Care Standards Act 2000

Offences

24Failure to comply with conditions

If a person registered in respect of an establishment or agency fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any condition for the time being in force by virtue of this Part in respect of the establishment or agency, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

25Contravention of regulations

(1)Regulations under this Part may provide that a contravention of or failure to comply with any specified provision of the regulations shall be an offence.

(2)A person guilty of an offence under the regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

26False descriptions of establishments and agencies

(1)A person who, with intent to deceive any person—

(a)applies any name to premises in England or Wales; or

(b)in any way describes such premises or holds such premises out,

so as to indicate, or reasonably be understood to indicate, that the premises are an establishment, or an agency, of a particular description shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale unless registration has been effected under this Part in respect of the premises as an establishment or agency of that description.

(2)References to premises in subsection (1) shall be taken to include references to an undertaking or organisation.

(3)No person shall, with intent to deceive any person, in any way describe or hold out an establishment or agency as able to provide any service or do any thing the provision or doing of which would contravene a condition for the time being in force by virtue of this Part in respect of the establishment or agency.

(4)A person who contravenes subsection (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

27False statements in applications

(1)Any person who, in an application for registration under this Part or for the variation of any condition in force in relation to his registration, knowingly makes a statement which is false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

28Failure to display certificate of registration

(1)A certificate of registration issued under this Part in respect of any establishment or agency shall be kept affixed in a conspicuous place in the establishment or at the agency.

(2)If default is made in complying with subsection (1), any person registered in respect of the establishment or agency shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

29Proceedings for offences

(1)Proceedings in respect of an offence under this Part or regulations made under it shall not, without the written consent of the Attorney General, be taken by any person other than—

(a)the Commission or, in relation to any functions of the Commission which the Secretary of State is by virtue of section 113 for the time being discharging, the Secretary of State; or

(b)the Assembly.

(2)Proceedings for an offence under this Part or regulations made under it may be brought within a period of six months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to his knowledge; but no such proceedings shall be brought by virtue of this subsection more than three years after the commission of the offence.

30Offences by bodies corporate

(1)This section applies where any offence under this Part or regulations made under it is committed by a body corporate.

(2)If the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a)any director, manager, or secretary of the body corporate; or

(b)any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,

he (as well as the body corporate) shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(3)The reference in subsection (2) to a director, manager or secretary of a body corporate includes a reference—

(a)to any other similar officer of the body; and

(b)where the body is a local authority, to any officer or member of the authority.