Poisons Act 1972

9 Inspection and enforcement. E+W+S

(1) It shall be the duty of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (in this section referred to as “the Society”) to take all reasonable steps by means of inspection and otherwise—

(a) to enforce the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of section 20 of the M1 Pharmacy Act 1954 (offences relating to certificates), and

(b) to secure compliance by pharmacists and persons carrying on a retail pharmacy business with the preceding provisions of this Act and with the Poisons Rules;

and the Society shall for that purpose appoint such number of inspectors as the Privy Council may direct.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment by the Society as inspector under this section unless he is a pharmacist, and every such appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Privy Council.

(3) A person appointed by the Society as inspector under this section shall hold office subject to such conditions with respect to salary and otherwise as the Council of the Society may with the approval of the Privy Council determine.

(4) An inspector appointed by the Society under this section—

(a) shall, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of section 20 of the M2 Pharmacy Act 1954 and for securing compliance by pharmacists and persons carrying on a retail pharmacy business with the preceding provisions of this Act and with the Poisons Rules, have power at all reasonable times to enter any registered pharmacy, and

(b) shall, for the purpose of securing compliance by other persons with the preceding provisions of this Act and with the Poisons Rules, so far as those provisions and Rules relate to substances included in Part I of the Poisons List, have power to enter any premises in which he has reasonable cause to suspect that a breach of the law has been committed in relation to any such substances,

and in either case shall have power to make such examination and inquiry and to do such other things (including the taking, on payment, of samples) as may be necessary for ascertaining whether those provisions and Rules are being complied with.

(5) It shall be the duty of every local authority by means of inspection and otherwise to take all reasonable steps—

(a) to secure compliance by persons, not being persons lawfully conducting a retail pharmacy business, with the preceding provisions of this Act and with the Poisons Rules so far as those provisions and Rules relate to substances included in Part II of the Poisons List, and

(b) to secure compliance with those provisions and Rules by persons lawfully conducting a retail pharmacy business, in so far as that business is carried on at premises which are not a registered pharmacy,

and for those purposes to appoint inspectors; and an inspector appointed by the Society in pursuance of subsection (1) above may, with the consent of the Society, be appointed by a local authority to be also an inspector for the purposes of this subsection.

(6) An inspector appointed by the local authority shall, for the purposes of subsection (5) above, have power at all reasonable times to enter any premises on which any person whose name is entered in a local authority’s list carries on business, and any premises on which the inspector has reasonable cause to suspect that a breach of the law has been committed in respect of any substances included in Part II of the Poisons List, and in either case shall have power to make such examination and inquiry and to do such other things (including the taking, on payment, of samples) as may be necessary for the purposes of the inspection.

(7) An inspector appointed by a local authority in England or Wales for the purposes of subsection (5) above shall have power with the consent of the local authority to institute proceedings under this Act before a court of summary jurisdiction in the name of the authority, and to conduct any proceedings so instituted by him notwithstanding that he is not of counsel or a solicitor.

(8) If a person—

(a) wilfully delays or obstructs an inspector in the exercise of any powers under this section, or

(b) refuses to allow any sample to be taken in accordance with the provisions of this section, or

(c) fails without reasonable excuse to give any information which he is duly required under this section to give,

he shall in respect of each offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F1 level 2 on the standard scale].

(9) Nothing in this section shall authorise any inspector to enter or inspect the premises, not being a shop, of a doctor, a dentist, a veterinary surgeon or a veterinary practitioner.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), s. 46 and (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), s. 289G (which act was repealed (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 40, ss. 6, 7(1), Sch. 5 (with s. 3, Sch. 3 paras. 3, 6, s. 6(2), Sch. 6)

Marginal Citations

M1 1954 c. 61.

M2 1954 c. 61.