UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996

the instrument as a whole of The Pipelines Safety 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

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996.

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
18 March 1996
In force from
11 April 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 contain requirements relating to pipelines, for purposes of health and safety. Save as indicated below, or in the case of regulation 19(2), the requirements in these Regulations are imposed on the “operator”, defined in regulation 2(1), which also contains other definitions. Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 define “pipeline” for the purposes of the Regulations. Regulation 4 provides for the application of the Regulations. In particular, paragraph (1) has the effect that they apply in Great Britain, and to pipelines and certain activities in territorial waters adjacent to Great Britain or in the United Kingdom sector of the continental shelf. The Regulations require— that a pipeline be designed to withstand the expected strains and processes (regulation 5); the provision of safety systems necessary for health and safety (regulation 6); that a pipeline be so designed that it may be examined and maintained with safety (regulation 7); that a pipeline be constructed of suitable materials (regulation 8); that a pipeline be so constructed and installed that it is sound and fit for its purpose (regulation 9); that work on a pipeline is carried out in such a way that its integrity will not be prejudiced (regulation 10); that the safe operating limits of a pipeline be established and not exceeded, save for testing (regulation 11); that adequate arrangements be made for dealing with incidents and emergencies involving a pipeline (regulation 12); that a pipeline be maintained in good repair (regulation 13); that a disused pipeline be left in a safe condition; and that work for that purpose be performed safely (regulation 14); that no person cause such damage to a pipeline as may give rise to danger (regulation 15); that reasonable steps be taken to draw attention to the presence of a pipeline (regulation 16);and that operators of different parts of a pipeline co-operate with each other so far as necessary to enable them to comply with these Regulations (regulation 17). In relation to a “major accident hazard pipeline” (defined by regulation 18 by reference to its conveying a dangerous fluid, a fluid described in Schedule 2), the Regulations contain requirements— for an emergency shut-down valve, where it is connected to an offshore oil or gas installation (regulation 19 and Schedule 3); for specified information to be notified to the Health and Safety Executive in specified circumstances (regulations 20 to 22 and Schedules 4 and 5); to prepare, and follow arrangements and procedures described in, a document containing specified information (regulation 23); to establish procedures to be followed in an emergency (regulation 24); and for a local authority to prepare a plan to cope with an emergency from such pipeline in its area, and containing other provision, including provision for a local authority to charge reasonable fees for preparing, reviewing and revising the plan (regulations 25 and 26). The Regulations also— contain transitional provision (regulation 27); provide a defence for their contravention (regulation 28); provide for the issue of certificates of exemption by the Health and Safety Executive (regulation 29); and repeal certain provisions of the Pipe-Lines Act 1962, and revoke or modify certain instruments (regulations 30 and 31 and Schedule 6). A copy of the compliance cost assessment prepared in respect of these Regulations can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, Safety Policy Division Branch E, Room 224, Magdalen House, Trinity Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3QZ. A copy has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.

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