Restricting Access to Corrosive Products & Blades for Under-18s: Offensive Weapons Act 201, Study notes of Criminal Justice

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Statutory guidance – draft for consultation

About this consultation

To: This consultation is open to the public and targeted at individuals, businesses and organisations in England, Wales and Scotland with an interest in the sections of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 that deal with the: sale and delivery of corrosive products, bladed articles and bladed products; possession of corrosive substances and certain offensive weapons; and threatening with offensive weapons. Duration: From 15 August 2019 to 9 October 2019 Enquiries to: Email: offensive.weapons.act.consultation@homeoffice.gov.uk Post: Serious Violence Unit 5 th^ floor, Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF How to respond: Please submit your response by XX October 2019 to the email address above. Alternatively you can post it to: Offensive Weapons Act Consultation Serious Violence Unit Home Office 5 th^ floor, Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF Additional ways to respond: Please contact the Serious Violence Unit (as above) if you require information in any other format, such as Braille, large font or audio. Response paper: A summary of responses to this consultation will be published on Gov.uk before or alongside the final statutory guidance.

Annex A – flowchart – sales of bladed products Annex B – flowchart – sales of corrosive products

Introduction

This statutory guidance, produced by the Home Office, covers the implementation of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 in England and Wales. It also covers the implementation of sections 1-4 of the Act in Scotland. It is primarily for the police, retailers and trading standards. However, it will also be of interest to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, manufacturers and suppliers of bladed articles, bladed products and corrosives, and members of the public. It sets out how the legislation should be implemented and applied, the obligations imposed under the Act, and what factors should be taken into account when making decisions on how to proceed with individual cases of the possession, sale and delivery of knives, corrosives and offensive weapons, and the use of these to threaten others. Organisations and bodies may issue additional guidance for clarification if they wish to do so. This guidance is only concerned with certain Parts of the Act, namely:

• Part 1: Corrosive products and substances
• Part 3: Sale and delivery of knives etc.
• Part 4: Possession etc. of certain offensive weapons
• Part 5: Threatening with offensive weapons
• Part 7: Enforcement Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPOs), and the measures around enhanced security for certain firearms as provided for in the Act, are subject to separate guidance. Additional arrangements in respect of the surrender of, and compensation scheme for, certain firearms and offensive weapons prohibited by the Act are also published separately. This information will be available on www.gov.uk. in due course. Background Knife crime and corrosive attacks are issues of considerable public concern, and these crimes have a devastating impact on the victims, their families and their communities. We identified the need for new legislation to respond to public concerns and to provide the police with the powers they need. We ran a public consultation between 14 October 2017 and 9 December 2017 seeking views on legislative proposals on offensive and dangerous weapons. It received 10, responses. The consultation considered proposals to make new criminal offences for: the delivery of knives to a residential address; the possession of certain knives in private; the possession of knives or offensive weapons in a wider range of educational institutions; the sale of corrosive products to under 18s; the possession of corrosive substances in a public place; and the possession of large calibre rifles and rapid firing rifles. It also considered proposals for amending the offences of threatening with an article with a blade or point or an offensive weapon, and updating the definition of a flick knife. Responses from the consultation were taken into consideration during the development of the Offensive Weapons Act which was introduced into Parliament on 20 June 2018 and received Royal Assent on 16 May 2019. The measures in the Act are one aspect of wider action the Government is taking to address the increase in serious violence. The Serious Violence Strategy, published on 9 April 2018, sets out an important and wide-ranging programme of commitments focusing on tackling

• A prohibition on rapid firing rifles and bump stocks, which increase the rate of fire of rifles. It provides for compensation to owners who lawfully owned such firearms prior to their prohibition.
• Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPOs) to intervene with those individuals suspected of

carrying knives routinely and to manage habitual knife carriers. The intention is that

KCPOs will be preventative rather than punitive – to help prevent knife crime, by

using positive requirements to help steer the individual away from serious

violence, by addressing factors in their lives that may increase the chances of

offending, alongside measures to prohibit certain activities, or introduce

geographical restrictions and curfews to help prevent future offences.

PART 1: CORROSIVE PRODUCTS AND SUBSTANCES

Part 1 of the Act responds to the rising threat posed by the use of corrosives as a weapon to inflict serious harm. Whilst this type of crime is not new, the resurgence in the use of corrosives is of significant concern given the life changing injuries that these corrosive substances can inflict. These provisions strengthen the powers of the police, trading standards and other partners to be able to tackle these crimes. We know from a voluntary data collection from police forces undertaken by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) between November 2016 and April 2017 that 39 forces reported that there had been 408 attacks using corrosive substances and that, where the age of the offender was known, 21% of offenders were under 18. A further voluntary data collection was undertaken by the NPCC and it has been estimated from this collection that there are currently 800 corrosive attacks per annum in England and Wales. We also know that while use of corrosives as a weapon in Scotland is rare, it has happened on occasion, with devastating results. The provisions in Part 1 are designed to restrict access to those products containing the most harmful corrosive substance by prohibiting the sale and delivery of corrosive products to under 18s. Part 1 also strengthens the powers of the police as it makes it an offence to possess a corrosive substance in a public place without good reason and lawful authority. Sale and delivery of corrosive products

1. Sale of corrosive products to persons under 18 The purpose of the sales provisions is to restrict access to products which contain the most harmful corrosive substances to under 18s. The provisions make it an offence to sell a corrosive product to a person who is under the age of 18. This offence applies to both over the counter and online sales of corrosive products. This part of the guidance sets out the statutory obligations on retailers, online sellers and marketplaces to ensure that they comply with the law. This is particularly important, should they be charged with an offence of selling a corrosive product to an under 18, and wish to make use of the defence available under the Act of having taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence. In Scotland, the seller is required to have undertaken a number of specific steps in order to be able to make use of the defence. Relevant bodies who should have regard to these provisions Retailers, manufacturers, police, trading standards and public. Definition For the purposes of the sales (sections 1 and 2 of the Act) and delivery legislative measures (sections 3 and 4 of the Act) then we have set out the definition of a corrosive product in Schedule 1 of the Act. It is defined as a substance listed in Schedule 1 or a product that contains a substance in a concentration higher than the limit set out for that substance within the Schedule. For ease of reference, the table in Schedule 1 is set out below. Name of substance and Chemical Abstracts Registry Number (CAS RN) Concentration limit (weight in weight) Ammonium hydroxide (CAS RN 1336- 21 - 6) 10% w/w Formic acid (CAS RN 64- 18 - 6) 10% w/w

Exemptions The legislation exempts any form of battery from the sales and delivery provisions given the wide uses of batteries in everyday items and the actual volume of batteries which are used. We also have no evidence that battery acid has been used in any attacks. The provisions are about the sale of corrosive products to individuals who are under 18. In the case of a company buying corrosive products or corrosive chemicals, the sale will not be made to a person under 18. It would only be in exceptional cases where a business is run by a sole trader who is under 18 that the sole trader would need to make arrangements for the corrosive products to be purchased by, and delivered to, a person who was over 18. The requirement would in effect require the sale to be made to another person. Identification of products caught by the age restrictions Whilst the legislation places no requirement on manufacturers and wholesalers to tell retailers or sellers what substances and concentration limits are within their products, we would encourage manufacturers and wholesalers to provide assistance to them in confirming whether any of their products are captured by these age restrictions. Retailers and sellers need to be confident that none of the products that they sell contain these substances at the concentration levels which means that they would be caught by the definition of a corrosive product. For EU manufacturers, there are existing regulations which require any manufacturer of hazardous chemicals or of products which contain hazardous chemicals to produce a safety data sheet which does set out the concentration limits of any hazardous chemicals that the product contains which includes corrosive substances. These sheets should be provided with the products and, if not, retailers and sellers need to ensure that the manufacturer provides these. If the purchasing of the products is done through wholesalers, then safety data sheets should also be available with the products but if not supplied this would be an issue to raise with the wholesaler to ensure that the products in question are not caught by these age restrictions. As well as identifying any corrosive products that they sell, retailers and sellers need to take steps to ensure that their staff are aware that these products are subject to age restrictions through actions such as awareness raising, flagging those products caught by the age restrictions to staff, and incorporating corrosive products into any internal training programmes provided to staff on age restricted products. We have already put in place in advance of this legislation a set of voluntary commitments on the responsible sale of corrosive products to help restrict the sale of corrosive products which contain harmful levels of acid and other corrosives and help prevent attacks by prohibiting sales to under 18s. These commitments were developed with the British Retail Consortium and were tested out with the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and the Association of Convenience Stores to ensure that there were both proportionate and that they worked in the retail environment. The voluntary commitments can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sales-of-acid-voluntary-commitments-for- retailers/responsible-sales-of-acid-and-corrosive-substances-voluntary-commitments Major retailers have signed up to the voluntary commitments and to date these are: Wickes, B&Q, Screwfix, Homebase, Wilko, Co-op, Morrisons, Waitrose, John Lewis, Tesco, Lakeland, Asda and Aldi UK. We also have a number of small, independent retailers signed up and have continued to work with Bira to encourage smaller independent retailers to sign

up to these commitments. Section 1 of the Act effectively places these voluntary commitments on a statutory footing which applies to all retailers. Defences England and Wales – It is a defence for a retailer or seller if charged with the offence of selling a corrosive product to a person who is under the age of 18 that they had taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. This defence is similar to the one available in relation to the sale of knives and certain articles with a blade or a point to under 18s under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act

The seller will need to decide which precautions would be reasonable and how to satisfy the requirement of exercising all due diligence. For example, this could be through traditional forms of age verification requiring the person to produce recognised documents such as a passport or driving licence to prove that they are over the age of 18, or through the use of electronic age verification systems which will allow the purchaser to prove that they are over

Retailers and collection points will need to apply their Challenge 21/25 policies and processes as appropriate when verifying age. As part of this, they will also need to consider how best to support their staff through their existing internal processes, such as till alerts, supervision, awareness raising that certain corrosive products are subject to age restrictions, and the inclusion of any corrosive products that they sell or handle as a collection point in age restricted sales training. The final arbiter in any particular case will be the courts. However, the Government anticipates that applying a common sense approach would mean that by undertaking such measures, the seller has exercised all due diligence to prevent the sale of a corrosive product to a person under the age of 18. Scotland – It is a defence for a retailer or seller if charged with this offence to show that they believed the person to whom the product was sold was aged 18 or over and either the accused had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser’s age or no reasonable person, based on the purchaser’s appearance, could have suspected they were under 18. This defence is similar to how the defence for the sale of bladed articles to under 18s operates. Reasonable steps are prescribed as being that the accused was shown any of the documents listed in subsection (5) (passport, EU photocard driving licence or such documents that Scottish Ministers may prescribe by order) and the document would have convinced any reasonable person. The legislation does not set out what age verification processes or systems should be utilised by the seller or delivery company to satisfy the defences available to the seller or delivery company. The intention of this Statutory Guidance is to preserve flexibility for the seller or delivery company in determining which of the wide range of age verification products or systems available are best suited to their business requirements in order to fulfil this statutory obligation. Penalties The offence is a summary offence. The penalty on summary conviction in England and Wales is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, an unlimited fine or both. The maximum sentence of 51 weeks is contingent on section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 coming into force, and until that time the maximum sentence will be six months imprisonment. The penalty on summary conviction in Scotland is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both. Proceedings have to be commenced no later than 12 months following the commission of the offence.

Scotland – For sellers charged with the offence of selling a corrosive product to an under 18 it will be a defence for that person to show that all the conditions set out above have been met, and a seller will have shown that they have met a condition by producing sufficient evidence and the contrary has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt. This section would allow the seller to send the product to a collection point and also the use of click and collect for instore collection as long as the way in which a collection point and/or click and collect operated was sufficient to meet the conditions above e.g. checks are made to ensure a package is only handed to those aged 18 or older. Relevant bodies who should have regard to these provisions Retailers, manufacturers, police, trading standards and the public. Age verification systems In store age verification Sellers might decide to adopt their existing Challenge 21/25 policies to ensure that anyone who appears to be below the age of 21 or 25 must provide acceptable identification before purchasing a corrosive product. This requires that it be in the form of a passport, a European Union photocard driving licence or other valid form of identification, including (for England and Wales) electronic age verification. This approach will also mean that visual assessment is sufficient for anyone who is clearly over the age of 21/25. Electronic and digital age verification The legislation does not prescribe what age verification processes or systems should be used for the purposes of meeting one of the conditions for the defence to the offence of sale to an under 18 when the sale was made remotely. There are a wide range of age verification processes or systems available, and changes in technology mean these will be subject to change and development. The Government was also clear during the passage of the legislation in Parliament that we do not want to issue standards for electronic age verification which would in effect tell sellers or delivery companies what age verification systems they should procure and use. Technology-based systems may be right for some retailers, but not all, and both retailers and customers may want different options available. It is for retailers and businesses to decide what system works best for their business models and will allow them to demonstrate that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence. As set out in the Act, it is the responsibility of the seller to make a decision on whether a particular system meets the requirement that [the] “system was likely to prevent persons under the age of 18 from buying corrosive products by that method”. It is the responsibility of the seller to take all reasonable precautions and exercise all due diligence to ensure that the package will be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over. The courts will be the final arbiter as to whether the seller has put in place adequate systems, taking into account the particular facts in individual cases. However, it is the Government’s intention that the following examples, either individually or combined, will be insufficient to satisfy the court that robust age verification had taken place:

• Relying on the person purchasing the corrosive product ticking a box confirming that they are over 18;
• Relying in any other way on information provided by the purchaser that they are over 18 without conducting additional checks;
• Using payment systems that may require the customer to be over 18, but which do not verify their age at the point of purchase.

Age verification at collection points Collection points also need to comply with the requirement that the sale of a corrosive product should not made to a person under 18. They need to consider whether to adopt and apply Challenge 21/25 policies, if they do not already, to ensure that anyone appearing to be under 21 or 25 must provide identification before collecting a corrosive product whether they are the actual purchaser or their representative. This should be the same as set out above for in store age verification. Package labelling All packages containing a corrosive product must be clearly marked to indicate that it contains a corrosive product and that it should only be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over. The legislation does not stipulate the type of labelling or any of the characteristics of it, and this will enable sellers to determine how to comply with the labelling requirement. A seller will need to determine whether the requirement may be met by a sticker stating that this is a corrosive product and not to be handed over to someone aged under 18. Alternatively, a seller may decide to use the CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging of substances and mixtures) corrosive pictogram or symbol along with wording that this product should not be handed over to someone under 18. It could also be a label with an 18 symbol and corrosive symbol. The final arbiter in any particular case will be the courts. However, in the Home Office view, it is unlikely that electronic labels used on handheld signature devices often used by delivery companies and couriers would satisfy the requirement to label the product. The Act says that the package itself must be clearly labelled. Clear and visible labelling will be important for retail and delivery staff and couriers so that they are fully aware that the package contains a corrosive product and must not be handed over to someone under 18. Definition of a locker A locker is defined as a lockable container to which the package was delivered with a view to it being collected by the purchaser or someone representing them. For example, those positioned at petrol stations or retail outlets which involve a code being sent to the purchaser in order to open the locker. These do not easily enable age verification to be carried out at the point of collection.

3. Delivery of corrosive products to residential premises etc When a corrosive product is sold remotely, section 3 makes it an offence for the seller to arrange to deliver or arrange for its delivery to residential premises. It is also an offence for the seller to deliver or arrange for its delivery to a locker for collection. The purpose of this section is to ensure that a corrosive product, where the sale is made remotely, cannot be delivered into the hands of a person who is under 18 or just left either at the address or a collection point because age has not been verified at the point of delivery. This provision also ensures that for remote sales, the purchaser or their representative, will be subject to age verification checks when they collect the corrosive product instore or from a collection point. Relevant bodies who should have regard to these provisions Retailers, manufacturers, police, trading standards and the public. Defences England and Wales – It is a defence for a seller if charged with this offence to prove that they had taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.

would entail ensuring that age verification had taken place at the point of delivery to ensure that the corrosive product was not handed over to a person under the age of 18. Scotland – It is a defence for a delivery company if charged with this offence to show that they believed the person to whom the product was delivered was aged 18 or over and either the accused had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser’s age or no reasonable person, based on the purchaser’s appearance, could have suspected they were under 18. Reasonable steps are prescribed as being that the accused was shown any of the documents listed in subsection (5) (passport, EU photocard driving licence or such documents that Scottish Ministers may prescribe by order) and the document would have convinced any reasonable person. Penalties The offence is summary only. The penalty on summary conviction in England and Wales would be a fine, and in Scotland would be a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Definitions For the purposes of this section, an overseas seller would be defined as a person who does not carry out any business of selling articles from any kind of premises within any part of the UK at the time of the remote sale. Enforcement of sections 1 – 4 Both the police and trading standards are able to enforce the legislation. In relation to over the counter sales, there will be a need to identify which stores and shops are selling corrosive products (within the terms of this Act) in the local area to ensure that they are complying with the legislation through measures such as awareness raising and test purchasing operations. The legislation does not require sellers to register in their local area but this does not preclude the police or trading standards from setting one up for their local area. For online sellers, there will also be a need to identify which online sellers and marketplaces are selling corrosive products, again for the purposes of test purchasing operations. The enforcement of the provisions on the sales of corrosive products will be through similar practices and approaches in place for the sale of knives through test purchase operations. As a result, the police and trading standards would follow existing effective practice. 5 Presumptions in proceedings in Scotland for offence under section 1, 3 or 4 This section relates to Scotland only. It provides for certain evidential presumptions in Scotland relating to the nature of substances that are, or were, in containers in relation to offences under sections 1, 3 or 4 involving a corrosive product. The presumptions have effect unless any party is able to rebut them, and notice must be given at least 7 days ahead of trial of an intent to rebut the presumptions. The presumptions are that:

• a description on a container (whether open or sealed), where the container is found to have a substance within it, is presumed to be a description of the substance within the container; and
• in the case of an open container where no substance or a substance in an amount insufficient to allow analysis is recovered, and if the container was sealed at the time it was sold or delivered, then the description on the container is presumed to describe what was in the container at the time of sale or delivery.

Possession of corrosive substances 6 Offence of having a corrosive substance in a public place Section 6 makes it an offence to possess a corrosive substance – a substance which is capable of burning human skin by corrosion – in a public place. It sets out a defence for the person charged with the offence to prove that they had good reason or lawful authority for having the corrosive substance in a public place, including for use at work. This section addresses concern about people carrying corrosive substances on their person for use in a violent attack or other criminal acts. It places the onus on the person in possession of the corrosive substance in a public place – rather than the police or prosecution – to prove that they had good reason or lawful authority to be carrying the substance in a public place. Previously, the offences under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 have been used to prosecute anyone in possession of acid or other corrosive substances with the intention of causing harm, as the individual in possession of the corrosive substance may be considered to be in possession of an offensive weapon. However, the police and prosecution needed to prove that the person in question was carrying the corrosive substance with the intention of causing injury. This change mirrors existing legislation for the possession of knives in public to ensure a consistent enforcement response from the police. Use of persuasive and evidential burdens The offence places a reverse burden on the individual if charged with the offence to prove facts within his/her knowledge which should be relatively easy to establish. For example, when and where they had purchased the corrosive substance, the nature of their employment, for what purpose and if they used it as part of their work. We expect that the circumstances in which the individual is likely to need to establish a defence are those where there is a suspicion or intelligence that an individual or group are carrying a corrosive substance which they might use for an attack on another person. If the person or member of the group were intending to use the substance for a legitimate purpose, the facts to enable to establish the good reason defence would be within their knowledge and they would readily be able to provide evidence for this. For example, if they were in possession of a drain cleaner, they should be able to explain why they had it, what they were going to use it for and how they were going to use it. The link to the Government response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights provides useful information: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/joint-committees/human-rights/correspondence/2017- 19/Offensive-Weapons-Bill-JCHR.pdf Relevant bodies who should have regard to these provisions Police, prosecution and the public. Definitions For the purposes of the possession offence, a corrosive substance is defined as a substance which is capable of burning human skin by corrosion. This definition is specific to the offence and was developed based on the advice from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The definition is focused on the actual effects of the substance as we know that corrosive substances are often decanted into other containers or bottles to make them

8 Appropriate custodial sentence for conviction under section 6 This section provides an appropriate custodial penalty where a person aged 16 or over is convicted of the offence of possessing a corrosive substance in a public place and has at least one relevant previous conviction. The court is required to impose an appropriate custodial term in addition to a fine, unless it decides that there are circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. An appropriate custodial term is defined as at least 6 months imprisonment for an offender aged 18 or over, or a detention and training order of at least 4 months for an offender aged 16 or 17. This mirrors existing legislation for knives and offensive weapons as amended by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. For 16 and 17 year olds, the court must have regard to its duty under section 44 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 when considering whether there are particular circumstances which would make imposing an appropriate custodial term unjust. This ensures the welfare of the children or young person is considered and steps taken to remove from them undesirable surroundings and to securing proper provision for their education and training. The court must also have regard to the principal aim of the youth justice system “to prevent offending by children and young persons” as set out in section 37 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. This section also ensures that there are procedures for appeals in those circumstances where a relevant conviction which was relied upon by the court to impose an appropriate custodial term has been set aside on appeal. 9 Offence under section 6: relevant convictions This section sets out details of the convictions which amount to “relevant convictions” for the purposes of Section 6 and the imposition of an appropriate custodial term for a person aged 16 or over where they are convicted of the offence of possessing a corrosive substance in a public place in England and Wales and have at least one relevant previous conviction. This could either be a previous conviction for possessing a corrosive substance in public, or another relating to possessing or threatening with knives or offensive weapons. This can include convictions for offences in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and those under certain Armed Forces legislation, which would have constituted a relevant offence if committed in England and Wales. It also makes it clear that a relevant offence can be considered regardless of when it was committed. 10 Search for corrosive substances: England and Wales This section provides the police with the appropriate powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to be able to effectively investigate and enforce the new offence of possession of a corrosive substance in a public place. This includes ensuring that a police officer may search any person or vehicle or anything which is in or on a vehicle which is a corrosive substance, and seize a corrosive substance if it is discovered during the course of the search. The police officer must have reasonable grounds or suspicion that the person is carrying a corrosive substance on their person or within their vehicle before conducting a stop and search. This formed part of the proposals in the Home Office consultation on police stop and search powers that was published in September 2018.

Consequential amendments relating to corrosive products and substances 13 Consequential amendments relating to corrosive products and substances Section 13 makes consequential amendments to both the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 and to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to provide that a conviction in England and Wales under section 6, the offence of having a corrosive substance in public, is a “relevant conviction” for the purposes of the sentencing provisions set out in both of those Acts. This section also makes a consequential amendment to section 37(1A) of the Mental Health Act 1983 to ensure that where a person is convicted of an offence of possession of a corrosive substance in public and has at least one relevant conviction, but the court is satisfied that they are suffering from mental health problems, then they would be able to authorise the person’s admission and detention in such hospital specified in the order or place the person under the guardianship of a local social services authority or such person approved by a local social services authority. The section also makes consequential amendments to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in relation to the review of sentences in cases where a court did not impose an appropriate custodial sentence. The section also amends the offences which are previous relevant convictions in relation to the offences under sections 139 and 139A of the 1988 Act (offences relating to bladed articles and offensive weapons) to include a conviction under section 6 for possession of a corrosive substance in public. This section also makes a consequential amendment to section 12 (1A) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 to prevent a court from making an order for absolute or conditional discharge when sentencing an individual where they have been convicted of possessing a corrosive substance in public and have at least one relevant conviction under section 6. The section also makes a consequential amendment to section 144 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and reduction in sentences for guilty pleas to include cases where an individual has been convicted of possessing a corrosive substance in public and has at least one relevant conviction and an appropriate custodial sentence is being considered by the court as under section 6.