Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008

Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008

2008 CHAPTER 13

Commentary on Sections

Part Three: Civil Sanctions

Schedule 7: Enactments specified for the purpose of section 62

162. This section extends any power of a Minister of the Crown or Welsh Minister to create criminal offences in secondary legislation to include the powers to create alternative civil sanctions under this Part of this Act. This applies only to those powers contained in enactments listed in Schedule 7. This would allow, for example, the Minister when amending or consolidating criminal offences contained in secondary legislation made under a listed enactment, to make provision for fixed monetary penalties. These provisions only apply in relation to existing powers to create criminal offences. Any such power created in future will need to make its own provision. There is no power to amend Schedule 7 to this Act.

163. The enactments listed at Schedule 7 generally cover the same regulatory subject matter as covered by Schedules 5 and 6. Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 is not listed in Schedule 7 as it is considered that this power is sufficiently wide to allow for the creation of civil sanctions.

164. Subsection (3) requires that any statutory instrument conferring the power to impose any of these civil sanctions made under the enactments listed at Schedule 7 must be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. The power may be used to make any provision which could be made under Part 3 of the Act, and thus any substantive restrictions on the sanctions will apply when the extended power is used, for example, in relation to devolution.