UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 11(2) of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 (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

2 A person who intentionally or recklessly provides false or misleading information on

a travel declaration form, except for reasons of national security, commits an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
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, recklessly).

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, recklessly.

What would breach regulation 11(2)?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a person intentionally or recklessly provides false or misleading information on a travel declaration form, except for reasons of national security.
  2. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021.
  3. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  4. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
22 March 2021
In force from
29 March 2021
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 impose restrictions on gatherings and businesses in England. Areas specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4 (those areas in Step 1) are subject to the restrictions set out in Schedule 1. Areas specified in Part 2 of Schedule 4 (those areas in Step 2) are subject to the restrictions in Schedule 2. Areas specified in Part 3 of Schedule 4 (those areas in Step 3) are subject to the restrictions set out in Schedule 3. The provisions for each Step include restrictions on a person’s right to participate in gatherings, and restrictions on business. The restrictions are at their most severe in Step 1. The restrictions on businesses include the closure of certain businesses, and restrictions on the service of food and drink for consumption on the premises of a business. The Regulations also impose restrictions on leaving the United Kingdom without a reasonable excuse (regulation 8). Schedule 5 lists a number of reasonable excuses for travel outside the United Kingdom, and Schedule 6 lists those people who are exempt from the restrictions on travel outside the United Kingdom. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel Regulations) (England) Regulations 2020 are amended so that the requirement to self-isolate under regulation 4 of those Regulations ceases to apply to a person (other than a person travelling from a country listed in Schedule B1) who is required to self-isolate under Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 (“the Self-Isolation Regulations”). The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc. and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020 are amended to clarify the means by which a person can be required to provide their contact details, as well as to remove the requirement to request contact details from a lead member of a group seeking to enter premises. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 are amended to clarify the territorial application of the Regulations, as well as to create new exceptions from the requirement to self-isolate, or remain in the place where a person is self-isolating, under those Regulations (including for participants in serial testing schemes). There are also various drafting and consequential amendments to the Self-Isolation Regulations. The need for the restrictions in these Regulations must be reviewed by the Secretary of State every 35 days. No impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations.

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits 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