UK Offence Report

Other offences connected with immobilisation

regulation 8(1) of The Motor Vehicles (Insurance Requirements) (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal) Regulations 2011

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

8 1 Where these Regulations would apply to a vehicle but for the provisions of regulation 4(1) and (2)(a) and the vehicle was not, at the time it was stationary, being used— a in accordance with regulations under section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, and b in circumstances falling within section 117(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (use where a disabled person’s concession would be available), the person in charge of the vehicle at that time is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 disabled person
Conduct
breaching the provision
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 disabled 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 8(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Motor Vehicles (Insurance Requirements) (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal) Regulations 2011.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
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
12 April 2011
In force from
16 May 2011
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.

The Regulations provide for the immobilisation and removal of uninsured vehicles found stationary on roads and other public places. Regulation 3 provides for the authorisation of persons for the purposes of the Regulations. Regulation 4 sets out circumstances in which the Regulations do not apply. Regulation 5 enables a person authorised by the Secretary of State to fix an immobilisation device to an uninsured vehicle. Regulation 6 states the conditions to be fulfilled (including the payment of prescribed charges specified in Schedule 1) for the release of a vehicle from an immobilisation device. Offences in connection with immobilisation (including unlawful interference with an immobilisation device and falsely claiming exemption to secure the release of a vehicle) are created by regulations 7 and 8. Regulations 9 to 13 provide for the removal and disposal of vehicles under the Regulations, for the retention of a removed vehicle until prescribed charges are paid and for the conditions under which a removed vehicle can be recovered. When a vehicle has been disposed of, the owner can claim a sum equal to the proceeds of sale after deduction of prescribed charges. Provision is made by regulation 14 for disputes about charges paid to secure the release of a vehicle from an immobilisation device, or to secure possession of it after its removal, to be referred to a person authorised by the Secretary of State. An appeal against the determination of the authorised person can be made to a magistrates’ court in England and Wales or a Sheriff Court in Scotland. 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 Pauline Morgan at the Department for Transport Tel: 0207 944 2461 or e-mail: Pauline.morgan@dft.gsi.gov.uk and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on www.legislation.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