UK Offence Report

Obstructing an authorised person

regulation 86(1) of The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025

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

1 A person who intentionally obstructs, or fails to assist, an authorised person, in the carrying out of their enforcement functions is guilty of 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 86(1)?

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 obstructs, or fails to assist, an authorised person, in the carrying out of their enforcement functions.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025.
  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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
23 January 2025
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 are the first to be made under powers which include the powers in Schedule 8 to the Environment Act 2021 (c. 30). They establish, in England and Northern Ireland, a deposit scheme for container drinks which are supplied for consumption in England or Northern Ireland. The relevant containers are single-use closed bottles and cans made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel or aluminium which contain between 150 millilitres and 3 litres of liquid. From 1st October 2027, anyone in England or Northern Ireland who is supplied with a container drink to which these Regulations apply must pay a deposit to the person who supplies them with that drink, and a person who returns an empty container to a collector will be entitled to a refund. Under the scheme it will also be possible to return and claim a refund for certain empty containers from drinks which were purchased outside of England and Northern Ireland. Part 1 of the Regulations contains introductory provisions. Part 2 contains provisions on interpretation. Part 3 contains provisions relating to the establishment of a deposit scheme for container drinks in England and Northern Ireland. This Part also sets out the circumstances in which a person is not entitled to a refund for a returnable item. Chapter 1 of Part 4 contains provisions on registration requirements for scheme producers, the obligation of deposit management organisations to keep a register of registered scheme producers and provisions requiring registered scheme producers to keep records relating to the supply of container drinks. Deposit management organisations have powers to obtain information from registered scheme producers and powers relating to the cancellation of registration. Chapter 2 contains provisions relating to registered low volume products. Chapter 3 contains provisions relating to payments by registered scheme producers to deposit management organisations. Part 5 contains provisions relating to scheme suppliers, including a prohibition on the supply of drinks produced by a scheme producer who is not registered, and provisions relating to the labelling of deposit items, of scheme multipacks and of registered low volume products. Part 5 also contains provisions requiring scheme suppliers to display information about the deposit scheme and about registered low volume products and also provisions giving deposit management organisations the power to obtain information from scheme suppliers. Part 6 contains provisions relating to the return of returnable items. Chapter 1 of Part 6 contains provisions on items subject to overseas schemes. Chapter 2 contains provisions relating to mandatory return points for container drinks and chapter 3 contains provisions relating to voluntary return points. Chapter 4 contains provisions on information to be provided at return points and chapter 5 contains provisions on take-back services and on the collection or acceptance of returnable items by deposit management organisations. Chapter 6 contains provisions on the register of return points, the register of return point exemptions and the register of take-back service providers and chapter 7 contains provisions on the general obligations of scheme collectors to offer payment for returnable items and to retain them for collection. Part 7 contains provisions relating to the role of the deposit management organisation as scheme administrator. Chapter 1 contains provisions on the appointment and governance of a deposit management organisation and chapter 2 contains provisions on the issue and administration arrangements for scheme logos, scheme packaging logos and scheme return codes. Chapter 3 contains provisions relating to deposits, including determining the amount of the deposit and the use that may be made of amounts received as deposits. Chapter 4 contains provisions relating to fees for registration, and chapter 5 contains provisions relating to the collection of returnable items, including reviews of the operation of return points. Chapter 6 contains provisions on the recycling of in-scope materials from drinks containers which have been returned. Chapter 7 contains provisions relating to national enforcement authorities and chapter 8 contains provisions relating to deposit management organisations working with other scheme administrators established in Wales, Scotland or overseas. Chapter 9 contains provisions relating to the internal review of decisions made by deposit management organisations. Chapter 10 contains provisions relating to the revocation of a person’s appointment as the deposit management organisation and includes provisions relating to the Secretary of State (or another person) acting as interim scheme administrator until a person is appointed as the deposit management organisation. Part 8 contains provisions relating to targets for deposit management organisations. Part 9 contains provisions relating to enforcement. Chapter 2 sets out enforcement powers applicable in England and Northern Ireland respectively and contains powers for the appropriate authorities to require the provision of information. Chapter 3 contains provisions relating to offences and chapter 4 provisions relating to civil sanctions. Chapter 5 contains provisions relating to the publication of enforcement action in a public register. Part 10 sets out provisions relating to rights of appeal and the procedure on appeal. Part 11 sets out the functions of the national enforcement authorities. Part 12 contains provisions for a review of the regulatory provisions contained in these Regulations. A full impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from www.legislation.gov.uk, and 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

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 is “guilty of 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