- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Armed Forces Act 2006, Section 270A is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 01 September 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
(1)If the conditions in subsection (2) are met, the power to award a community punishment in respect of an offence (“the current offence”) may be exercised even though the court would not otherwise regard—
(a)the current offence, or
(b)the combination of the current offence and one or more offences associated with it,
as serious enough to warrant a community punishment (despite the effect of section 238(1)(b)).
(2)The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are—
(a)that the offender was aged 16 or over when convicted of the current offence;
(b)that on three or more previous occasions the offender has been awarded a relevant financial penalty; and
(c)that the court, having regard to all the circumstances, considers that it would be in the interests of justice to award a community punishment.
(3)In subsection (2)(b) a “relevant financial penalty” means a sentence consisting only of a fine—
(a)passed on the offender in respect of a service offence F2... committed by the offender when aged 16 or over; [F3or]
(b)passed on the offender on conviction by a civilian court in the British Islands of an offence so committed; F4...
F5(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4)For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) it is immaterial whether the offender has on other previous occasions been awarded a sentence other than a relevant financial penalty.
(5)The circumstances which must be had regard to under subsection (2)(c) include—
(a)the nature of the offences for which the relevant financial penalties were awarded;
(b)the relevance of those offences to the current offence; and
(c)the time that has elapsed since those penalties were awarded.
(6)For the purposes of subsection (3), none of the following forms part of an offender's sentence—
[F6(za)a criminal courts charge order (or an order under section 21A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (criminal courts charge));]
(a)a service compensation order;
(b)a compensation order under—
[F7(i)section 133 of the Sentencing Code (or section 130 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000);]
(ii)section 249 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995; or
(iii)Article 14 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994;
(c)a surcharge under [F8section 42 of the Sentencing Code (or section 161A of the 2003 Act)] [F9;
(d)an unlawful profit order under section 4 of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.]
[F10(e)a slavery and trafficking reparation order under section 8 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.]
(7)This section does not limit the extent to which a court may, in accordance with section 238, treat previous convictions of the offender as increasing the seriousness of an offence.
F11(8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
Textual Amendments
F1S. 270A inserted (2.4.2012) by Armed Forces Act 2011 (c. 18), s. 32(3), Sch. 3 para. 20(2); S.I. 2012/669, art. 4(d) (with art. 13)
F2Words in s. 270A(3)(a) omitted (13.11.2023) by virtue of Armed Forces Act 2021 (c. 35), ss. 17(4)(a)(i), 24(1); S.I. 2023/1102, reg. 4
F3Word in s. 270A(3)(a) inserted (13.11.2023) by Armed Forces Act 2021 (c. 35), ss. 17(4)(a)(i), 24(1); S.I. 2023/1102, reg. 4
F4Word in s. 270A(3)(b) omitted (13.11.2023) by virtue of Armed Forces Act 2021 (c. 35), ss. 17(4)(a)(ii), 24(1); S.I. 2023/1102, reg. 4
F5S. 270A(3)(c) omitted (13.11.2023) by virtue of Armed Forces Act 2021 (c. 35), ss. 17(4)(a)(iii), 24(1); S.I. 2023/1102, reg. 4
F6S. 270A(6)(za) inserted (1.12.2020 immediately before the consolidation date (see 2020 c. 9, ss. 3, 5(2)(3) and 2020 c. 17, ss. 2, 416)) by Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Act 2020 (c. 9), s. 5(2)(3), Sch. 2 para. 123(7)(a) (with s. 5(9)); S.I. 2012/1236, reg. 2
F7S. 270A(6)(b)(i) substituted (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 25 para. 67(a) (with s. 416(7), Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
F8Words in s. 270A(6)(c) substituted (1.12.2020) by Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17), s. 416(1), Sch. 25 para. 67(b) (with s. 416(7), Sch. 27); S.I. 2020/1236, reg. 2
F9S. 270A(6)(d) inserted (15.10.2013 for E., 5.11.2013 for W.) by Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 (c. 3), s. 12, Sch. para. 31; S.I. 2013/2622, art. 2; S.I. 2013/2861, art. 2
F10S. 270A(6)(e) inserted (1.12.2020 immediately before the consolidation date (see 2020 c. 9, ss. 3, 5(2)(3) and 2020 c. 17, ss. 2, 416)) by Sentencing (Pre-consolidation Amendments) Act 2020 (c. 9), s. 5(2)(3), Sch. 2 para. 123(7)(b) (with s. 5(9)); S.I. 2012/1236, reg. 2
F11S. 270A(8) omitted (13.11.2023) by virtue of Armed Forces Act 2021 (c. 35), ss. 17(4)(b), 24(1); S.I. 2023/1102, reg. 4
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: