UK Offence Report

Obstruction etc. of officers of enforcement authorities etc.

paragraph 11 of SCHEDULE 13 of The Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001

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

11 Any person who—

a intentionally obstructs any officer of an enforcement authority who is acting in pursuance of any provision of this Schedule;

b intentionally fails or refuses to comply with any requirement made of him by any officer of an enforcement authority under any provision of this Schedule;

c without reasonable cause fails or refuses to give any officer of an enforcement authority who is so acting any other assistance which the officer may reasonably require of him for the purposes of the exercise of the officer’s functions under any provision of this Schedule, shall be guilty of 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

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

What would breach paragraph 11 of SCHEDULE 13?

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 Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001.
  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

The Ministry of Justice records offences under this instrument against offence code 16833 — 16833 - Offences under Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors Regulations 2001. That code may cover several provisions of the instrument, so a count against it is not a count of prosecutions under this provision alone.

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have their own code in the MoJ’s Outcomes by Offence data tool. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
3 May 2001
In force from
4 June 2001
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 implement the European Parliament and the Council Directive 2000/14/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors (“the Directive”). They come into force on 3rd July 2001 except regulations 1, 2 and 14 which will come into force on 4th June 2001. For the purposes of the Regulations, relevant definitions are contained in regulation 2. The Construction Plant and Equipment (Harmonization of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1985 (S.I. 1985 No. 1968), the Construction Plant and Equipment (Harmonisation of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988 No. 361), the S.I. 1992 No. 168Lawnmowers (Harmonization of Noise Emission Standards) Regulations 1992 () and the Construction Plant and Equipment (Noise Emission) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (S.R. 1987 No. 328) are revoked with effect from 3rd January 2002. The Regulations apply to the equipment for use outdoors listed in Schedules 1 and 2, and as defined in detail in Schedule 4 (which replicates the text of Annex I of the Directive) (regulation 3). The Regulations do not apply to the equipment listed in regulation 4 nor to equipment placed on the market before 3rd July 2001 (regulation 5). Regulation 9 provides for exceptions for equipment which will be put into service outside the Community and for equipment exhibited at trade fairs and exhibitions. Regulation 6 sets out the transitional arrangements whereby equipment placed on the market or put into service on or before 2nd January 2002 are excluded from the scope of the Regulations provided that they comply with any noise legislation relating to the placing on the market in the UK of that equipment which is in force on 2nd July 2001. Regulation 7 sets out the general requirements relating to the placing on the market or putting into service of any equipment listed in Schedules 1 and 2 and further defined in Schedule 4 by a “responsible person” (as defined). The equipment must satisfy the relevant requirements concerning the noise emission in the environment measured in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 6 (regulation 8), the appropriate conformity assessment procedure (as set out in Schedules 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) must be carried out (regulation 10), the CE marking and the indication of the guaranteed sound power level must be affixed (regulation 11 and Schedule 7), and an EC declaration of conformity (Schedule 5) must be drawn up and accompany the equipment. There is a requirement that the guaranteed sound power level of equipment listed in Schedule 1 must not exceed the permissible sound power level as set out in the table in Schedule 3, and the guaranteed sound power level shall be marked on equipment listed in Schedule 2 (regulation 8). A copy of the declaration of conformity must be sent to the DTI and the European Commission (regulation 12). Regulation 13 describes a body which can be a notified body for the purpose of these Regulations and regulation 14 provides for the Secretary of State to appoint notified bodies. Regulation 15 provides for notified bodies to charge fees for carrying out their duties under the Regulations. Regulation 16 sets out the conditions for equipment to be taken to comply with the provisions of the Regulations. Regulation 17 and Schedule 13 provides for enforcement of the Regulations by the Vehicle Certification Agency and also includes a requirement that a warning must be given and the opportunity given to the responsible person to remedy non-conformity before enforcement action is taken. Regulation 18 provides that a contravention of or failure to comply with regulations 7(1), 7(4) or 12 will be an offence and the penalties attracted by those offences and the offences created by paragraphs 9, 10, 11(1) and (2) of Schedule 13 are set out in regulation 19. A defence of due diligence is provided for in regulation 20 and the liability of persons other than the principal offender is set out in regulation 21. Regulation 22 provides for consequential amendments to other Regulations. Copies of the standards referred to in regulation 2(2) can be obtained from any of the sales outlets operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI) or by post form the BSI 389 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 4AL and any Stationery Office bookshop. A Regulatory Impact Assessment in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry, Standards and Technical Regulations Directorate 4, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SS. A copy has also been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

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 is “guilty of 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