UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 11 of The Specified Risk Material (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 (revoked)

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

11 In regulation 29—

a after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted— 2A If any person makes

a declaration under regulation 9(10)(b)—

a knowing it to be false or misleading in

a material particular; or

b being reckless as to whether it is false or misleading in

a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale. ; and

b in paragraph (3), after the words “paragraph (2)” there shall be inserted the words “or under paragraph (2A)”.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 (knowing it to be).

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: knowing it to be.

What would breach regulation 11?

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 Specified Risk Material (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999.
  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
26 March 1999
In force from
23 April 1999
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 Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations amend the Specified Risk Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (“the principal Regulations”). The amendments made by these Regulations have the effect of allowing the export to certain premises in France of carcases of older sheep containing spinal cord which is “specified risk material” as defined in regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations. The amendments disapply regulation 6(1) of the principal Regulations (prohibition on selling for human consumption specified risk material or food containing same) and part of regulation 9(2) of those Regulations (requirement for slaughterhouse operator to remove specified risk material from carcases of sheep slaughtered there) in the case of sheep carcases containing spinal cord which is specified risk material which are intended for export whole direct to listed premises. A new regulation (regulation 16A) is inserted in the principal Regulations, requiring the marking of those sheep carcases containing spinal cord which is specified risk material which are intended for export whole direct to listed premises. Amendments are also made to regulation 17 of the principal Regulations (transportation of unmarked carcases of sheep and goats) to ensure that sheep carcases concerned are moved in sealed vehicles and are accompanied by appropriate documentation during transport. Regulation 19 of the principal Regulations (possession of unmarked carcases of sheep and goats) is also amended— to ensure, first, that a person transporting the sheep carcases concerned (those containing spinal cord which is specified risk material and which are intended for export whole direct to listed premises) has in his possession appropriate documentation and, second, that the carcases are appropriately marked; and to enable the carcases concerned to be brought within the scope of Article 8 of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991 No. 762 (N.I. 7)) (inspection and seizure of suspected food). A further new regulation (regulation 19A) is inserted in the principal Regulations imposing requirements with respect to the arrival of the carcases concerned at the listed premises to which it was intended they should be transported.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.92 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