UK Offence Report

Obstruction of officers and provision of information etc

regulation 7(1) of The Nutrition and Health Claims (Scotland) Regulations 2007

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–

a intentionally obstructs any person acting in the execution of these Regulations; or

b without reasonable cause, fails to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require; is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a term of imprisonment not exceeding

3 months or to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale or both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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).

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: intentionally.

What would breach regulation 7(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 Nutrition and Health Claims (Scotland) Regulations 2007.
  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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown 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
20 August 2007
In force from
1 October 2007
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, which extend to Scotland only, make provision to enforce Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on nutrition and health claims made on foods, as corrected by a Corrigendum (O.J. No. L 12, 18.1.07, p.3) (“the EC Regulation”). These Regulations– a specify the competent authority for the purposes of certain Articles of the EC Regulation (regulation 3); b specify that the food authority (which in Scotland is the relevant local authority for each local authority area) is the enforcement authority (regulation 4); c provides that, subject to certain derogations and transitional measures specified in the EC Regulation, it is an offence– i to make nutrition or health claims that do not comply with the requirements of the EC Regulation; ii to make claims on alcoholic drinks other than to the limited extent permitted by the EC Regulation; iii to make a claim that cannot be justified; iv to fail to provide the prescribed nutrition information when making a nutrition or health claim; v to make a nutrition claim that is not one of the ones listed in the Annex to the EC regulation; vi to make a comparative nutrition claim that does not comply with the requirements of the EC Regulation; vii to make a health claim that is not authorised under the procedures provided for in the EC Regulation and is not accompanied by certain specified information in the labelling or other presentation; viii to make a health claim of a type specifically prohibited by the EC Regulation; or ix in the case of health claims relating to the reduction of disease risk, to fail to accompany the claim with the statement prescribed in the EC Regulation (regulation 5). d apply sections of the Food Safety Act 1990 (regulation 6); e specify offences and penalties that relate to the obstruction of those working to implement these Regulations and other matters to do with providing information and assistance (regulation 7); and f amend the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (regulation 8). A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on business costs has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from the Food Standards Agency, 6th Floor, St Magnus House, 25 Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6NJ.

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