UK Offence Report

1 Any person who, for the purposes of obtaining for the benefit of that or any other person any financial…

regulation 14(1) of The Crofting Community Development Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2001

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

1 Any person who, for the purposes of obtaining for the benefit of that or any other person any financial assistance under these Regulations, knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false in any material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

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: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 14(1)?

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 Crofting Community Development Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2001.
  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 Scotland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (CP(S)A 1995 s.225(2)), 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
5 June 2001
In force from
29 June 2001
Extent
S

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 introduce measures to supplement– 1 Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17th May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations (O.J. No. L 160, 26.6.99, p.80); 2 Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21st June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (O.J. No. L 161, 26.6.99, p.1); and 3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1750/1999 of 23rd July 1999n laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (O.J. No. L 214, 13.8.99, p.31). The Community legislation referred to above provides for payment of assistance from the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund for measures which promote rural development falling within the scope of Council Regulation 1257/1999. Measures relating to Objective 1 areas (which include the Highlands and Islands for transitional support under Objective 1) are subject to the provisions of Council Regulation 1260/1999. These Regulations set up the Crofting Community Development Scheme and enable the payment of financial assistance under the Single Programming Document for the Highlands and Islands Special Transitional Programme which, in accordance with Council Regulation 1260/1999, was approved by the European Commission on 8th August 2000. Financial assistance under the Regulations can be provided for the implementation of a development plan which achieves one of the objectives listed in regulation 3(2). An eligible applicant who wishes to benefit from financial assistance must prepare a development plan which must include the information listed at regulation 4(2). Applications can be made at any time. The Scottish Ministers may, however, suspend receipt of applications. The Regulations also– a make provision for the determination of applications by the Scottish Ministers (regulation 5); b provide for the levels of financial assistance available including the maximum limits of financial assistance payable (regulation 6); c provide for how financial assistance may be claimed and what evidence may be required in support of a claim (regulation 7); d provide for retention of information and records (regulation 10); e confer powers of entry and inspection for authorised persons to enforce the Regulations (regulation 11); f make provision for the revocation of approval and the withholding or recovery of financial assistance (regulation 12); g make provision for payment of interest on financial assistance recovered under these Regulations (regulation 13); and h create offences of knowingly or recklessly making a false statement to obtain financial assistance or of obstructing authorised persons acting under the Regulations (regulations 14 and 15). A copy of the Commission Decision approving the Single Programming Document, together with a copy of the Single Programming Document, may be inspected at the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TY.

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