UK Offence Report

21 A registered adoption society which discloses any information in contravention of section 57 of the Act…

regulation 21 of The Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post-Commencement Adoptions) 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

21 A registered adoption society which discloses any information in contravention of section

57 of the Act (restrictions on disclosure etc. of information) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 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.

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 regulation 21?

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 the thing the provision prohibits under the Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post-Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2005-12-30); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
22 March 2005
In force from
30 December 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 prescribe certain matters for the purposes of the regime set out in sections 56 to 65 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (“the Act”). The regime provides for adoption agencies to keep information about each adoption and to deal with applications for disclosure of such information. The regime will apply in relation to persons adopted on or after 30th December 2005. In relation to persons adopted before that day, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983 (S.I. 1983/1964) will continue to have effect. Part 2 provides for the keeping of information in relation to persons adopted on or after 30th December 2005. Regulation 4 prescribes the information that must be kept (“section 56 information”). Part 2 also deals with storage and transfer of section 56 information. Regulation 6 requires that section 56 information be kept for at least 100 years from the date of the adoption order. Part 3 makes general provision for the disclosure of section 56 information and protected information (which is defined in section 57(3) of the Act). Under regulation 8 an adoption agency may disclose section 56 information that is not protected information as necessary for the purpose of its functions or for research. It may also disclose any section 56 information, including protected information, to persons providing services in relation to its functions under section 61 or 62 of the Act (for example a registered adoption support agency carrying out enquiries on its behalf). Regulation 9 provides for disclosure of information to specified persons including persons holding inquiries, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Secretary of State. Regulation 10 requires a written record to be kept of any disclosure. Regulation 11 prescribes the requirements for an agreement under section 57(5) of the Act. Part 4 relates to applications for disclosure of protected information under section 61 (information about adults) and 62 (information about children). Regulations 12 to 14 deal with procedural matters in relation to such applications. Regulation 15 makes provision for independent review of certain decisions of the adoption agency in relation to applications under section 61. Part 5 makes provision for counselling. Regulation 16 requires adoption agencies to provide information about availability of counselling for persons seeking information about an adoption or persons about whom information is being sought. Regulation 17 requires adoption agencies to secure counselling where requested by persons seeking information. Part 6 relates to the Registrar General. Adopted adults have a right under section 60 of the Act to request information about their birth records. They must first approach the appropriate adoption agency, which then requests the information from the Registrar General (who is obliged to provide it by virtue of section 79(5) of the Act). Regulation 19 requires the appropriate adoption agency to seek that information and prescribes the manner of the application for it. Regulation 20 requires the Registrar General to disclose information to any person that may assist the person in making contact with the adoption agency that holds the records of his adoption. Regulation 20 also requires the Registrar General to disclose information from the Adoption Contact Register where requested by the appropriate adoption agency in connection with an application under section 60, 61 or 62. Part 6 deals with miscellaneous matters. It creates an offence of disclosing information in contravention of section 57 of the Act. Regulation 22 prescribes fees that may be charged by adoption agencies in relation to disclosure of information and counselling. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been carried out for these Regulations and a copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Assessment can be obtained from the Department for Education and Skills' website http://www.dfes.gov.uk/ria/.

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”; the provision states liability on summary conviction
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