UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Fireworks Regulations 2004

the instrument as a whole of The Fireworks Regulations 2004

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

12 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987. 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 Fireworks Regulations 2004.

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 12 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

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
14 July 2004
In force from
7 August 2004
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 make certain provisions in relation to fireworks in order to minimise the risk that fireworks will be used with harmful consequences for people, animals or property. The Regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland and regulation 7 of the Regulations does not extend to Scotland. The Regulations replace provisions in the Fireworks Regulations 2003, which are revoked. Regulation 4 prohibits persons under eighteen from possessing an adult firework (which is defined in regulation 3) in a public place. Regulation 5 prohibits persons of any age from possessing (in a public place or elsewhere) a category 4 firework. A category 4 firework is defined in regulation 3 by reference to the categorisation of fireworks in British Standard 7114. Both the regulation 4 and regulation 5 prohibitions are subject to the exceptions listed in regulation 6(1). The regulation 5 prohibition is additionally subject to the exception in regulation 6(2). Regulation 7 prohibits persons from using adult fireworks during night hours (namely between 11 pm and 7 am) but exceptions allow such use until 1 am on the nights of the Chinese New Year, Diwali and New Year’s Eve and until midnight on 5th November. There is also an exception in the case of local authority employees for the purposes of local authority fireworks displays, national public celebrations or national commemorative events. Regulation 8 prohibits the supply, purchase or possession of category 3 fireworks whose noise levels exceed 120 decibels and includes provision for measuring these noise levels. Regulation 9 requires suppliers of adult fireworks to hold a licence, except at certain times of year. Licences are granted by the appropriate local authority, which must refuse a licence unless the applicant complies with relevant statutory requirements concerning the keeping of fireworks and may refuse a licence (or revoke a licence previously granted) if the applicant has committed any of the fireworks related offences listed in paragraph (5) of that regulation. Regulation 10 requires suppliers of adult fireworks to inform the persons to whom such fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply that it is a criminal offence to supply adult fireworks to those under eighteen and for those under eighteen to possess such fireworks. (Supply of adult fireworks to those under eighteen is an offence under regulation 6 of the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 and possession of an adult firework by a person under eighteen is an offence under regulation 4 of these Regulations.) Regulation 10 also requires fireworks suppliers to provide, on request, a local licensing authority with information about fireworks in circumstances where the total net explosive content of fireworks supplied in a single transaction exceeds 50 kilograms. Regulation 11 requires importers of fireworks to give information about themselves, the storage and onward supply of such fireworks to the Customs and Excise Commissioners. By virtue of section 11 of the Fireworks Act 2003, a contravention of regulations 4, 5 or 7 to 11 is a criminal offence. Although section 12 of the Fireworks Act 2003 and section 27(1) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 provide that it is the duty of local weights and measures authorities to enforce these Regulations, this duty is transferred in relation to some aspects of these Regulations to other enforcers under regulation 12. The enforcement of regulations 4 and 5 (and, in England and Wales only, of regulation 7) is transferred to the relevant police forces. The enforcement of regulation 11 is transferred to the Customs and Excise Commissioners. The enforcement of regulations 8, 9 and 10 remains the responsibility of the local weights and measures authorities. Copies of the British Standards 7114, 61672 and the British Standards referred to therein are available from any of the sales outlets operated by the British Standards Institution, by post from BSI at 389, Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL or from any of the bookshops operated by the Stationery Office Limited. A Regulatory Impact Assessment is available, copies of which have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Copies are available from the Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry, Room 427, 1, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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 0.55.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.55 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