UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 17(1) of The Rural Stewardship 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 A person is guilty of an offence if–

a for the purposes of obtaining any financial assistance under these Regulations for themself or any other person, they knowingly or recklessly make

a statement which is false or misleading in any material particular; or

b they intentionally obstruct an authorised person (or

a person accompanying that person and acting under that persons instructions) in the exercise of the powers under regulation 11.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
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 (intentionally, 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, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 17(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Rural Stewardship Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2001.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
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
7 September 2001
In force from
28 September 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 implement Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1750/1999 (O.J. No. L 214, 13.8.99, p.31) which prescribes detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 (O.J. No. L 160, 26.6.99, p.80) on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. The Regulations extend to Scotland only. The Regulations provide for payments of aid to be made to any person who enters into an undertaking with the Scottish Ministers to comply with the general environmental requirements set out in Schedule 1 to the Regulations and to carry out, or as the case may be, to carry out and maintain, at least one of either the management activities set out in Schedule 2 or the capital activities set out in Schedule 3 (regulations 3 and 9). The amount of aid payable in respect of an undertaking is calculated with reference to the activity to be undertaken (regulation 8). The rate of payment corresponding to each activity is specified in Schedule 4 to the Regulations. The Scottish Ministers may also contribute to the costs incurred by an applicant in preparing a conservation audit and, as the case may be, a moorland management plan included in an application for aid (regulations 3(4) and 8(4)). The Regulations also– a make provision as to the form and content of applications for aid (regulation 4); b make provision in respect of applications for aid from common grazings committees (regulation 5); c impose restrictions on the acceptance of applications for aid (regulation 6); d make provision in respect of the determination of applications for aid (regulation 7); e make provision in respect of claims and payment (regulation 9); f make provision in relation to a change of occupation of the land to which an undertaking relates (regulation 10); g confer powers of entry and inspection on authorised persons (regulation 11); h make provision in relation to breaches of undertakings (regulation 12); i make provision in relation to the withholding and recovery of aid (regulations 13 and 14); j make provision as to the recovery of interest (regulation 15); k provide that sums payable to Scottish Ministers shall be recoverable as a debt (regulation 16); l make provision for offences and penalties (regulation 17); and m make provision in respect of appeals (regulation 18).

Read the full note and every offence in this 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”
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