Face covering fines upped to £3,200

Fiction:

Introducing fines of up to £3,200 for breaching lockdown restrictions is a new measure.

Law:

Fines for breach of lockdown restrictions have been a feature of regulations since the start of lockdown. The regulations restricting gatherings of more than 30 people outdoors, and the further restrictions in specific areas such as the North of England,  already allow for increasing fine tariffs for repeat offences, with the sixth offence coming in at £3,200. What is ‘new’ is the announcement to extend that scheme to include face covering, where the relevant regulations previously only provided for fines at £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.

The fines can be issued to anyone aged 18 or over.

At 14th August when publishing this post, regulations had not yet been published to www.legislation.co.uk but it may be  expected that they will come in from Saturday 15th August and repeat the existing scheme. That being the case, the six levels of fines are as follows:

  • 1st: £100
  • 2nd: £200
  • 3rd: £400
  • 4th: £800
  • 5th: £1,600
  • 6th and subsequent: £3,200
Mixing up the offences

The increasing tariffs don’t require repetition of the same offence. If caught having a cup of tea in Gran’s house in Manchester (1st offence £100), then going to the shop for the sugar you’d forgotten but not wearing a face covering (2nd offence, £200) that would be two offences at a total cost of £300. Six offences totals an outlay of £6,300, with further offences being fined at £3,200 each.

Who can issue the fines

The ‘authorised persons’ who may issue the fines are the police, police community support officers and persons ‘designated by the Secretary of State’ for that purpose.

All that is required that the authorised person ‘reasonably believes’ an offence has been committed. There is no requirement that the offence has actually been committed. So, if someone’s explanation as to why they are exempt is not accepted at the time, it seems that the fine will stand regardless. In practice, it seems likely that carrying around a medical certificate of exemption may be about the only way to satisfy a sceptical or officious authorised person.

What if you don’t pay?

If the fine is paid within 28 days, no offence is committed and no criminal proceedings can be brought. If you do not pay and proceedings are brought, the Courts can make an order that you to pay the fines.

The regulations on face covering

For more information about what is a face covering, where it must be worn and what are the exemptions, see our earlier post Face covering requirements expanded from 8th August.

Wales Welsh Flag Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

There is so far no announced change in Wales, where face coverings are only compulsory on public transport. Again, see our earlier post.

 

Warning: Law and circumstances can change very quickly.  Please note the date of publication of any blog post and check for any updates on the issues addressed. In any event, we do not condone or encourage breaching the law and neither the above nor any information posted on this website constitutes legal advice. It must not be relied upon as such and specialist legal advice should be taken in relation to specific circumstances. Please read our disclaimer.

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2 thoughts on “Face covering fines upped to £3,200”

  1. So I’ve been watching these fines get thrown out of court in places like Canada and aus when asked to isolate the virus from a dead person and prove it and so far I’ve not seen a fine go through because there reply to isolating it is ” you know we can’t do that ” so there being thrown out of court , my question is are you aware of this and do you have info regarding it? Also these fines are coming from a private corp run by 3 UK police officers as it clearly states on online when you investigate the private fine paper work, unbelievable.

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