UK Offence Report

Additional grants for persons entitled to Community suckler cow premiums

article 5(3) of The Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

3 Regulations under this Article may in particular—

a require applications for

a grant to be made within

a specified period and at specified times;

b make provision as to the amount of any grant;

c make the payment of

a grant subject to compliance with conditions, including conditions requiring repayment (or repayment with interest) in specified circumstances;

d confer powers of entry and inspection and impose requirements as to the keeping, preservation and production of records and other documents for the purpose of verifying entitlement to grants;

e in connection with any provision made by virtue of sub-paragraph (d) or the making of false statements for the purpose of obtaining

a grant create offences punishable on summary conviction with

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale;

f make such further incidental and supplementary provision as the Department thinks necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Article.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (for the purpose of obtaining).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: for the purpose of obtaining.

What would breach article 5(3)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1994.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
19 July 1994
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order contains miscellaneous provisions relating to matters for which the Department of Agriculture (“the Department”) is responsible. Article 3 imposes a general duty on the Department to balance economic and conservation interests in the discharge of its functions in relation to any land and Article 4 empowers the Department to make grants for the purpose of encouraging rural development. Article 5 makes provision for additional suckler cow premiums for persons entitled to Community suckler cow premiums. Articles 6 and 7 replace the contribution payable on the sale of pigs to the Pigs Marketing Board by extending the levy on slaughtered or exported pigs and Article 8 renames the Livestock Marketing Commission. Article 9 repeals a power to make loans for fish farming. Articles 10 to 15 make amendments to the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, including extending the powers to make regulations for the welfare of livestock. Article 16 enables the Department to impose charges for the use of locks and effluent disposal facilities on or near Upper and Lower Lough Erne and the River Erne and the tributaries of the Loughs. Articles 17 and 18 amend the Artificial Reproduction of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1975 to provide for fees for licences and for controls on advertising and Articles 19 to 23 make amendments to the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, including provisions relating to compensation for slaughter and to examinations by inspectors.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.60.

Basis
the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
Confidence
0.60 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source