UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Escape and Rescue from Mines Regulations 1995

the instrument as a whole of The Escape and Rescue from Mines Regulations 1995

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Escape and Rescue from Mines Regulations 1995.

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
31 October 1995
In force from
28 December 1995
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 impose requirements with respect to the escape and rescue from mines. The Regulations also give effect (to the extent specified below) to Council Directive 92/104/EEC concerning the minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers in surface and underground mineral-extracting industries. The Regulations implement the Directive with respect to– safety drills (Article 3.1.(f) and Point 11, Part A of the Annex); escape and rescue facilities (Article 5); communication, warning and alarm systems (Article 6); means of evacuation and escape (Point 10, Part A of the Annex); precautions for withdrawal of workers (Point 12, Part C of the Annex); rescue organisation (Point 15, Part C of the Annex). Pursuant to Regulation 3 these Regulations apply to all mines, except for specified regulations which do not apply to tourist mines and Part IV (which makes provision for rescue teams and the conduct of rescue operations) which applies only to coal mines, any other mine containing zones below ground in which firedamp occurs in sufficient quantity to indicate danger and any other mine where the atmosphere below ground is such as to require the use of breathing apparatus. Regulation 4 provides that the manager of every mine shall prepare, maintain and review a written emergency plan for the evacuation and rescue of persons from the mine in an emergency situation. The manager is required to ensure that the appropriate action set out in the plan is taken in such a situation. Regulation 5 contains requirements in relation to the provision of accommodation at a mine for those persons involved in rescue operations. Regulation 6 contains requirements for emergency equipment to be available for use at all times, maintained in good condition and stored in an easily accessible place. Regulation 7 requires the owner of every mine to keep readily available plans of the mine suitable for use in an emergency situation. Regulation 8 requires the owner of every mine to establish and maintain warning and communication systems for escape and rescue operations and requires the manager to ensure that they are put into use in an emergency situation. Regulation 9 contains requirements in relation to authorised access below ground in an emergency situation. Regulation 10 contains requirements with regard to the provision and maintenance of self-rescuers (as defined in regulation 2(1) ). Regulation 11 requires the manager of every mine to ensure that all persons who work at the mine are trained in, and all other persons who go below ground at the mine receive information on, the appropriate action to be taken and the use of equipment to be used in an emergency situation. Regulation 12 provides that no mine shall be worked unless the owner has made effective arrangements suitable for the rescue of persons from the mine and for the carrying out of work necessary to secure the health and safety of persons below ground in an emergency situation. The Regulation contains further requirements with regard to those mines to which Part IV applies. In particular it requires owners to make effective arrangements to ensure that in certain circumstances there are two rescue teams available who can reach the mine within sixty minutes and with regard to coal mines that there is a twenty-four hour rescue service available following an emergency situation below ground. Regulation 13 provides that no coal mine shall be worked unless the owner is a participant in a mine rescue scheme approved by the Secretary of State. Regulation 14 places requirements on the owner and manager of a coal mine with regard to the inspection of emergency accommodation and equipment by any person designated under the relevant mine rescue scheme. It requires the manager to ensure that action is taken to remedy any defects found. Regulations 15 and 16 contain requirements as to the number of persons to serve in a rescue team and the qualification and experience required in order to serve on a rescue team. Regulation 17 provides that only competent and suitably experienced persons may train rescue team members for rescue operations involving the use of breathing apparatus. Regulation 18 contains requirements as to the medical examination of rescue team members who are to use breathing apparatus in rescue operations. Regulation 19 requires each team rescue member to report to the appropriate person if aware of any reason why he may not be fit to undertake rescue work. Regulation 20 contains requirements as to the records to be kept of medical examinations and training of rescue team members. Regulation 21 provides for a rescue operation to be under the immediate control of the rescue team captain. Regulation 22 requires the manager to ensure that where reasonably foreseeable that breathing apparatus could be required in any operation, it is undertaken under the direction of a rescue officer. Regulation 23 provides that every rescue officer or other person in charge of operations which involve rescue team members wearing breathing apparatus shall work to secure the safety of rescue team members. Regulation 24 contains a requirement as to consultation with the rescue officer. Regulation 25 concerns the qualification and experience of rescue officers. Regulation 26 contains requirements in relation to training for the use of breathing apparatus and the maintenance and testing of that apparatus. Regulation 27 and the Schedule contain requirements in relation to the audible signals to be used in rescue work and training for rescue work. Regulation 28 enables the Health and Safety Executive to make exemptions from the prohibitions and requirements of these Regulations. Regulation 29 provides that section 157 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 (which provides a defence to legal proceedings in certain circumstances) shall not apply to any prosecution or other proceedings based on an alleged contravention of these Regulations. Regulation 30 provides a defence of having taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence in certain proceedings arising out of Regulation 12.

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 0.70.

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