UK Offence Report

Insertion of sections 22A and 22B

regulation 6 of The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017

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

6 After section 22 (offences in relation to construction of new roads) insert— 22A

1 Any person who, for the purpose of procuring

a particular decision in relation to

a project to which section 20C applies—

a knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false or misleading in

a material particular,

b with intent to deceive, uses any document which is false or misleading in

a material particular, or

c with intent to deceive, withholds any material information, commits an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
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 (knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly, with intent to).

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, with intent to, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 6?

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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£10,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
26 April 2017
In force from
16 May 2017
Extent
Not stated

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 amend the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (“the Act”). The Regulations implement, in relation to construction projects for new roads to which Part III of the Act applies, and improvement and maintenance projects for roads to which Part IV of the Act applies, Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as amended by Council Directive 2014/52/EU. Regulation 5 substitutes new sections 20A to 20G into Part III of the Act to include the following requirements– Section 20A prohibits the Scottish Ministers as roads authority from proceeding with a project for the construction of a new road for which an environmental impact assessment is required unless an environmental impact assessment has been carried out. Section 20B sets out the requirements for an environmental impact assessment. Section 20C sets out the procedures for determining whether an environmental impact assessment is required in relation to a project for the construction of a new road, the content and publication requirements for the environmental impact assessment report, and the consultation requirements on the Scottish Ministers as roads authority for the project. Section 20D requires the Scottish Ministers, where appropriate, to co-ordinate the environmental impact assessment with any assessment to be carried out in accordance with the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994. Section 20E requires the Scottish Ministers as competent authority to carry out their duties in a manner which will not give rise to conflicts of interest. Section 20F sets out the procedures to be followed where a project for the construction of a new road is likely to have a significant effect on the environment of another EEA State. Section 20G sets out requirements for the Scottish Ministers as roads authority to ensure that the effects of a new road construction project on the environment are monitored, where appropriate. Regulation 6 inserts a new section 22A and 22B into Part III of the Act to make providing false information, or withholding material information with intent to deceive, for the purposes of procuring a particular decision in relation to a project for the construction of a new road, a criminal offence. Regulation 7 substitutes new section 55A, 55B, 55C and 55D into Part IV of the Act to include the following requirements– Section 55A mirrors section 20C for the purposes of roads improvement and maintenance projects for which the Scottish Ministers are roads authority. Section 55B applies the requirements of sections 20A, 20B and 20D to 20G to roads improvement and maintenance projects for which the Scottish Ministers are roads authority. Section 55C makes providing false information, or withholding material information with intent to deceive, for the purposes of procuring a particular decision in relation to a project for the improvement or maintenance of a road, a criminal offence. Regulation 8 updates section 151 (interpretation) of the Act to account for changes to the Act made by these Regulations. Regulations 9 and 10 update paragraphs 7 (new road construction projects) and 13 (road improvement and maintenance projects) of schedule 1 of the Act in relation to the procedures and information to be included in decision notices issued by the Scottish Ministers as roads authority for the project. Regulation 11 inserts a new schedule 1A into the Act as regards information to be provided in environmental impact assessment reports. Regulation 12 contains transitional and saving provisions. A Business and Regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from Transport Scotland, Buchanan House, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow, G4 0HF.

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 “commits 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