UK Offence Report

Offences: punishment

regulation 33 of The Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2025

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

33 A person who commits an offence under—

a regulation 29 (offences: compliance notices), or

b regulation 30 (offences: obstruction etc.), is liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (intentionally) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses intentionally; which element that governs was not determined; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

32 It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under these Regulations (“P”) to prove that P took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by P or by a person under P's control.

What would breach regulation 33?

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 Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.
  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
11 December 2025
In force from
Not determined
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 provide for the mandatory classification and price reporting of sheep carcases by approved slaughterhouses. These Regulations come into force on 12 January 2026, except for the provisions specified in regulation 1(3) relating to automated classification methods, which come into force on 12 February 2027. Regulation 3 sets out the approved slaughterhouses to which these Regulations apply (“regulated slaughterhouses”), and regulation 4 requires notification to be given to Ministers by persons who are operators of such slaughterhouses. Regulation 5 stipulates the classification requirements and methods applicable to regulated slaughterhouses. Schedule 1 sets out the conformation classes to be used when classifying carcases of sheep less than 12 months old. Regulation 6 prohibits the removal of tissue from a carcase prior to weighing and classification. Classification requirements are to be carried out at the time that the carcases are being weighed as set out in regulation 10, once the carcases have been identified in accordance with regulation 8, and have been presented in accordance with regulation 7. Regulation 9 requires that each classified carcase is to be labelled with the information set out in that regulation. Regulation 10 requires that the weight of each classified carcase is to be determined in accordance with that regulation. Regulations 11 and 12 set out information which must be recorded by regulated slaughterhouses for each classified carcase, and regulation 13 provides that the information contained in specific records must be communicated to the supplier of the animal from which the carcase was obtained. Part 4 sets out a system of control of classification through licences. Part 5 allows proprietors of an “automated” classification method to request authorisation from the Scottish Ministers for the use of the method in regulated slaughterhouses. Schedule 2 sets out the testing requirements to be followed by the Scottish Ministers in determining authorisation for such methods. Part 6 requires the operator of a regulated slaughterhouse to ensure that market price and related information is reported to a person authorised by the Scottish Ministers. Part 7 contains provisions which restrict how those who handle the market data provided by regulated slaughterhouses can process and disclose that information. Part 8 contains enforcement provisions. Regulation 23 requires authorised officers to carry out regular checks in all regulated slaughterhouses. Regulation 24 gives power to the Scottish Ministers to set the minimum requirements in relation to the checks. Regulations 25 and 26 give authorised officers powers of entry and associated powers to allow them to check for, and gather evidence of, breaches of these Regulations. Under regulation 27 compliance notices may be served in respect of breaches identified, and an appeal mechanism to the sheriff is put in place by regulation 28. Regulations 29, 30 and 31 set out the offences in relation to these Regulations. Regulation 32 provides a defence of due diligence. Regulation 33 sets out the maximum punishment for committing an offence under these Regulations.

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”; the provision states liability on summary conviction
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