UK Offence Report

Offences in connection with an ONR inquiry

paragraph 12(1) of SCHEDULE 3 of The Energy Act 2013 (Office for Nuclear Regulation) (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2014

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 It is an offence for any person to—

a contravene any requirement imposed by or under these Regulations as they apply to an ONR inquiry; or

b intentionally obstruct any person in the exercise of their powers under section

85 of the 2013 Act.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

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

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally.

What would breach paragraph 12(1) of SCHEDULE 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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Energy Act 2013 (Office for Nuclear Regulation) (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2014.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£20,000
Maximum prison (summary)
1 year
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
3 March 2014
In force from
1 April 2014
Extent
E+W+S

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 makes consequential amendments to existing primary and subordinate legislation in consequence of the coming into force of the majority of the provisions of Part 3 of the Energy Act 2013 (c.32) (“the 2013 Act”) on 1st April 2014. This Order also makes various transitional provisions and savings in consequence of Part 3 of the 2013 Act and the provisions made by this Order. Article 4 of and Schedule 1 to this Order make provision to enable certain existing subordinate legislation to be treated on and after 1st April 2014 as if made under the 2013 Act. This provision ensures that there will be continuity in the regulatory regime when functions under the Regulations specified in that Schedule, and in connection with their enforcement, are transferred from the Health and Safety Executive (“the HSE”) or the Secretary of State to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (“the ONR”). It also ensures that existing legislation requiring the payment of fees in connection with the exercise of the transferred functions continues to apply when the functions are transferred to the ONR. Schedule 1 to this Order also makes transitional modifications to the way in which various offence provisions in the 2013 Act apply in relation to the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 to the extent that those Regulations are treated as made under the 2013 Act. Article 5 of this Order makes transitional provision enabling agreements made by the HSE under section 13 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to be treated as made by the ONR under section 90 of the 2013 Act on and after 1st April 2014. Schedule 2 to this Order makes consequential amendments to existing primary legislation. The majority of amendments to primary legislation were made by Schedule 12 to the 2013 Act. Some additional amendments are, however, required to be made by this Order. Schedule 3 to this Order makes consequential amendments to existing subordinate legislation. Part 1 of the Schedule amends legislation relevant to the nuclear security and nuclear safeguards purposes of the ONR (“nuclear security purposes” has the meaning given in section 70 of the 2013 Act and “nuclear safeguards purposes” has the meaning given in section 72 of that Act). Part 2 of the Schedule amends legislation relating to the nuclear site health and safety purposes of the ONR (“nuclear site health and safety purposes” has the meaning given in section 69 of the 2013 Act. Part 3 of the Schedule amends legislation to enable the ONR to recover fees in connection with the performance of various of its functions on and after 1st April 2014. These include functions relevant to the Generic Design Assessment and the enforcement of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as they apply to the civil nuclear industry. Part 4 of the Schedule amends various legislation as it applies in relation to GB nuclear sites. The majority of these changes ensure that the ONR, rather than the HSE, is consulted in relation to applications for consent under various planning regimes relevant to nuclear sites. Article 7 of the Order makes transitional modifications to offence provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and the 2013 Act as they apply in relation to offences committed before the date on which section 85(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c.10) (removal of limit on certain fines on conviction by magistrates’ court) comes into force. Article 8 of and Schedule 4 to this Order make general transitional provisions and savings in consequence of the provisions of Part 3 of the 2013 Act and the provisions made by this Order. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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