Health Act 2006

Commentary on Sections

Part 1 - Smoking

Chapter 1 -  Smoke-Free Premises, Places and Vehicles

Section 11: Obstruction etc. of officers

66.Section 11 provides that any person who intentionally obstructs an authorised officer of an enforcement authority, enforcing smoke-free provisions of this Act, commits an offence. By subsection (2), a person who fails to give to an authorised officer any facilities, assistance or information which the authorised officer reasonably requires for the purposes of enforcement commits an offence. By subsection (3), a person commits an offence if he/she makes a statement which is false or misleading, and he/she either knows that is false or misleading or is reckless as to whether it is false or misleading. For the purposes of this section, “false or misleading” means false or misleading in a material particular. In enforcement cases where the appropriate national authority acts as the enforcement authority, the same provisions apply to persons discharging enforcement authority on behalf of the appropriate national authority.

67.Subsection (4) provides that a person who obstructs an authorised officer as specified in section 11 is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, which is currently up to £1,000.