UK Offence Report

False representations

regulation 14(1) of The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007 (revoked)

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

1 A person who makes any representation under Part 2 or 3 of these Regulations, or under the Schedule so far as it relates to an appeal under Part 2 or 3, which is false in a material particular, and does so recklessly or knowing it to be false, is guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowing it to be, recklessly).

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

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: recklessly, knowing it to be.

What would breach regulation 14(1)?

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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

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 (2008-03-31); 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
10 December 2007
In force from
31 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 make provision entitling persons who are or may be liable to pay penalty charges in respect of parking contraventions, or who pay charges to secure the release of vehicles which have been immobilised or removed on account of such contraventions, to make representations to enforcement authorities regarding their liability for the charges and to appeal to an adjudicator if the representations are not accepted. These Regulations should be read in conjunction with the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations (S.I. 2007/3483). Both sets of Regulations apply only to England. Part 1 contains preliminary provisions. Part 2 concerns representations and appeals against penalty charge notices and notices to owner given under the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 (“the General Regulations”), which were made jointly by the Secretary of State and the Lord Chancellor under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. Regulation 3 defines the scope of Part 2 and specifies the information to be given to the recipients of penalty charge notices and notices to owner. Regulation 4 confers on the recipient of a notice to owner or penalty charge notice given under regulation 10 of the General Regulations the right to make representations to the enforcement authority which served it. The form of the representations and the grounds on which they may be made are specified. Regulations 5 and 6 set out the duties of an enforcement authority to which representations are made, according as it accepts or rejects the representations. Regulation 7 enables a person who has made representations under regulation 4 to appeal to an adjudicator against an enforcement authority’s rejection of his representations. Part 3 makes provision for representations and appeals in relation to vehicles which have been immobilised in accordance with the General Regulations. Regulation 8 confers, on the owner or person in charge of a vehicle who secures its release from an immobilisation device, a right to make representations to the enforcement authority. The enforcement authority is required to inform the person securing the release of the vehicle of his rights in writing. The basis for making representations is specified in regulation 8(4) and (5). Regulation 9 sets out the duties of an enforcement authority to which representations are made and regulation 10 provides for an appeal to be made to an adjudicator where representations under regulation 9 are rejected. Part 4 makes provision for the making of representations and appeals in relation to vehicles which have been removed and stored or disposed of, in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and regulations made under it. Regulation 11 specifies the persons to whom the regulation applies, requires such persons to be informed of their right to make representations and to appeal to an adjudicator, confers on such persons a right to make representations to the enforcement authority and specifies the basis on which they may be made. Regulation 12 specifies the duties of an enforcement authority in relation to representations received by it under regulation 11 and regulation 13 confers a right to appeal to an adjudicator where the enforcement authority rejects representations made to it under regulation 11. Part 5 relates to offences and procedure. Regulation 14 creates an offence of making false or reckless representations under Parts 2 and 3 of these Regulations. Regulation 15 introduces the Schedule which makes detailed provision as to the procedure to be followed in adjudication proceedings and the service of documents in such proceedings. Otherwise the procedure is in the discretion of the adjudicator. A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from Traffic Management Division, Department for Transport, 1/06 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SWIP 4DR (telephone 020 7944 8693) and can be found on the website of the Department for Transport at www.dft.gov.uk/.

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