UK Offence Report

Offence: hearing aid dispensers

article 39A(3) of The Health Professions (Hearing Aid Dispensers) Order 2010

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

3 Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) is liable on summary conviction to

a fine of an amount 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 article 39A(3)?

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 Health Professions (Hearing Aid Dispensers) Order 2010, 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
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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 February 2010
In force from
Not determined
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order designates hearing aid dispensers as one of the professions regulated under the Health Professions Order 2001 (S.I.2002/254) (“the principal Order”). This is as a consequence of the abolition of the Hearing Aid Council (“the HAC”) by section 123 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c.14). Article 2 makes interpretation provisions, article 3 explains that this Order makes provision in respect of the regulation of the profession of dispensers of hearing aids by the Health Professions Council (“the HPC”), article 4 allows for the making of transitional provisions and article 5 prescribes procedures for making orders of the Privy Council under the provisions of this Order. Hearing aid dispensers will be required to register in the register maintained by the HPC under article 5 of the principal Order (“the HPC Register”), and arrangements are to be made under article 6 of this Order so that practitioners in the existing register maintained by the HAC are to be transferred to the HPC Register-although their home addresses are not to appear in the HPC Register without their consent (article 6(6)). Outstanding applications to go on to the HAC register will be dealt with by the HPC (article 6(4)). Persons not wishing to be transferred onto the HAC Register can apply to come off that register within 40 days (article 6(5)). Disciplinary cases being dealt with by the HAC before the transfer will be dealt with by the HPC in such manner as they see fit (article 6(7)). Article 6(8), (9) and (10) makes provision as regards outstanding appeals. The HPC and the HAC will be under a duty under article 6(1) to enter into prior arrangements to ensure that the necessary transfers take place. Article 7 contains the amendments to the principal Order relevant to the designation of hearing aid dispensers as a regulated profession. In particular, the definition of a “relevant profession” for the purposes of the principal Order is expanded to include hearing aid dispensers which is defined in terms of people supplying hearing aids by way of retail sale or hire (article 7(5)). Article 7(2) ensures that the transitional provisions which normally apply when new professions are regulated by the HPC will not apply in this case. Article 7(3) makes it a criminal offence for a person to perform the functions of a dispenser of hearing aids without being on the HPC Register. The offences are not committed by specialists in otolaryngology, oto rhino laryngology or ENT surgery or by persons undertaking a course of education or training approved by the HPC. Article 7(4) prevents a person who was on the register kept by the HAC from being a lay member of the HPC. Article 8 ensures that the HAC will be able to perform any function relating to its dissolution during the period starting when the HPC takes on the HAC’s regulatory functions and ending when the HAC is finally dissolved. Article 9 makes provision in respect of the preparation of the HAC’s accounts for that period. Article 10 amends the Health Professions (Parts of and Entries in the Register) Order of Council 2003 (S.I.2003/1571) to create both a new Part of the HPC’s register and a protected title for hearing aid dispensers. Article 11 makes a consequential amendment in relation to change in competent authority for hearing aid dispensers. By this amendment, the Council is designated as the authority responsible for processing applications for entry to Part 14 of the HPC Register from migrants having similar qualifications recognised in the European Economic Area or Switzerland and for authorising those migrants to practise in the United Kingdom. This is in accordance with Council Directive 2005/36/EC on a second general system for the recognition of professional education and training, as amended and extended. An impact assessment has been prepared in relation to this Order and is available from the Department of Health, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UE.

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction
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