UK Offence Report

Requirement to provide details of children attending school

regulation 3(4) of The Health Protection (Local Authority Powers) (Wales) Regulations 2010

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

4 It is an offence for

a headteacher to fail without reasonable excuse to comply with

a notice served under paragraph (1).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

4 It is an offence for a headteacher to fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice served under paragraph (1).

What would breach regulation 3(4)?

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 fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice served under paragraph (1).
  2. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Health Protection (Local Authority Powers) (Wales) Regulations 2010.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£500
Standard scale
Level 2
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
8 June 2010
In force from
26 July 2010
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 apply in Wales and confer discretionary powers on local authorities (including powers to impose restrictions and requirements) for the purposes of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination which presents or could present significant harm to human health. The Regulations also place an obligation on third parties to co-operate in a particular circumstance. Regulation 2 enables a local authority to require that a child is kept away from school. Regulation 3 enables the local authority to require that a headteacher provide it with the names and contact details of the pupils at that headteacher’s school. Regulations 4 to 7 enable a local authority to disinfect or decontaminate things or premises on request from the owner or the person with charge or control in relation to things or the tenant in relation to premises. Regulation 8 enables the local authority to make requests of individuals or groups to do, or not to do, specified things for health protection purposes and to offer compensation or expenses in relation to a request. Regulations 9 to 10 enable a local authority to restrict contact with, and access to, a dead body. Regulation 11 enables a local authority to take action to relocate a dead body; and obliges a person having charge or control of premises in which the dead body is located to co-operate. A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Assembly Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

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 0.90.

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