UK Offence Report

1 It is an offence for any person to— a obstruct an authorised person (or a person accompanying an…

regulation 14(1) of The Rural Development (Scotland) Regulations 2015

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

1 It is an offence for any person to—

a obstruct an authorised person (or

a person accompanying an authorised person and acting under the authorised person’s instructions) in the exercise of

a power conferred by regulation

11 or 12;

b fail without reasonable excuse to comply with

a request for assistance made under regulation 13; or

c knowingly or recklessly supply to any person acting in execution of these Regulations any information that is false or misleading in any material particular.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

“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: knowingly, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

xercise of a power conferred by regulation 11 or 12; b fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a request for assistance made under regulation 13; or c knowingly or recklessly supply to any person acting in execution of these Regulations any information that is false or misleading in any material particular.

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Rural Development (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
  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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Seed, Propagating Material and Common Agricultural Policy (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
Made
12 May 2015
In force from
12 June 2015
Extent
S

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations make provision for the purposes of implementation of: Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.320) (“the Common Provisions Regulation”); and Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.487) (“the Rural Development Regulation”) Those EU instruments (as supplemented by relevant implementing and delegated regulations) make provision for EU-funded support for measures in Member States through the framework of rural development programmes. In respect of Scotland, the relevant programme as administered by the Scottish Ministers is the Scottish Rural Development Programme (“SRDP”), as approved or amended by the European Commission in accordance with articles 10 and 11 of the Rural Development Regulation and articles 29 and 30 of the Common Provisions Regulation (see http://www.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/SRDP). Moreover, in relation to LEADER local development, this is implemented through local development strategies prepared by local action groups. The management of EU-funding under those EU instruments is also subject to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008 (“the Horizontal Regulation”) (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.549), which is also further supplemented by relevant implementing and delegated regulations. Collectively, the applicable EU instruments are defined in regulation 2(1) of these Regulations as “the EU Regulations”. Regulation 3 makes provision for the making of applications for grant. Regulation 4 sets out the powers of an appropriate body (as defined in regulation 2(1) as the Scottish Ministers or, in relation to an application for LEADER grant, a local action group) to determine or vary applications for grant. Regulation 5 makes provision for the giving of undertakings by beneficiaries in relation to grants paid to them under the Regulations, and also makes provision for their transfer to another person, for example, following a change of occupation of the land in respect of which an undertaking has been given. Regulation 6 makes provision for the payment of grant (whether by way of a lump sum or in instalments) following submission of a claim for payment. Part 3 makes particular provision for grants in relation to LEADER. Regulation 7 makes provision for the Scottish Ministers to reimburse and pay advances to an accountable body (as defined in regulation 2(1)) in respect of payments of LEADER grant. Regulation 8 makes provision for the Scottish Ministers to conclude a service level agreement with the accountable body. Regulation 9 sets out the powers of the Scottish Ministers in light of a breach of a service level agreement. This includes a power to terminate the agreement. Regulation 10 makes further provision for the consequences of such a termination. Part 4 makes provision for the enforcement and recovery of grants payable under these Regulations and offences. Regulations 11 and 12 respectively confer powers of entry and of inspection on persons authorised by an appropriate body (“authorised persons” as defined in regulation 2(1)). Regulation 13 also makes provision for an applicant or beneficiary to provide reasonable assistance to authorised persons as required when the latter are exercising those powers. Regulation 14 makes provision for offences and penalties for obstructing an authorised person, failing to provide assistance and supplying false or misleading information. Regulation 15 provides for the application of those offences in relation to bodies corporate, Scottish partnerships and unincorporated associations. Regulation 16 makes provision for an appropriate body to determine whether a beneficiary has breached the terms of any approval of grant or undertaking, including the applicable regulatory requirements. This is a pre-requisite for the purpose of exercising any of the powers of recovery as set out in regulation 17 (which includes powers to withhold, reduce or recover grant payments, revoke approvals or terminate undertakings). Regulation 18 makes further provision for the recovery (as a debt) and set-off of undue payments, including interest. Regulation 19 requires a beneficiary to retain appropriate information and records in relation to matters being funded by payments of grant under these Regulations. Regulation 20 requires the Scottish Ministers to publish guidance setting out how functions should be performed under these Regulations (and which must be taken account of by appropriate bodies). Regulation 21 also enables the Scottish Ministers to enter into agency arrangements with other persons or bodies in relation to the exercise of any of the Scottish Ministers’ functions under the Regulations. This could include bodies such as Scottish Natural Heritage, the Forestry Commission and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in respect of the administration of grants for particular measures under the SRDP. Regulation 22 makes provision for the revocation of the instruments listed in the Schedule, subject to saving provisions. A business and regulatory impact assessment is being prepared for these Regulations and will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from the Scottish Government Directorate for Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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