UK Offence Report

False claim of status as creditor, etc.

article 195 of The Smart Meter Communication Licensee Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2020

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

195 Where these Rules provide for creditors, members or contributories of an SMCL

a right to inspect any documents, whether on the court file or in the hands of an SMCL administrator or other person, it is an offence for

a person, with the intention of gaining sight of documents which the person has not under these Rules any right to inspect, falsely to claim

a status which would entitle the person to inspect them.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 (with the intention of).

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: with the intention of.

What would breach article 195?

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 Smart Meter Communication Licensee Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2020.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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
19 June 2020
In force from
1 August 2020
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 Rules) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Rules set out the procedure for the conduct of smart meter communication licensee administration (“SMCL administration”) proceedings in England and Wales. SMCL administration is a special insolvency regime specifically created for companies acting as a smart meter communication licensee (“SMCL”) in Great Britain. The framework for the SMCL administration regime is set out in the Smart Meters Act 2018 (c. 14) (the “2018 Act”). The 2018 Act applies (with modifications) much of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20), which provides for a special insolvency regime for energy companies that run and operate gas and electricity networks in Great Britain. Only SMCLs as defined in section 2(5) of the 2018 Act may enter SMCL administration. These are companies that hold a licence granted under section 7AB of the Gas Act 1986 (c.44) or a licence granted under section 6 of the Electricity Act 1989 (c.29) to provide a smart meter communication service. The SMCL administration process is commenced by an application to court for a smart meter communication licensee administration order, referred to as an “SMCL administration order” as defined in section 2(1) of the 2018 Act. Such an application can be made by either the Secretary of State or, with the consent of the Secretary of State, by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority. An insolvency practitioner appointed to manage the affairs, business and property of the SMCL is defined in section 2(2) of the 2018 Act as an SMCL administrator. These Rules are applicable only to SMCL administration. Part 1 of these Rules contains the construction and interpretation provisions. Part 2 of these Rules sets out the procedure to be followed to initiate SMCL administration proceedings, including the information required for an SMCL administration order application, to whom notice of such an application needs to be delivered and who may appear at a hearing of the SMCL administration application. Part 3 of these Rules details the initial steps to be taken in SMCL administration proceedings. These include the notification and advertisement of an SMCL administrator’s appointment and the preparation of a statement of the affairs of the SMCL. Part 3 also sets out the information that must be given to creditors in the SMCL administrator’s statement of proposals and the contents of the progress reports to be prepared by the SMCL administrator. Part 4 of these Rules contains provisions relating to creditors’ and company meetings summoned by the SMCL administrator. Part 5 of these Rules contains provisions relating to an application to court for authority to dispose of property of the SMCL which is subject to a security (other than a floating charge) or goods in the possession of the SMCL under a hire-purchase agreement. Part 6 of these Rules contains provisions relating to the expenses of SMCL administration. Part 7 of these Rules contains provisions relating to claims by and distributions to creditors of the SMCL. In particular, this Part details the procedure to be followed to prove a debt in the SMCL administration proceedings as well as the way in which such debts will be quantified and the steps to be taken where the SMCL administrator makes, or proposes to make, a distribution to creditors. Part 8 of these Rules contains details of how the remuneration of an SMCL administrator is to be fixed by the court. Part 9 of these Rules sets out the arrangements for ending an SMCL administration. There are specific provisions detailing the ending of an SMCL administration by court order, as well as the process by which an SMCL administration moves into either a creditors’ voluntary liquidation or dissolution of the SMCL. Part 10 of these Rules sets out the requirements and procedures for replacing an SMCL administrator. It includes provisions relating to the resignation of an SMCL administrator, the removal of an SMCL administrator from office by court order and the SMCL administrator’s duties on vacating office. Part 11 of these Rules contains general provisions detailing the court procedure and practice for SMCL administration proceedings. In particular this Part sets out the general requirements for court applications made during an SMCL administration, enforcement procedures, access to the court file, the cost assessment procedure for SMCL administration proceedings, provision for persons who lack capacity to manage their affairs, and the appeals process to be used in SMCL administration proceedings. Part 12 of these Rules contains provisions for the use of proxies and representatives of corporations at meetings held during an SMCL administration, including the rights of inspection of such proxies and the procedure to be followed where a proxy-holder has a financial interest in the outcome of a resolution to be voted on at the meeting. Part 13 of these Rules sets out the provision for the examination of persons where an application to court has been made by an SMCL administrator under section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c. 45). Section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 allows an SMCL administrator to apply to court for an order requiring certain persons to appear before the court to be questioned by the SMCL administrator about the company in SMCL administration. Part 14 of these Rules contains provisions of general effect including provisions relating to the delivery of documents, the form and content of documents, service of documents, standard contents of notices and of documents delivered to the registrar of companies, the inspection and right to copies of documents, and the calculation of time periods. Part 15 of these Rules contains miscellaneous provisions, including the power of the Secretary of State to regulate certain matters relating to the carrying out of the SMCL administrator’s functions, provisions relating to the punishment of offences and the requirement for a review. The Schedule to these Rules contains specific details of the punishment of offences under these Rules. An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

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 →

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