UK Offence Report

5 An offence specified in paragraphs (1), (2), (3) or (4) is punishable on summary conviction by a fine not…

regulation 15(5) of The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (revoked)

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

5 An offence specified in paragraphs (1), (2), (3) or (4) is punishable on summary conviction by

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 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 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(5)?

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 Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020.

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
10 February 2020
In force from
Not determined
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 supplement the health protection regime found in Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (“the 1984 Act”) in the event that there exists a serious and imminent threat to public health from the virus known as “Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)”. Regulation 2 defines the terms used in the Regulations. Regulation 3 provides that the Regulations apply where the Secretary of State makes a declaration on www.gov.uk that the incidence or transmission of Coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health and that the incidence of Coronavirus is at such a point that the measures outlined in these Regulations may reasonably be considered as an effective means of preventing the further transmission of Coronavirus. Regulation 4 enables a person to be detained for screening purposes where certain conditions are met. Regulation 5 enables screening and other requirements to be imposed on a person where certain conditions are met. Regulation 6 sets out the screening requirements. Regulation 7 enables further restrictions and requirements to be imposed on certain persons for the purpose of reducing or removing the risk of persons infecting or contaminating others. Regulation 8 provides for the isolation of persons. Regulation 9 makes additional provision in relation to cases where persons are detained or isolated. Regulation 10 enables restrictions and requirements to be imposed in relation to groups of persons. Regulation 11 provides that as well as being able to make a Part 2A order on the application of a local authority as provided for in section 45M(1) of the 1984 Act, a justice of the peace may make a Part 2A order on the application of a registered public health consultant or the Secretary of State in particular circumstances. Regulations 12 and 13 provide for appeals and enforcement. Regulation 14 provides powers for constables to detain persons. Regulation 15 provides for offences. Regulation 16 provides for the expiry of the Regulations at the end of two years. An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

Both Houses had to approve this instrument before it could take effect, and did so.

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 →

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 0.60.

Basis
the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
Confidence
0.60 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