Fines Act 2010

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Community service order in default of payment of fine.

18.— (1) The Act of 1983 is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following definitions in subsection (1) of section 1:

“ ‘Act of 2010’ means the Fines Act 2010;

‘fine’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 (amended by subparagraph (iii) of section 19 (a) of the Act of 2010) of the Courts (No. 2) Act 1986 ;”,

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections in section 2:

“(2) This Act also applies to a person (in this Act also referred to as an ‘offender’) who—

(a) has attained the age of 16 years, and

(b) stands convicted of an offence in respect of which the court has imposed a fine that the offender has failed to pay by the due date for payment.

(3) In this section ‘due date for payment’ means, in relation to a fine—

(a) the date specified by the court that imposed the fine as being the date by which the fine is required to be paid, or

(b) where a direction is given under section 15 of the Act of 2010, the date by which the final instalment of the fine is required to be paid in accordance with that direction.”,

(c) in section 3, by—

(i) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(1A) Where a court is satisfied that—

(a) a receiver appointed under section 16 of the Act of 2010 has been unable to recover—

(i) the fine imposed by it in relation to an offender to whom subsection (2) of section 2 applies, or

(ii) a sum or sums from the sale of property belonging to that offender sufficient to pay that fine,

and

(b) that, in relation to the offender, the provisions of section 4 have been complied with,

it may make an order (in this Act also referred to as a ‘community service order’) in accordance with this section.”,

and

(ii) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) A community service order shall require the offender to perform, in accordance with this Act, unpaid work for such number of hours as are specified in the order, being—

(a) in the case of an offender to whom subsection (1) of section 2 applies, not less than 40 hours and not greater than 240 hours,

(b) in the case of an offender to whom subsection (2) of section 2 applies who was convicted on indictment of the offence concerned, not less than 40 hours and not greater than 240 hours, and

(c) in the case of an offender to whom subsection (2) of section 2 applies who was convicted summarily of the offence concerned, not less than 30 hours and not greater than 100 hours.”,

(d) by the insertion, in section 5, of the following subsections:

“(2A) The hours of work specified in a community service order under subsection (1A) (inserted by section 18 of the Act of 2010) of section 3 shall be additional to any hours of work specified in any other community service order made in respect of the offender.

(2B) In determining the number of hours of work to specify in a community service order under subsection (1A) of section 3 the court shall take account of—

(a) any sum or sums paid by the offender concerned in satisfaction of part of the fine, and

(b) any part of the fine, or any sum or sums from the proceeds of the sale of property of the offender sufficient to pay part only of that fine, recovered by the receiver appointed under section 16 of the Act of 2010.”,

(e) by the insertion, in section 7, of the following subsection:

“(6) Subsection (4) shall not apply to an offender to whom subsection (2) of section 2 applies.”.

(2) Section 2 of the Act of 1983 as it stood immediately before the commencement of this section shall, immediately after such commencement, be subsection (1) of the said section 2.