UK Offence Report

17 If the undertaker, without reasonable excuse, fails to— a comply with a direction given under article 9,…

article 17 of The Scarweather Sands Offshore Wind Farm Order 2004

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

17 If the undertaker, without reasonable excuse, fails to—

a comply with

a direction given under article 9, 12(1) or (2) or 13;

b comply with the requirements of article 12(3) or 15;

c give notification as required by article 9; or

d operate the wind turbines in accordance with article 14, it will be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses reasonably practicable; which element that governs was not determined; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

17 If the undertaker, without reasonable excuse, fails to— a comply with a direction given under article 9, 12(1) or (2) or 13; b comply with the requirements of article 12(3) or 15; c give notification as required by article 9; or d operate the wind turbines in accordance with article 14, it will be guilt

What would breach article 17?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Scarweather Sands Offshore Wind Farm Order 2004, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

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
16 November 2004
In force from
19 November 2004
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order provides for the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm and ancillary works on the bed of Swansea Bay off the coast between Porthcawl and Port Talbot and for the connection of those works via an onshore substation to the electricity distribution system. A copy of the works plans, land plans, sections and of the book of reference prescribed by rule 12(1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2000, and certified in accordance with article 34 of this Order, may be inspected at the offices of Scarweather Sands Ltd., PO Box 824, Alexandra Gate, Rover Way, Cardiff, CF24 2SD.

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