UK Offence Report

Records of decisions, etc

regulation 36(6) of The Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (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

6 If without reasonable excuse

a person having custody of records intentionally obstructs

a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

1 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

6 If without reasonable excuse a person having custody of records intentionally obstructs a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 36(6)?

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 Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2005.
  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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£200
Standard scale
Level 1
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
10 March 2005
In force from
1 April 2005
Extent
E

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, which apply to England only, revoke and replace the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993 and the instruments which amended them— a the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993 b the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 1994; c the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 1995; d the Local Government Changes for England (Non-Domestic Rating, Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1995; e the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2000; f the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2001; g the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002; h the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003; and i the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2004. The Regulations concern the alteration of local and central non-domestic rating lists (which are compiled under the Local Government Finance Act 1988). They cover the alteration of non-domestic rating lists by valuation officers, proposals for such alterations from other persons and appeals to valuation tribunals where there is disagreement about a proposal between the valuation officer and another person. Regulation 4 sets out the circumstances in which proposals to alter the list may be made. Regulation 5 specifies the time limits within which such proposals are to be made. Regulation 6 sets out the content of proposals. Regulations 7 to 13 provide the procedures to be followed by valuation officers in relation to such proposals. Regulation 14 provides for the determination of the effective date of any alteration made. Regulation 15 makes special provision in relation to advertising hoardings. Regulation 16 requires the effective date of any alteration to be shown in the list and regulation 17 makes provision for the notification of any alteration. Regulation 18 applies Part 2, with modifications, to hereditaments shown on the central non-domestic rating lists. Regulation 19 sets out the procedure for appeals against building completion notices. Regulation 20 sets out the procedure for appeals against the imposition of a penalty notice. Regulations 21 to 39 prescribe the procedure for appeals. The Regulations also make provision for the service of notices (regulation 40), the retention of records (regulation 41), information to be supplied by authorities (regulation 42), two amendments to the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993 which apply to alterations to a list compiled before 1st April 2005 and two other consequential amendments (regulation 43) and revocation, savings and transitional provision (regulation 44).

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.

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