{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-sexual-offences-act-2003-notification-requirements-scotland-regulations-2013/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-sexual-offences-act-2003-notification-requirements-scotland-regulations-2013/note.json",
  "legislation": "sdsi/2013/9780111020609",
  "legislation_title": "The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Notification Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2013",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-sexual-offences-act-2003-notification-requirements-scotland-regulations-2013",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations prescribe the applicable period for the purpose of section 85(5)(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (“the Act”) and amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Travel Notification Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (“the principal Regulations”). They extend to Scotland only.\nPart 2 of the Act requires certain sex offenders (“relevant offenders”) to notify specific personal information to the police. Section 85 of the Act requires relevant offenders to notify that information periodically, within the applicable period after their last notification under section 83 (initial notification), 84 (notification of changes) or 85 (periodic notification). Section 85(5) defines the “applicable period”. For relevant offenders who have no sole or main residence in the United Kingdom, and whose last notified home address was the address or location of a place mentioned in section 83(7)(b), it is such period (not exceeding one year) as the Scottish Ministers may prescribe in regulations. For all other relevant offenders, the applicable period is one year.\nThe Regulations prescribe the applicable period as seven days for relevant offenders who have no sole or main residence in the United Kingdom (regulation 2).\nSection 86 of the Act provides for relevant offenders, who travel outside the United Kingdom, to be made subject to specific notification requirements. The principal Regulations set out those requirements, specifying the information to be notified and the notification process.\nThe Regulations amend regulations 5, 6 and 7 of the principal Regulations, to require relevant offenders—\n(a) to notify all foreign travel (instead of only foreign travel for 3 or more days) in accordance with section 86 of the Act and the principal Regulations (regulation 3(2)(a));\n(b) where they do not know certain travel information more than 7 days before the date of departure, to give a notification under section 86(2) of the Act not less than 12 (instead of 24) hours before that date (regulation 3(2)(b));\n(c) to disclose certain additional information (so far as they hold that information) in a notification under section 86(2), namely the dates on which they intend to be in each country to which they intend to travel and their accommodation arrangements in each such country (regulation 3(3));\n(d) to give any further notification under section 86(2) (notifying any additional travel information or changes to the information previously notified) not less than 12 (instead of 24) hours before the intended departure, and provide that such notification may be given less than 24 (but not less than 12) hours before the intended departure only if there is a reasonable excuse for not notifying earlier (regulation 3(4)).\nThe Regulations make transitional provision so that the amended travel notification requirements do not apply to relevant offenders intending to travel abroad, for fewer than 3 days, during the 8 day period after regulation 3 comes into force (regulation 4).\nSection 91 of the Act makes it a criminal offence to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notification requirement under section 85(1) of the Act, or the principal Regulations, or to knowingly notify false information to the police in purported compliance with any such requirement. A person guilty of such an offence is liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months (by virtue of section 45 of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Scotland) Act 2007) or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both, or, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2013/9780111020609/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:36:08.013821+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}