UK Offence Report

Power to require attendance and production of documents

regulation 19(5) of The Bus Lane Contraventions (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 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

5 If any person who is required under paragraph (1) to attend

a hearing held by an adjudicator, or to produce any document to an adjudicator, fails without reasonable excuse to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

2 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

icator, or to produce any document to an adjudicator, fails without reasonable excuse to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 19(5)?

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 Bus Lane Contraventions (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2005.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
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
6 October 2005
In force from
1 November 2005
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 provision for the enforcement of bus lane contraventions, by local authorities which are approved local authorities for the purposes of section 144 of the Transport Act 2000. The names of the authorities concerned are set out in the Schedule to the Bus Lane Contraventions (Approved Local Authorities) (England) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2755). In Part 1, regulation 2 defines expressions used in the Regulations. Definitions of other expressions are also contained in regulations 7 (for Part 3) and 13 (for Part 5). In Part 2, regulation 3 authorises the imposition of a penalty charge in respect of a bus lane contravention only on the basis of a record produced by an approved device. The devices that are approved for these purposes are described in the Bus Lane Contraventions (Approved Devices) (England) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/2756). Regulation 4 provides for the level of a penalty charge to be set by each approved authority. A charge may only be imposed if the level has been approved by the Secretary of State (who may issue guidance) and a notice, stating the circumstances in which a penalty charge may be imposed and the level of the charge, has been published in accordance with paragraph (4). The charge is liable to be increased or reduced by half in the circumstances set out in paragraphs (6)and (7). Each approved local authority is required to give public notice of the standard level of the charge and the date from which it will be imposed and charges not duly approved or charges imposed before the specified date may not be recovered. Subject to specified exceptions, regulation 5 requires the owner of the vehicle involved in the contravention to pay the penalty charge. The exceptions are (i) where a vehicle is the subject of a hiring agreement, in which case the charge is to be paid by the person who has hired the vehicle, and (ii) where a vehicle is kept by a vehicle trader who is not the vehicle’s registered keeper, in which case the charge is to be paid by the trader. Regulation 6 provides that an approved local authority cannot recover a penalty charge (or a charge must be refunded) where criminal proceedings are taken, or where a fixed penalty notice has been given, in respect of the conduct that constituted the contravention. In Part 3, regulation 8 provides for service of a penalty charge notice on the person appearing to the approved authority to be the person by whom it is payable. The notice is to be served within 28 days after the contravention occurred, but that period can be extended where the Secretary of State is not able to identify the keeper of the vehicle concerned. Paragraph (5) specifies the matters of which particulars must be given in the penalty charge notice, including a statement that the charge will be reduced by a half if paid within 14 days of the date of service of the notice, and may be increased by a half if not paid within 28 days of that date. Regulation 9 enables a person on whom a penalty charge notice has been served to make representations to the authority concerned. Regulation 10 requires the authority to consider the representations and any supporting evidence, and to respond to the representations. Where representations are rejected (by a “notice of rejection”), the authority are required to notify the person concerned of his right to refer the matter to adjudication. Parts 4 and 5 relate to appeals. Regulation 11 (with the Schedule) provides for the appointment of bus lane adjudicators by the approved local authorities, subject to the consent of the Lord Chancellor, and for their accommodation, facilities and staff (one of whom must be the “proper officer” on whom specific functions are conferred by the Regulations). Regulation 12 requires the authorities to discharge their functions under regulation 11 through a joint committee where more than one authority has resolved to impose charges. The joint committee is required to publish an annual report to the Secretary of State on the discharge of the bus lane adjudicators' functions. Regulation 14 sets out the procedure for making an appeal, and specifies that appeals must, subject to a right to ask the adjudicator to extend the period, be initiated within 28 days from the date of service of the notice of rejection. Regulation 15 provides for the procedure on service of notice of appeal and regulation 16 for the making of further representations. Regulations 17 to 19 make provision for the appeal procedure. Regulation 17 enables the adjudicator to dispense with an oral hearing save in specified circumstances. Regulation 18 requires the proper officer to fix the time and place of a hearing and notify the parties and regulation 19 empowers the adjudicator to require persons to give evidence or produce documents. Regulation 20 deals with the procedure at hearings and regulation 21 provides for the production of documentary evidence of the alleged contravention. Regulation 22 makes provision about adjudicators' decisions; in particular it requires them to be recorded in the register kept pursuant to regulation 31. Regulation 23 enables a party to an appeal to ask for the adjudicator’s decision to be reviewed. Regulation 24 to 28 deal with miscellaneous matters, including provision that costs and expenses will not normally be awarded save in specified circumstances and the correction of clerical errors. Regulations 29 and 30 make provision about the service and delivery of documents. Part 6 deals with the enforcement of payment of penalty charges. Regulation 32 provides for a penalty charge to be increased by a half if it is not paid within “the relevant period” as defined in paragraph (2). Regulation 33 enables unpaid penalty charges to be recovered through county court procedures. Regulation 34 specifies the circumstances in which an order under regulation 33 is to be treated as cancelled. Regulation 35 provides for the recovery of unpaid penalty charges and other sums payable under the Regulations by execution under the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order 1993. In Part 7, regulation 36 requires each approved local authority to keep an account of the sums paid by way of penalty charges, and of their expenditure in relation to the enforcement of bus lane contraventions. It also provides for the treatment of deficits and surpluses on the account, including the application of surpluses towards highway improvement projects. No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been undertaken since the Regulations are concerned with the enforcement of existing traffic restrictions and prohibitions and do not therefore constitute an additional burden on business. The costs incurred by local authorities undertaking enforcement are expected to be defrayed by penalty charge income.

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 0.92.

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