§ Baroness WOOTTON of ABINGERasked Her Majesty's Government:
To list:
- (a)the offences in which an accused person has the option of pleading guilty by post; and
- (b)the offences for which an offender has the option of paying a fixed penalty.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHAn accused person may plead guilty by post to any purely summary offence punishable with not more than three months' imprisonment if the prosecutor has served upon him the summons, a statement of the facts 1067WA relating to the charge and a notice informing him of his right to plead by post. If the court is satisfied that the defendant has been served with the relevant documents and the offence is as described, they may proceed in the absence of the defendant (Section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1957).
An offender has the option of paying a fixed penalty in respect of offences covered by Section 80 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967, but only when a fixed penalty notice has been issued. Broadly, the offences are:
A constable may issue a fixed penalty notice when he has reason to believe any of these offences is or has been committed. A traffic warden may do so for offences committed in respect of stationary vehicles only.
- (i)certain moving and stationary vehicle lighting offences
- (ii)parking, waiting, loading and unloading offences, except offences of obstruction and dangerous parking;
- (iii)offences of non-payment of a charge made at a street parking place;
- (iv)certain prescribed route offences, for example in relation to one-way streets, U-turns and bus lanes: and
- (v)the offence of not displaying a valid excise licence.