UK Offence Report

10 Where a health and safety inspector, under sections 20 and 21 of the 1974 Act, exercises his powers for…

regulation 11(10) of The Environmental Protection (Controls on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) Regulations 1996

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

10 Where a health and safety inspector, under sections 20 and 21 of the 1974 Act, exercises his powers for the purposes of enforcing Articles 5(1) to (4) and regulation 6, in so far as that regulation relates to Article 15(1) and (2), any person who— a fails to comply with an improvement notice served under section 21 of the 1974 Act including any such notice as modified on appeal, b without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement imposed under section 20 of the 1974 Act, c prevents any other person from appearing before or from answering any question to which a health and safety inspector, by virtue of section 20 of the 1974 Act, may require an answer, or d intentionally obstructs a health and safety inspector in the exercise or performance of his powers or duties under section 20 of the 1974 Act, commits an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

1974 Act including any such notice as modified on appeal, b without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement imposed under section 20 of the 1974 Act, c prevents any other person from appearing before or from answering any question to which a health and safety inspector, by virtue of section 20 of the 1974 Act, may require an ans

What would breach regulation 11(10)?

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 Environmental Protection (Controls on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) Regulations 1996.
  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
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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
1 March 1996
In force from
29 March 1996
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, which apply to Great Britain, and to Northern Ireland in so far as they relate to importation, make provision in relation to Council Regulation (EC) No. 3093/94 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. The Council Regulation provides for a system that controls— i the production, supply and use of, ii trade in, and iii emission of certain substances (“controlled substances”) that deplete the ozone layer. Member States are required to deal with a number of matters by means of their domestic legislation. With the exception of regulations 4, 8 and 14, these Regulations fulfil this requirement. In particular they— a designate the Secretary of State as the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation (regulation 3); b prohibit and restrict importation, landing and unloading of certain controlled substances (regulation 5); c require persons having control of the controlled substances mentioned in Articles 14 and 15 of the Council Regulation to comply with those provisions (regulation 6); d confer powers on customs officers to detain controlled substances or products imported, landed or unloaded in contravention of regulation 5, or equipment imported in contravention of the Council Regulation (regulation 7); e contain enforcement powers (regulations 9 and 10); and f set out offences and penalties in relation to non-compliance with the Council Regulation or the Regulations (regulations 11 to 13). Regulations 4 and 8 permit the Secretary of State to require controlled substances or products that have been unlawfully imported, landed or unloaded to be disposed of harmlessly or removed from the United Kingdom. Regulation 14 makes certain drafting amendments to the Environmental Protection (Non-Refillable Refrigerant Containers) Regulations 1994.

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits 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