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| Failure to display certificate of registration. |
26. - (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.
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(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.
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| Proceedings for offences. |
27. 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-
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(a) the Commission or, in relation to any functions of the Commission which the Secretary of State is by virtue of section 92 for the time being discharging, the Secretary of State; or |
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| Offences by bodies corporate. |
28. - (1) This section applies where any offence under this Part or regulations made under it is committed by a body corporate.
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(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-
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(a) any director, manager, or secretary of the body corporate; or |
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(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, |
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he (as well as the body corporate) shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
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(3) The reference in subsection (2) to a director, manager or secretary of a body corporate includes a reference-
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(a) to any other similar officer of the body; and |
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(b) where the body is a local authority, to any officer of the authority. |
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Miscellaneous and supplemental |
| Inspections by persons authorised by registration authority. |
29. - (1) The registration authority may at any time require a person who carries on or manages an establishment or agency to provide it with any information relating to the establishment or agency which the registration authority considers it necessary or expedient to have for the purposes of its functions under this Part.
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(2) A person authorised by the registration authority may at any time enter and inspect premises which are used, or which he has reasonable cause to believe to be used, as an establishment or for the purposes of an agency.
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(3) A person authorised by virtue of this section to enter and inspect premises may-
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(a) make any examination into the state and management of the premises and treatment of patients or persons accommodated or cared for there which he thinks appropriate; |
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(b) inspect and take copies of any records (other than medical records) required to be kept in accordance with regulations under this Part, section 9(2) of the Adoption Act 1976, section 23(2)(a) or 59(2) of the 1989 Act or section 1(3) of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999; |
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(c) interview in private the manager or the person carrying on the establishment or agency; |
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(d) interview in private any person employed there; |
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(e) interview in private any patient or person accommodated or cared for there who consents to be interviewed. |
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(4) The powers under subsection (3)(b) include-
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(a) power to require the manager or the person carrying on the establishment or agency to produce any records, wherever kept, for inspection on the premises; and |
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(b) in relation to records which are kept by means of a computer, power to require the records to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away. |
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(5) Subsection (6) applies where the premises in question are used as an establishment and the person so authorised-
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(a) is a medical practitioner or registered nurse; and |
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(b) has reasonable cause to believe that a patient or person accommodated or cared for there is not receiving proper care. |
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(6) The person so authorised may, with the consent of the person mentioned in subsection (5)(b), examine him in private and inspect any medical records relating to his treatment in the establishment.
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The powers conferred by this subsection may be exercised in relation to a person who is incapable of giving consent without that person's consent.
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(7) The Secretary of State may by regulations require the Commission to arrange for premises which are used as an establishment or for the purposes of an agency to be inspected on such occasions or at such intervals as may be prescribed.
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(8) A person who proposes to exercise any power of entry or inspection conferred by this section shall if so required produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power.
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(9) Any person who-
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(a) intentionally obstructs the exercise of any power conferred by this section or section 30; or |
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(b) fails without a reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement under this section or that section, |
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shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
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| Inspections: supplementary. |
30. - (1) A person authorised by virtue of section 29 to enter and inspect any premises may seize and remove any document or other material or thing found there which he has reasonable grounds to believe may be evidence of a failure to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by or under this Part.
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(2) A person so authorised-
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(a) may require any person to afford him such facilities and assistance with respect to matters within the person's control as are necessary to enable him to exercise his powers under section 29 or this section; |
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(b) may take such measurements and photographs and make such recordings as he considers necessary to enable him to exercise those powers. |
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(3) A person authorised by virtue of section 29 to inspect any records shall be entitled to have access to, and to check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus which is or has been in use in connection with the records in question.
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(4) The references in section 29 to the person carrying on the establishment or agency include, in the case of an establishment or agency which is carried on by a company, a reference to any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the company.
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(5) Where any premises which are used as an establishment or for the purposes of an agency have been inspected under section 29, the registration authority-
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(a) shall prepare a report on the matters inspected; and |
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(b) shall without delay send a copy of the report to each person who is registered in respect of the establishment or agency. |
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(6) The registration authority shall make copies of any report prepared under subsection (5) available for inspection at its offices by any person at any reasonable time; and may take any other steps for publicising a report which it considers appropriate.
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(7) Any person who asks the registration authority for a copy of a report prepared under subsection (5) shall be entitled to have one on payment of a reasonable fee determined by the registration authority; but nothing in this subsection prevents the registration authority from providing a copy free of charge when it considers it appropriate to do so.
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(8) Where the Secretary of State has specified regions in a direction made under paragraph 9 of Schedule 1, the reference in subsection (6) to offices is, in relation to premises in England which are used as an establishment or for the purposes of an agency, a reference to the Commission's offices for the region in which the premises are situated.
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