UK Offence Report

Disability of members of the Authority for voting on account of interests in contracts, etc.

article 5(2) of The Police Act 1997 (Provisions in relation to the NCIS Service Authority) (No. 2) Order 1997

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

2 If any person fails to comply with the provisions of paragraph (1) above he shall for each offence be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

4 on the standard scale unless he proves that he did not know that the contract, proposed contract or other matter in which he has

a pecuniary interest was the subject of consideration at the meeting.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (know that).

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: know that.

The defence, as drafted

ction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale unless he proves that he did not know that the contract, proposed contract or other matter in which he has a pecuniary interest was the subject of consideration at the meeting.

What would breach article 5(2)?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Police Act 1997 (Provisions in relation to the NCIS Service Authority) (No. 2) Order 1997, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
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
3 October 1997
In force from
31 October 1997
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order makes provision in relation to the NCIS Service Authority. Article 3 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972 (“the 1972 Act”). Article 4 amends a provision in an earlier order. Articles 5 to 9 make provision about matters of the kind dealt with in sections 94 to 98 of the 1972 Act. Article 10 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 105 of the 1972 Act. Article 11 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in paragraph 4(5) of Schedule 12 to the 1972 Act. Articles 12 and 13 make provision about matters of the kind dealt with in sections 19 and 20 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”). Article 14 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 7 of the 1989 Act. Article 15 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 157 of the 1989 Act. Article 16 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 120 of the 1972 Act. Article 17 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 135 of the 1972 Act. Article 18 makes provision about matters of the kind dealt with in section 234 of the 1972 Act.

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