UK Offence Report

13 An undertaker who, without reasonable cause, fails to give any notice required by these Regulations…

regulation 13 of The Street Works (Charges for Unreasonably Prolonged Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2009

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

13 An undertaker who, without reasonable cause, fails to give any notice required by these Regulations commits an offence and is 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
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 13?

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 fails to give any notice required by these Regulations.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Street Works (Charges for Unreasonably Prolonged Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2009, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
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
14 February 2009
In force from
6 April 2009
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 replace the Street Works (Charges for Unreasonably Prolonged Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”). They provide for the payment of charges to highway authorities where certain street works, executed by undertakers in maintainable highways, are unreasonably prolonged. Regulation 2 revokes the 2001 Regulations subject to regulation 4 which continues to apply them to street works in England in respect of which notice was given under section 54(1), 55(1) or 57 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) before this instrument came into force. Regulation 6(1) and (2) require an undertaker, executing street works in a highway to which these Regulations apply by virtue of regulation 5, to give an “actual start of works notice” within the periods set out. Regulation 6(3) and (4) specify the period within which a “works clear notice” must be given following the completion of an interim reinstatement of the highway and within which a “works closed notice” must be given following permanent reinstatement. Regulation 7 establishes the “prescribed period” for the purposes of section 74(1)(a) of the 1991 Act and regulation 8 specifies when works end for the purpose of calculating any overrun charges. Regulation 9 prescribes the charges payable where the duration of street works exceeds the longer of the prescribed period or a reasonable period, subject to certain exemptions. Different daily rates will apply depending upon the category of street works and the type of street in which they are carried out. Where remedial works are carried out, any overrun will be charged as if those works were in the same category as the works being remedied. For this purpose, provision is made for treating older works as being within contemporary categories of street works. Where the duration of works would not have overrun but for the presence of a single item of signing, lighting or guarding, the charge will consist of a single payment of £100 provided the undertaker removes it within the specified time limit following the highway authority’s request to do so. Provision is made for the reduction or waiver of a charge in various cases. Regulations 10 and 11, which do not apply where a permit to carry out street works is required, enable an undertaker to provide the highway authority, in certain circumstances, with an estimate or revised estimate of the duration of works, which may be taken to be agreed as a reasonable period in the absence of an objection by the highway authority concerned. Regulation 12 provides for the application of charges and the keeping of accounts. Regulation 13 creates an offence of failing to give any notice required by the Regulations. Regulations 14 and 15 prescribe the form of any notice and the manner in which it must be served. An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Transport, zone 2/08, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR (Tel: 020 7944 8046) and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website. Both the Explanatory Memorandum and the assessment may also be found by visiting the Department’s website at www.dft.gov.uk.

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 “commits 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