UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 17(2) of The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Carcinogens and Mutagens) Regulations 2007

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

2 A person who acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, regulation 8, 10 or 13 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 17(2)?

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 person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, regulation 8, 10 or 13.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Carcinogens and Mutagens) Regulations 2007, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
29 October 2007
In force from
1 March 2008
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 implement, in relation to United Kingdom ships (as defined by regulation 2), Directive 2004/37/EC (O.J.No. L158, 30/04/2004 p. 50), which consolidates Directive 1990/394/EEC of 28th June 1990 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens, as amended by Directives 1997/42/EC and 1999/38/EC and is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC, on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. Regulation 3 sets out the precise application of the Regulations and applies regulations 21 and 23 also to non-United Kingdom ships when they are in UK waters (regulation 3(5)). Regulation 16 prescribes the persons whose duty it is to comply with the provisions of the Regulations. In the case of an activity likely to involve the risk of exposure to carcinogens or mutagens, regulation 4 imposes particular duties on an employer in relation to the risk assessment which he is required to carry out under regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 and regulation 5 and regulation 6 (which introduces Schedules 2 and 3) place employers under duties in relation to the reduction and replacement of carcinogens and mutagens and the prevention and reduction of exposure to them. Regulation 7 specifies types of information which an employer, whose assessment under regulation 4 reveals risks to health or safety, must make available to the Secretary of State upon request. Regulation 8 provides that, if an unforeseeable event or accident likely to result in an abnormal exposure of workers occurs, employers must inform the workers and take the precautions specified in regulation 8(2). Regulation 9 places a duty on employers to take various measures in respect of activities giving rise to a foreseeable risk of exposure. Regulations 10 and 11 require employers to take appropriate measures to restrict access to risk areas and as respects hygiene and individual protection in relation to any activity involving a risk of contamination. Regulation 12 specifies the information and training that employers must provide for workers and regulation 13 imposes a general duty on employers to consult with workers or their representatives about matters covered by these Regulations. Regulation 14 requires employers to ensure that there are arrangements whereby workers for whom an assessment under regulation 4 reveals a risk to health are kept under health surveillance and makes detailed provision as to such surveillance. In particular the doctor or body undertaking health surveillance is required to have regard to the practical recommendations set out in Schedule 4. Regulation 15 requires employers to keep specified records for at least 40 years following the end of exposure to carcinogens or mutagens and to pass the records to the Secretary of State if they cease to trade. Regulations 17 to 24 concern enforcement. By regulation 17 contraventions of these Regulations are made criminal offences. Provision is made for corporate offences (regulation 18) and the burden of showing that compliance with a duty in these Regulations is not reasonably practicable is on the defendant (regulation 19). Inspection and detention of United Kingdom and of non-United Kingdom ships are separately provided for (regulations 20 and 21). Regulation 22 provides that sections 258 to 260 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are, for the purposes of these Regulations to apply in relation to Government ships. Provisions of the 1995 Act and of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 1995 dealing with the enforcement of detention and with arbitration and compensation are also applied (regulations 23 and 24). Regulation 25 prohibits the levying of any charge on a worker in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of these Regulations. These Regulations are made under powers contained in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, except in their application to Government ships (regulation 2(1)) where the power is provided by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. A regulatory impact assessment and a transposition note have been prepared and a copy of each has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG (telephone number 012380 329100).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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 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