UK Offence Report

Further offences

regulation 118(3) of The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024

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

3 It is an offence for

a person intentionally to delay or obstruct

a person authorised by the appropriate agency—

a in carrying out monitoring under regulation 109; or

b in the exercise of their powers under regulation 112.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 regulation 118(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. On these words it is an offence to delay or obstruct a person authorised by the appropriate agency— a in carrying out monitoring under regulation 109.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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
11 December 2024
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 impose requirements on producers of packaging who are established in the United Kingdom. They require producers to register with the appropriate agency, to collect and report data in relation to packaging they supply, and to assess the recyclability of packaging they supply. They also require certain producers to meet recycling obligations and to pay annual fees as a contribution to the net costs of local authorities providing a waste management service in relation to household packaging waste, and the costs of providing public information about disposal of packaging waste. They establish a scheme administrator to administer the provisions on disposal costs and to distribute amounts collected from producers. They also regulate compliance schemes which perform obligations on behalf of producers who are scheme members, and reprocessors and exporters of packaging waste. Part 1 (regulations 1 to 14) contains interpretation and other general provisions. Regulation 13 and Schedule 1 prescribe charges payable for applications and other matters specified in the Regulations. Part 2 (regulations 15 to 27) contains provision about producers. Chapter 1 specifies the producers, and classes of producers, which may have obligations under these Regulations and, in relation to each class of producer, the packaging in relation to which producers of that class may have obligations. Chapter 2 (regulations 23 to 26) sets out the threshold criteria which determine whether a producer is a large producer or a small producer for the purposes of these Regulations, gives an overview of the producer responsibility obligations of large producers and small producers, and makes provision about assessments of the recyclability of packaging. Chapter 3 (regulation 27) makes provision about the effect of insolvency and other events on a producer’s obligations. Part 3 (regulations 28 to 41) contains more detailed provisions about producer responsibility obligations. Chapter 1 contains provision about registration of producers. Chapter 2 and Schedule 4 contain provision about record-keeping and reporting obligations. Chapter 3 and Schedule 5 contain provision about recycling and certification obligations. Part 4 (regulations 42 to 56) contains provision about the obligations of compliance schemes and their operators, including requirements for the approval and registration of such schemes, and about the effect of compliance scheme membership upon a producer’s obligations. Part 5 (regulations 57 to 83) contains provision about disposal costs and disposal fees. Chapter 1 contains interpretation provisions. Chapter 2 provides for the appointment of a scheme administrator and Schedule 7 makes further provision about the functions of the scheme administrator and the principles it must follow. Chapter 3 makes certain large producers which supply household packaging (“liable producers”) liable to pay disposal fees and administration fees to the scheme administrator and provides for the calculation of those fees. It includes provision for the “modulation” of disposal fees payable by a liable producer (regulation 64), that is, for the scheme administrator to be able to adjust those fees to reflect the extent to which household packaging supplied by the producer is environmentally sustainable, and to incentivize the use of more environmentally sustainable packaging. Chapter 4 makes provision about the assessment by the scheme administrator of the “chargeable disposal costs” of relevant authorities (local authorities with waste collection or disposal functions), that is, the amounts which relevant authorities are entitled to be paid by the scheme administrator out of the disposal fees it collects from liable producers, in respect of the costs those authorities incur in relation to the management of household packaging waste. Chapter 5 provides for the recalculation in certain circumstances of amounts calculated or assessed under Chapters 3 and 4. Part 6 (regulations 84 to 100) and Schedule 8 regulate reprocessors who recycle packaging waste at reprocessing sites in the United Kingdom and exporters who export packaging waste to be recycled at overseas reprocessing sites. Chapter 1 contains interpretation provisions. Chapter 2 provides for the registration of reprocessors and exporters. Chapter 3 prohibits the issue of PRNs or PERNs (that is, documents which may be used by producers and scheme operators as evidence of compliance with their recycling obligations) by anyone other than a reprocessor or exporter who issues them in accordance with an accreditation granted by the appropriate agency. It makes provision about accreditation and imposes record keeping and reporting requirements on accredited reprocessors and exporters. In Part 7 (regulations 101 and 102), regulation 101 and Schedule 9 make provision about the application of producer responsibility obligations where two or more members of a corporate group are each a producer, including provision for group registrations. Regulation 102 and Schedule 10 apply certain record-keeping and reporting requirements to licensors and pub operating businesses. Part 8 (regulations 103 to 108) and Schedule 11 contain provisions about appeals. Part 9 (regulations 109 to 113) and Schedule 12 contain provisions about monitoring and enforcement by the appropriate agencies. Part 10 (regulations 114 to 126) and Schedule 13 contain provisions about offences and civil sanctions. Part 11 (regulations 127 to 140) contain miscellaneous and supplementary provisions. Regulation 137 and Schedule 15 make transitional, transitory and saving provisions. Regulation 139 and Schedule 17 contain revocations. 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 published alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk and available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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