UK Offence Report

Records of decisions

regulation 30(6) of The Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals (Amendment) Regulations 1993

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

6 If without reasonable excuse

a person having custody of the records intentionally obstructs

a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

6 If without reasonable excuse a person having custody of the records intentionally obstructs a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 30(6)?

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 (Amendment) Regulations 1993.
  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
£200
Standard scale
Level 1
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
18 February 1993
In force from
12 March 1993
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 amend the Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989. The main change in consequence of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the Act”) is the addition of Part V (Council Tax Appeals) which prescribes the procedures for dealing with appeals under section 16 of the Act (appeals: general), appeals against penalties under paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 3 to the Act and appeals against completion notices under paragraph 4 of Schedule 4A to the Local Government Finance Act 1988 as it applies for council tax purposes. In the new Part V, regulation 35 makes provision for the areas in respect of which tribunals are to have jurisdiction. Procedure prior to the hearing of an appeal is dealt with in regulations 36 to 39. Regulation 40 sets out the circumstances in which an appeal may be disposed of by written representations. Regulation 41 deals with notice of a hearing, regulation 42 with disqualification from participating in the determination of an appeal, and regulations 43 to 46 with procedure and evidence. Regulations 47 to 49 cover decisions and orders made by the tribunal and their review. Provision regarding tribunals' records of their decisions and orders is made in regulation 50 which introduces the new Schedule 4. Regulation 51 deals with appeal to the High Court on questions of law, and regulation 52 with disposal of appeals by reference to arbitration. Other amendments consequential upon the Act and upon the addition of the new Part are made to Parts I (General), II (Establishment of Tribunals) and III (Administration). The main changes are that “billing authority” replaces “charging authority”, “valuation tribunal” replaces “valuation and community charge tribunal” and, subject to savings (set out in regulation 24), the amount of members' allowances is to be determined by the Secretary of State rather than prescribed in regulations. Amendments to Part IV (Community Charge Appeals) are largely consequential upon the addition of Part V or make minor changes to procedure for consistency with Part V. New provisions are substituted for regulation 28 (decisions), regulation 30 (records), and regulation 31 (review of decisions etc.). Decisions given orally are now to be confirmed by notice in writing accompanied by a statement of reasons. Records are now to be open to public inspection. The procedure for review of decisions and orders is adapted in regulation 31 to coordinate with that for appeal to the High Court. Regulations 6, 7, 8(b) and so much of regulation 3 as relates to those regulations come into force on 1 April 1993.

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