UK Offence Report

1 A person commits an offence if in response to powers exercised under regulations 8 and 9 that person— a…

regulation 10(1) of The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018

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 commits an offence if in response to powers exercised under regulations 8 and 9 that person— a fails to supply an enforcement officer with any information, documents or records requested; b gives false or misleading information to an enforcement officer; or c intentionally obstructs an enforcement officer.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 10(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

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

The Ministry of Justice records offences under this instrument against offence code 19711 — 19711 - Fail to supply or give false/misleading information, documents or records to enforcement officer; Intentionally obstruct enforcement officer (Environmental Protection (Microbeads) (Wales) Regulations 2018). That code may cover several provisions of the instrument, so a count against it is not a count of prosecutions under this provision alone.

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have their own code in the MoJ’s Outcomes by Offence data tool. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
19 June 2018
In force from
30 June 2018
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 prohibit the use of microbeads as an ingredient in the manufacture of rinse-off personal care products and the sale of any such products containing microbeads (regulation 3). Breach of this prohibition is an offence (regulation 3). Definitions of “microbead” and “rinse-off personal care product” are contained in regulation 2. The prohibition on the manufacture and sale of any such products will come into force on 30th June 2018. A civil sanctions regime is also introduced to enable the regulator to impose a range of civil sanctions (regulation 7 and the Schedule). These include variable monetary penalties, compliance notices and stop notices. The regulator may also accept enforcement undertakings. The Regulations make provision for the procedure relating to these sanctions and the available appeal mechanisms. Failure to comply with a stop notice is an offence (paragraph 16 of the Schedule). All appeals relating to a civil sanction are to the First-tier Tribunal. Regulation 8 gives enforcement officers powers to carry out investigations for an authorised purpose (as defined in regulation 2). Regulation 9 gives enforcement officers powers of entry to carry out an investigation for an authorised purpose (as defined in regulation 2). Regulation 10 creates offences associated with enforcement officers’ powers in regulations 8 and 9. Regulation 11 provides for publication of information on enforcement action taken by the regulator, and regulations 12 and 13 provide that guidance relating to the use of civil sanctions must be prepared and consulted on and specify information to be included in such guidance. Regulation 14 contains provision for review of the Regulations. Regulators are able to recover the costs of enforcement (paragraph 27 of the Schedule) in the case of variable monetary penalties, compliance notices and stop notices. These Regulations were notified in draft to the European Commission in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ No. L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1). The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations in Wales. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh 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 0.92.

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