UK Offence Report

Substitution of sections 43 and 44

article 39 of The Dentists Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 2005

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

39 For sections 43 and 44 substitute— Directors of bodies corporate 43 1 A body corporate commits an offence if it carries on the business of dentistry at a time when a majority of its directors are not persons who are either registered dentists or registered dental care professionals.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 body corporate
Conduct
failing to comply with a notice or direction
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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 body corporate 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.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 39?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a body corporate carries on the business of dentistry at a time when a majority of its directors are not persons who are either registered dentists or registered dental care professionals.
  2. Being served with a notice under the Dentists Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 2005 and doing nothing by the date it specifies.
  3. Doing part of what the notice requires, where it required all of it.
  4. Disagreeing with the notice and ignoring it, rather than using whatever appeal the instrument provides.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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
19 July 2005
In force from
Not determined
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 amends the Dentists Act 1984 (“the Act”). The Order is made under sections 60 and 62(4) of, and Schedule 3 to, the Health Act 1999. Under paragraph 9(1) and (3) of that Schedule, the Secretary of State and the Scottish Ministers published a draft of the Order and invited representations to be made on it. The report about the consultation is posted on the Department of Health’s website (www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/ResponsesToConsultations/fs/en). Article 3 provides for the main objective of the General Dental Council (“the Council”) in exercising its functions under the Act to be the promotion of high standards of education and professional conduct and practice. Article 4 establishes four new Committees of the Council: the Investigating Committee, the Professional Performance Committee, the Interim Orders Committee and the Registration Appeals Committee. The Preliminary Proceedings Committee, the Continuing Professional Development Committee and the Dental Auxiliaries Committee are all abolished. Article 5 makes provision regarding the Council’s duty to co-operate with other bodies, the preparation of annual reports and accounts, and the establishment of a consumer complaints procedure. Articles 6 to 13 make various changes to Part III of the Act concerning the dentists register, including provisions concerning publication of the register (article 10) and erasure from the register on grounds of fraud or error (article 12). Article 14 introduces Schedule 1 to the Order, which inserts Schedule 2A into the Act, providing for appeals against registration decisions in relation to the dentists register. Article 16 requires registered dentists and those seeking registration in the dentists register to have a valid policy of insurance which covers them against liabilities which may arise in connection with their work, and article 17 provides for the preparation and publication of guidance for dentists. Article 18 introduces new sections into the Act relating to— a allegations made against a registered dentist that his fitness to practise is impaired; b the duties and powers of the Investigating Committee in connection with an allegation referred for their consideration; c the duties and powers of the Professional Conduct Committee, the Professional Performance Committee and the Health Committee in connection with an allegation, including their powers to erase a person’s name from the dentists register, to suspend his registration or to direct that his registration should be subject to conditions; and d the restoration to the dentists register of a person whose name has been erased by the Professional Conduct Committee. Article 19 relates to appeals against decisions concerning a person’s fitness to practise as a dentist. Article 21 provides for orders for immediate suspension and immediate conditional registration, and article 23 provides for interim orders for suspension or conditional registration. Article 24 introduces Schedule 2 to the Order, which substitutes Schedule 3 to the Act, providing for the Council to make rules relating to the procedure to be followed and evidence to be observed before the Council’s Committees in connection with fitness to practise proceedings. Article 25 inserts supplementary provisions including provisions relating to the disclosure of documents relevant to fitness to practise investigations, and notifications by the Council of such investigations. Article 27 contains provisions relating to the training and development requirements of persons registered in the dentists register, the removal from the register of any person who fails to comply with those requirements and the training and development requirements which need to be met by a person who seeks the restoration of his name to the dentists register. Article 29 inserts a new Part 3A into the Act relating to professions complementary to dentistry. Part 3A includes provisions relating to— a the definition of a profession complementary to dentistry; b the establishment of a dental care professionals register; c qualifications for registration under a particular title in the dental care professionals register; d education and training for members of professions complementary to dentistry; e applications for registration in that register, and fees payable by applicants; f publication of that register; g appeals relating to registration decisions; h the requirement for dental care professionals to be covered by adequate and appropriate insurance; i the preparation and publication of guidance relating to persons registered in the new register; j the fitness to practise of persons registered in the dental care professionals register, and proceedings before the Investigating Committee, the Professional Conduct Committee, the Professional Performance Committee, the Health Committee and the Interim Orders Committee relating to such matters, including the making by the Council of rules relating to the procedure to be followed and evidence to be observed by those Committees; and k professional training and development requirements relating to members of professions complementary to dentistry. Articles 34 to 36 contain provisions relating to the meaning of the term “practice of dentistry” and to the prohibition on laymen practising dentistry and using terms reserved for practitioners. Articles 37 to 39 concern individuals and bodies corporate which carry on the business of dentistry. In particular, those articles make provision relating to— a the directors of bodies corporate which carry on the business of dentistry; b the maintenance by the Council of a list of such bodies corporate; c financial penalties which may be imposed in relation to such a body corporate; and d supplementary provisions and appeals relating to such financial penalties. Article 40 repeals Part 5 of the Act relating to dental auxiliaries. Article 43 makes provision regarding the service of notifications and the publication of information, and procedural requirements relating to rules which may be made by the Council under the Act. Article 44 makes provision concerning orders made by the Privy Council under the Act, and article 45 relates to regulations made by the Council under the Act. Article 47 makes minor amendments to Schedule 1 of the Act concerning the constitution of the Council. Schedules 6 and 7 contain consequential amendments and transitional provisions.

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.

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