UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019

the instrument as a whole of The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019

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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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 Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
26 March 2019
In force from
22 May 2019
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 revoke and supersede the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001. The Regulations impose duties on operators of premises in which work with ionising radiation takes place to identify the hazards arising from the work with such radiation which have the potential to cause a radiation emergency. Where such hazards exist, the operator is under a duty to assess the consequences of the radiation emergency, and liaise with the local authority. Both the local authority and the operator must engage in planning against the radiation emergency occurring, test such plans at regular intervals and provide information to the public. The Regulations implement in part as respects Great Britain provisions of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5 December 2013 laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom (OJ No L13, 17.1.2014, p 1). Regulation 3 makes provision for the application of the Regulations. The Regulations apply to work with ionising radiation on premises on which there is a radioactive substance containing more than the quantity of any radionuclide set out in Schedule 1, or, in the case of fissile material, more than the mass of the fissile material, as set out in Schedule 2. Where a radionuclide is not specified in Schedule 1, the operator must assess whether the quantity present on the premises would allow an annual dose of greater than 1 mSv, and, if so, these Regulations also apply. Regulation 4 provides that the operator must, before work is carried out for the first time at the premises, carry out an evaluation of the hazards arising from the work undertaken on the premises to determine whether they have the potential to cause a radiation emergency. Where they have that potential, regulation 4 require operators to undertake protective action. Regulation 5 provides that, where an operator has identified the potential for a radiation emergency pursuant to its evaluation, the operator must make a further assessment in accordance with Schedule 3 to evaluate a full range of consequences of such a radiation emergency. Regulation 6 provides that, where the operator proposes a change in its work with ionising radiation, or where a change occurs, the operator must undertake review of its evaluation in accordance with regulation 4 and either make a further assessment in accordance with regulation 5 or make a declaration that the change of circumstances which triggered the review would not affect the last evaluation. Regulation 7 requires the operator to send a consequences report to the local authority, which includes a proposed detailed emergency planning zone, and must discuss those consequences with the local authority. Regulation 8 provides that it is the responsibility of the local authority to determine the detailed emergency planning zone, either on the basis of the operator’s proposal or, on the basis that the local authority’s off-site emergency plan requires it, to extend the detailed emergency planning zone. Regulation 9 provides for who will determine an outline planning zone in relation to certain sites. Regulation 10 provides that the operator is responsible for preparing an emergency plan where the evaluation under regulation 4 shows that a radiation emergency may arise. Regulation 11 provides that, where there is a detailed emergency planning zone, an outline planning zone, or both, the local authority must prepare an off-site emergency plan to mitigate the consequences of a radiation emergency outside the operator’s premises. Regulation 12 makes provision for the reviewing and testing of both the operator’s on-site emergency plan and the local authority’s off-site emergency plan. Regulation 13 provides for cooperation between the operator and the local authority in fulfilling their duties to prepare emergency plans, and regulation 14 provides for cooperation between local authorities in the making and testing of off-site emergency plans. Regulation 15 provides for cooperation between operators and other employers on the same premises. Regulation 16 provides that a local authority may charge the operator for performing its functions in relation to the preparation and testing of an off-site emergency plan. Regulation 17 sets out when operators and local authorities should implement their emergency plans and who should be informed about that implementation. Regulation 17 also provides for a full assessment of the consequences of any radiation emergency which occurs and the effectiveness of the emergency plans after any implementation. Regulation 18 provides that training and equipment should be provided to employees by their employer where there is the possibility of that employee receiving an emergency exposure of ionising radiation and makes further provision for employees where an emergency plan is put into place. Regulation 19 disapplies regulation 12 of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 to an emergency worker who is engaged in preventing or mitigating the consequences of a radiation emergency. Regulation 20 provides that the operator’s emergency plans and the local authority’s off-site emergency plans must prioritise reducing doses below 100 mSv. When the response to a radiation emergency is underway, specific reference levels for the public may be determined by the local authority, who may seek advice from the person coordinating the off-site response to that emergency. In exceptional circumstances, the reference level for emergency workers may be set in excess of 100 mSv, but not exceeding 500 mSv. Regulations 21 and 22 provide for information to be provided to the public in an area covered by a detailed emergency planning zone and in the event of an emergency respectively. Regulation 23 provides for the retention of information by the operator and the local authority. Regulation 24 contains provisions requiring employers to consult radiation protection advisors where the employer is engaged in work with ionising radiation for the purposes of the radiation protection advisor to advice on compliance with these Regulations. Regulation 25 provides for specific modifications of the Regulations for the purposes of the Ministry of Defence, relating to national security. Regulation 26 provides that, where a person is entitled to seek information under the Regulations, the Secretary of State may certify that the provision of that information would be contrary to the interests of national security. Regulation 27 provides for the revocation of the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001, subject to the transitional and savings provisions set out in regulation 28. Regulation 29 and Schedule 10 provide for consequential amendments. Regulation 30 provides that the Secretary of State must review the Regulations on a regular basis. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 1 Victoria Street, London.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Neither House could have amended it. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not; the Houses can reject an instrument or record their regret, but they cannot change a word of it. That is the constitutional position for every offence on this site.

The full procedural history →

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 0.70.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.70 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