24.—(1) Any act or omission which would have constituted a failure to comply with the provisions of regulations 7, 8 or 9 of the 2006 Regulations while they were in force may be treated in all respects as a contravention of the corresponding requirements of Part 2 of these Regulations.
(2) This includes any act or omission relating to spare parts for the repair, or to the reuse, of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market after 1st July 2006, but the provisions of these Regulations shall not be applied in respect of spare parts for the repair, or to the reuse, of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market before 1st July 2006.
(3) Any question as to whether a requirement of regulations 7, 8 or 9 of the 2006 Regulations was complied with while they were in force may be investigated as if it was a question about compliance with the corresponding requirement of Part 2 of these Regulations, and regulation 16(2) and (3) shall apply accordingly in respect of any such investigation.
25.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations shall be taken as—
(a) requiring a person to produce any document which that person would be entitled to refuse to produce in any proceedings in any court on the grounds that it is the subject of legal professional privilege or, in Scotland, that it contains a confidential communication made by or to an advocate or solicitor in that capacity; or
(b) authorising a person to take possession of any document which is in the possession of a person who would be so entitled.
(2) A statement by a person in response to a requirement imposed by virtue of regulation 11 may only be used in evidence against that person—
(a) on a prosecution for an offence under regulation 16(3)(b); or
(b) on a prosecution for some other offence where in giving evidence that person makes a statement inconsistent with it.
(3) But the statement may not be used against that person by virtue of paragraph (2)(b) unless evidence relating to it is adduced, or a question relating to it is asked, by or on behalf of that person in the proceedings arising out of the prosecution.
26.—(1) The Enterprise Act 2002 (Part 9 Restrictions on Disclosure of Information) (Specification) Order 2004(10) is amended as follows.
(2) In Schedule 1, for the words “The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006” substitute “The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2008”.
Malcolm Wicks
Minister of State for Energy,
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
10th January 2008
Regulation 4
1. Large household appliances.
2. Small household appliances.
3. IT and telecommunications equipment.
4. Consumer equipment.
5. Lighting equipment.
6. Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools).
7. Toys, leisure and sports equipment.
8. Automatic dispensers.
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations revoke and replace the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1463) which implemented the European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/95/EC (OJ L 37, 13.3.2003, p. 19) on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“the Directive”). The Annex to the Directive can be amended by Commission Decisions and the 2006 Regulations reflected the amendments made to the Directive by Commission Decision 2005/618/EC (OJ L 214, 19.8.2005, p. 65), Commission Decision 2005/717/EC (OJ L 271, 15.10.2005, p. 48), Commission Decision 2005/747/EC (OJ L 280, 25.10.2005, p. 18) and Commission Decision 2006/310/EC (OJ L 115, 28.4.2006, p. 38).
Since the 2006 Regulations were made, the Directive has been amended by a further three decisions: Commission Decision 2006/690/EC (OJ L 283, 14.10.2006, p. 47), Commission Decision 2006/691/EC (OJ L 283, 14.10.2006, p. 48) and Commission Decision 2006/692/EC (OJ L 283, 14.10.2006, p. 50). All three decisions amend the list of exempt applications of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls or polybrominated diphenyl ethers to which the Directive does not apply, which is set out in the Annex to the Directive. It is expected that the Annex will be subject to further amending decisions over time: an up to date record of such decisions can be found on the European Commission’s website at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/legis_en.htm and an up to date list of exempt applications can be found at http://www.berr.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability.
These Regulations apply to new electrical and electronic equipment within the categories set out in the Schedule and to electric light bulbs and to luminaires for use in households that are put on the market on or after 1st July 2006 (when the 2006 Regulations came into force: regulation 24(1)).
These Regulations do not apply to—
(a) spare parts for the repair of electrical and electronic equipment or to the reuse of such equipment put on the market before 1st July 2006 (regulation 24(2)); and
(b) the applications of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and polybrominated diphenyl ethers listed in the Annex to the Directive, as amended from time to time (regulation 5).
General requirements relating to the putting on the market on or after 1st July 2006 of new electrical and electronic equipment are set out in Part 2. New equipment put on the market must not contain more than the permissible maximum concentration values of hazardous substances (regulation 7). Regulation 8 sets out requirements relating to technical documentation.
The Secretary of State has the duty of enforcing the Regulations (regulation 9) and may appoint any person to act on its behalf. The Secretary of State has the power to make test purchases (regulation 10), require production of documents and information (regulation 11) and serve compliance and enforcement notices in cases of suspected non-compliance with the requirements of Part 2 (regulations 14 and 15). Enforcement officers acting on the Secretary of State’s behalf have powers to enter premises and carry out various information-gathering functions (regulations 12 and 13).
Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the requirements of Part 2 or an enforcement notice shall be guilty of an offence; there are also procedural offences of obstruction and providing false or misleading information (regulation 16). Penalties for such offences are set out in regulation 17. The current maximum fine under level 5 on the standard scale is £5000. Where regulation 7 has been contravened, the court may also order the defendant to take remedial action or pay the costs of the Secretary of State’s investigation (regulations 18 and 19). Proceedings in relation to offences may be commenced within 12 months of the offence being committed (regulation 20). A defence of due diligence is provided in regulation 21 and the liability of persons other than the principal offender is set out in regulation 22. There is provision for service of documents under the Regulations under regulation 23.
These Regulations will be included amongst the subordinate legislation which has been specified for the purposes of Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 relating to the disclosure of information (regulation 26).
An Impact Assessment (IA) in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. As these Regulations transpose the Directive, a transposition note (TN) setting out how the Government will transpose the Directive into UK law has been prepared. Copies of the IA and TN are available from the Enterprise and Business Group, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET. Copies of these documents have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.
S.I. 2004/693. Back [10]