UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 21(1) of The Land Management Contracts (Menu Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2005

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 person’s instructions) in the exercise of the powers under regulation 13.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 21(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 Land Management Contracts (Menu Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.
  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
21 April 2005
In force from
15 May 2005
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 Articles 9, 22, 23, 24, 30 and 33 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1783/2003, the Act of Accession, Council Regulation (EC) No. 567/2004 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 583/2004. The Regulations extend to Scotland only. The Regulations provide for payment of aid to be made to any person who enters into an undertaking with the Scottish Ministers to carry out, or as the case may be to carry out and maintain, the activities relevant to at least one of the Menu Options set out in Schedule 1 and to comply with the general environmental requirements set out in Schedule 2 to the Regulations (regulations 4 and 11). The amount of aid payable in respect of an undertaking is calculated with reference to the activity to be undertaken (regulation 10), subject to the maximum amount of aid payable (regulation 5). The rate of payment corresponding to each activity is specified in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. The Regulations also– a make provision as to the form and content of applications for aid (regulation 3); b impose restrictions on the acceptance of applications for aid (regulation 6); c define land which is eligible for aid (regulation 7); d make provision in respect of a transfer of the land to which an undertaking relates (regulation 8); e make provision in respect of the determination of applications for aid (regulation 9); f make provision in respect of claims and payment (regulation 11); g make provision in relation to a change of occupation of the land to which an undertaking relates (regulation 12); h confer powers of entry and inspection on authorised persons (regulation 13); i make provision in relation to breaches of undertakings (regulation 14); j make provision in relation to the withholding and recovery of aid (regulations 15 and 16); k make provision for the supply of information (regulation 17) and record-keeping (regulation 18); l make provision as to the recovery of interest (regulation 19); m provide that sums payable to Scottish Ministers shall be recoverable as a debt (regulation 20); n make provision for offences and penalties (regulation 21); and o make provision in respect of appeals (regulation 22). Commission Regulation (EC) No. 817/2004 also contains detailed rules relevant to the operation of the payment scheme established by these Regulations. No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations.

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