UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 15(1) of The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Chemical Agents) Regulations 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

1 Any person who acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, regulation 6, 7, 8,

9 or 11(6) or the conditions attached under regulation 11(5)(c) is guilty of an offence and is liable—

a on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and

b on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding two years or to

a fine or to both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching a condition of a licence, permit or consent
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 15(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. On these words an offence is committed where a person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, regulation 6, 7, 8, 9 or 11(6) or the conditions attached under regulation 11(5)(c).
  2. Holding a valid licence but doing the thing it allows outside the hours, place or limits its conditions set under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2010.
  3. Failing to do something a condition positively requires - a record, a notification, a monitoring step - even though the licensed activity itself is carried on properly.

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
11 February 2010
In force from
6 April 2010
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), Council Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (Official Journal No. L 131, 5.5.1998, p. 11). Directive 98/24/EC is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/395/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety of workers at work. Regulations 2 and 3 set out meanings for terms used in the regulations. Regulations 4 and 5 set out the precise application of the Regulations and apply certain regulations also to non-United Kingdom ships when they are in UK waters. In the case of an activity likely to involve the risk of exposure to hazardous chemical agents regulation 6 imposes particular duties on an employer in relation to the risk assessment which the employer is required to carry out under regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/2962). Regulations 7 and 8 place employers under general duties in relation to the elimination or reduction of such risks and require specific protection and prevention measures where replacement of the chemical agent is not possible. Regulation 9 places an employer under a general obligation to establish safety procedures in the event accidents occur. Regulation 10 specifies the information and training that employers must provide for workers. Regulation 11 places an obligation on persons, subject to possible exemption, not to undertake the production or use of certain chemical agents or certain work activities on a ship. Under regulation 12, where an assessment under regulation 6 reveals a risk to health, the employer must ensure that the workers concerned are kept under health surveillance. Regulation 12 also makes detailed provision as to such surveillance. Regulation 13 imposes a general duty on employers to consult with workers or their representatives about matters covered by these Regulations. Regulation 14 prescribes other persons whose duty it is to comply with the provisions of the Regulations and requires workers to make proper use of protective clothing and equipment and to give effect to instructions and training. Regulations 15 to 22 concern offences, penalties, inspection, detention of ships and compensation for wrongful detention. Regulation 23 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 respect of their application to Government ships (regulation 2(1)) where the power is provided by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG (telephone number 02380 329100). A copy of that assessment is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available on the Office of Public Sector Information website – www.opsi.gov.uk. A copy of the Transposition Note is also available from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. A copy of both the impact assessment and the Transposition Note has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Merchant Shipping Notices are published by the MCA and copies may be obtained from M-Notices Subscriptions, PO Box 362, Europa Park, Grays, Essex RM17 9AY (telephone number 01375 484 54; fax 01375 484 556; email orders mnotices@ecgroup.co.uk). A copy may also be downloaded from http://www.mcga.gov.uk. That website also has details of any amendments or replacements. Copies of the IBC, IGC and IMDG Codes can be obtained from the offices of the International Maritime Organisation at 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Copies of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waters can be obtained from The Stationery Office via their online bookshop -www.tso.co.uk. Their customer services telephone number is 0870 600 5522. Copies of the Regulation for the Carriage of Dangerous Substances on the Rhine can be obtained (in German and French languages only) from the offices of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Palais du Rhin, 2 Place de la Republique, 67082 Strasbourg Cedex. Telephone number 0033 388 522 010. Fax number 0033 388 321 072. Email ccnr-zkr.org. A copy may also be downloaded from http://www.ccr-zkr.org/ in German, French and Dutch languages.

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