the appropriate local authority if so authorised, to relax the requirements of Part II subject to conditions, if appropriate. The circumstances in which such relaxation is permissable are consistent with those specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 9 and paragraph 1 of Article 10 of Council Directive 80/778/EEC. Part IV provides for the monitoring of water supplies by reference to analysis of samples taken from consumers' taps. Regulation 11 requires water authorities to identify, in relation to areas which they are required to determine as “water supply zones”, such number and location of consumers' taps as will ensure that the samples taken are representative of the quality of the water within the zone. In the circumstances specified in regulation 12 the Secretary of State may authorise the taking of samples from points other than consumers' taps. Regulation 13 requires water authorities to take a minimum number of samples (“the standard number”) each year in respect of a variety of properties, elements, organisms and substances. The standard numbers are specified in Tables 1 to 6 in Schedule 2 to the Regulations and are not less than those specified in Annex II to Council Directive 80/778/EEC. Regulation 13 also requires samples to be taken where changes in the authorities' practices may have had an effect on the quality of the water within the water supply zones. Part V contains additional provisions relating to sampling. Regulations 17 and 18 require samples to be taken in respect of particular organisms and substances at treatment works and at reservoirs which store treated water. Regulation 19 requires additional samples to be taken in certain circumstances. Regulation 20 requires samples to be taken before water is supplied from new sources and from sources which have not recently been used. Regulation 21 prescribes requirements relating to the taking, handling, storage, transport and analysis of samples. Part VI deals with the treatment of water and regulates the substances, processes and products which may be used by water authorities in connection with the supply of water. Regulation 23 imposes requirements relating to the disinfection of water and imposes addi tional requirements for the treatment of surface water. It prohibits the abstraction for the supply of drinking water of waters below category A3, as required by Council Directive 75/440/EEC. Regulation 24 makes provision for securing the elimination or reduction to a minimum of the risk that water will be contaminated after supply by excessive concentrations of copper, lead or zinc. Regulation 25 specifies the circumstances in which water authorities may apply or introduce substances or products into water supplied for drinking, washing or cooking. Regulation 26 enables the Secretary of State to require that his approval be obtained to the use of processes. Contravention of some of the requirements of regulations 25 and 26 is made a criminal offence by regulation 27. Part VII deals with the publication and provision of information by water authorities. Regulation 28 requires the authorities to prepare and maintain records containing information about the quality of water supplied in their water supply zones. Regulation 29 requires each water authority to make these records available for public inspection and to supply local authorities (district and islands councils) with information about the quality of water within its water supply zones, the extent to which Part II of the Regulations has been complied with, details of any relaxations granted under Part III of the Regulations and of the action which has been taken to comply with undertakings given pursuant to section 76E(4)(b) of the 1980 Act. It also requires each water authority to provide local authorities and health boards with information relating to matters that could affect the health of persons residing in their areas. Regulation 30 requires water authorities to publish an annual report containing information about the quality of water in the area for which it is responsible. Part VIII imposes requirements on local authorities in the performance of their duties in relation to the quality of water supplied by water authorities. Regulation 32 provides for the making of arrangements between the local authorities and the water authorities about the provision of information. It also enables local authorities to take such samples of water as they may reasonably require.

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 is “guilty of 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