UK Offence Report

1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie with that…

article 10(1) of The Plant Health (Potatoes) (Scotland) Order 2006

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 shall be guilty of an offence if without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie with that person– a that person contravenes or fails to comply with– i article 3; ii article 5 or iii a provision or condition of a notice served, or deemed to be served, on that person under this Order; or b that person intentionally obstructs an inspector or any person acting under the direction of an inspector in exercise of the powers given by or under this Order.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie with that person– a that person contravenes or fails to comply with– i article 3; ii article 5 or iii a provision or condition of a notice served, or deemed to be served, on that person under this Order; or b that person intentionall

What would breach article 10(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 Plant Health (Potatoes) (Scotland) Order 2006.
  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
£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
7 June 2006
In force from
Not determined
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

The Plant Health (Potatoes) (Scotland) Order 2006 (“this Order”), which extends to S cotland only, makes provision for the notification of potato crops and for the destruction of the haulm of infected crops and for the treatment of areas where waste potato material is kept. This Order comes into force on 1st July 2006 save for article 3 which comes into force on 1st January 2007. Article 3 imposes requirements on potato growers who have planted a crop to notify the Scottish Ministers with a list of prescribed information to identify the location, size and variety of potato crop being grown. Article 4 contains provisions for an inspection of a crop and requiring certain action to be carried out by the potato grower if the crop has not been notified or is affected by any aphid-borne virus. Article 5 contains provisions for an inspection of waste potato material and requiring certain action to be carried out where waste potato material is affected by potato blight. Articles 6 to 8 contain provisions as to issue of notices, compliance with notices and the consequences of failure to comply with notices. Article 9 contains provisions entitling an inspector to apply for a warrant to enter onto premises where admission has been refused or is likely to be refused. Article 10 contains offences for non-compliance with this Order. A person found guilty of an offence under this Order is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (Article 11). Article 12 provides for the possible use of electronic communication. No Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to this Order.

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”
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