Page:The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020.pdf/7

 (3) A person who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes a direction given under regulation 8, or fails to comply with a reasonable instruction or a prohibition notice given by a relevant person under regulation 8, commits an offence.

(4) An offence under this regulation is punishable on summary conviction by a fine.

(5) If an offence under this regulation committed by a body corporate is proved—

(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the body, or

(b) to be attributable to any neglect on the part of such an officer, the officer (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be prosecuted and proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(6) In paragraph (5), "officer", in relation to a body corporate, means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate.

(7) Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 applies in relation to an offence under this regulation as if the reasons in subsection

(5) of that section included—

(a) to maintain public health;

(b) to maintain public order.

(8) For the purposes of this regulation, references to a requirement include references to a restriction.

Fixed penalty notices

10.—(1) An authorised person may issue a fixed penalty notice to anyone that the authorised person reasonably believes—

(a) has committed an offence under these Regulations;

(b) is over the age of 18.

(2) A fixed penalty notice is a notice offering the person to whom it is issued the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty to a local authority specified in the notice.

(3) The local authority specified in the notice must be the local authority (or as the case may be, any of the local authorities) in whose area the offence is alleged to have been committed ("the relevant local authority").

(4) Where a person is issued with a notice under this regulation in respect of an offence—

(a) no proceedings may be taken for the offence before the end of the period of 28 days following the date of the notice;

(b) the person may not be convicted of the offence if the person pays the fixed penalty before the end of that period.

(5) A fixed penalty notice must—

(a) give reasonably detailed particulars of the circumstances alleged to constitute the offence;

(b) state the period during which (because of paragraph (4)(a)) proceedings will not be taken for the offence;

(c) specify the amount of the fixed penalty;

(d) state the name and address of the person to whom the fixed penalty may be paid;

(e) specify permissible methods of payment.

(6) The amount specified under paragraph (5)(c) must, subject to paragraph (7), be £60.

(7) (a) Unless sub-paragraph (b) applies, a fixed penalty notice must specify that if £30 is paid before the end of the period of 14 days following the date of the notice that is the amount of the fixed penalty;