UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 17(2) of The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Work at Height) 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

2 A person who fails to comply with regulation 6, 10, 12, 13, 14 or 15 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses so far as is reasonably practicable, reasonably practicable; which element that governs was not determined.

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 fails to comply with regulation 6, 10, 12, 13, 14 or 15.
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Work at Height) Regulations 2010, 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
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 Council Directive 2001/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001, (O.J. L. 195, 19.7.2001, p. 46) amending Council Directive 89/655/EEC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work, (O.J. L. 393, 30.12.1989, p.1) (second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (O.J. L. 245, 26.8.1992, p.6) as it applies to the maritime sector. These Regulations should be read in conjunction with the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/2962) (“the General Duties Regulations”) and the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Provision and Use of Work Equipment) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2183) (“the Work Equipment Regulations”). The General Duties Regulations set out the general principles for health and safety on ships, and the Work Equipment Regulations regulate the provision and use of safe work equipment on board ships. These Regulations contain more specific requirements for work equipment for work at height. Regulation 1 provides for the commencement of the Regulations. Terms used in the Regulations are defined in regulations 2 and 3, and the circumstances in which the Regulations are to apply are set out in regulations 4 and 5. Part 2 of the Regulations sets out the duties imposed on employers. Regulation 6 imposes requirements regarding the competence of workers and those supervising, managing or overseeing work at height. Regulation 7 requires that work at height is planned and supervised, and that temporary work at height is avoided where it is reasonably practicable to do so. In so doing, Regulation 8 requires that the employer must have regard in particular to the risk assessments carried out under the General Duties Regulations and the Work Equipment Regulations, and ensure that work equipment for temporary work at height made available to workers on the ship is the most suitable to ensure and maintain safe working conditions. These criteria are referred to as “the regulation 8 criteria”. Regulation 9 imposes a supplementary duty to minimise risks inherent in work equipment for work at height. Regulation 10 makes provision for weather conditions. Part 3 of the Regulations deals with specific types of work at height. Regulation 12 contains supplementary provisions regarding collective safeguards. Regulation 13 and Schedule 1 set out requirements for the use of ladders. Regulation 14, read with Schedule 2, deals with scaffolding. Regulation 15 and Schedule 3 deal with rope access and positioning techniques. Regulation 16 provides for duties on persons other than employers. Regulations 17to 24 concern offences, penalties, inspection, detention and compensation. Regulation 25 prohibits workers being charged for anything done or provided in accordance with any requirement of these Regulations. These Regulations are made under the powers 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. An Impact Assessment and a Transposition Note have been prepared and a copy 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 02380 329100). They are also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available on the Office of Public Sector Information website http://www.opsi.gov.uk. Merchant Shipping Notices can be obtained from M-Notices Subscriptions, PO Box 362, Europa Park, Grays, Essex, RM17 9AY (telephone 01375 484548; fax 01375 484556; e-mail orders: mnotices@ecgroup.co.uk). They may also be accessed via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s website http://www.mcga.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