UK Offence Report

Part 1 Provisions of the 2024 Act coming into force on 15 July 2026 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions of…

Schedule of The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional and Saving Provisions) and the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2026

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

Part 1 Provisions of the 2024 Act coming into force on 15 July 2026 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions of the 2024 Act Subject Matter Purpose Section 13 Application for muirburn licence Section 14 Grant of muirburn licence Section 15 Muirburn licences: content and conditions Section 16 Modification, suspension and revocation of muirburn licence Section 17 Approved training courses Section 19 Notice of muirburn activity Giving notice where a person intends to make muirburn on or after 15 September 2026 in accordance with a licence granted under section 14 of the 2024 Act Section 20 Muirburn season Section 22 Interpretation of Part Part 2 Provisions of the 2024 Act coming into force on 15 September 2026 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Provisions of the 2024 Act Subject Matter Purpose Section 12 Requirement for muirburn licence Section 19 Notice of muirburn activity For all remaining purposes Section 23 Repeals and consequential amendments Section 24 Powers of entry, search and seizure with warrant For all remaining purposes Section 29 Individual culpability where organisation commits an offence For all remaining purposes

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach Schedule?

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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional and Saving Provisions) and the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2026.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
4 June 2026
In force from
18 June 2026
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.

The Bill for the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (“the 2024 Act”) received Royal Assent on 30 April 2024. Sections 35 and 36 of the 2024 Act came into force the following day. The Bill for the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (“the 2026 Act”) received Royal Assent on 12 March 2026. Sections 57, 58, 59 and 60 came into force the following day. Regulation 2 brings into force sections 55 and 56 (muirburn) of the 2026 Act. These sections amend Part 2 (muirburn licensing) of the 2024 Act by making changes to the licensable purposes for muirburn, the circumstances in which muirburn is prohibited during the off season and the licensing test to be applied where muirburn is being made on peatland. As these provisions amend the muirburn licensing regime under the 2024 Act they are commenced on 18 June 2026 ahead of Part 2 of the 2024 Act being commenced. Part 2 of the 2024 Act establishes a new licensing scheme for carrying out muirburn. Section 20 of the 2024 Act provides that, for the purposes of Part 2, the muirburn season is the period of time from 15 September in any year to 31 March the following year. These Regulations bring into force sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 (for a specific purpose), 20 and 22 on 15 July 2026. This will enable the submission, consideration and determination of licences ahead of the commencement of section 12 which makes it an offence for a person to make muirburn without a licence. These Regulations also commence sections 12, 19 (for all remaining purposes), 23, 24 (for all remaining purposes) and 29 (for all remaining purposes) on 15 September 2026. Section 23 of the 2024 Act repeals the relevant provisions of the Hill Farming Act 1946 (“the 1946 Act”), which make provision for the previous muirburn regime, including the ability to apply for out of season muirburn licences, which is being replaced by Part 2 of the 2024 Act. Regulation 4 is a transitional provision, the effect of which is that muirburn licences granted under section 14 of the 2024 Act will not have effect until 15 September 2026 or such later date as specified on the licence. Regulation 5 is a saving and transitional provision that applies in relation to applications for licences under the 1946 Act that were made but not determined prior to 15 September 2026, and licences granted under the 1946 Act prior to 15 September 2026. The effect of this provision is that the muirburn licensing scheme under the 1946 Act continues to operate as it did immediately prior to 15 September 2026 for the purposes of the determination of any such application and for the making of muirburn in accordance with any such licence. Applications to make muirburn before 15 September 2026 will continue to be required under the 1946 Act licensing regime. Applications to make muirburn on or after 15 September could be made either under the 1946 Act (until 14 September 2026) or under the 2024 Act (from 15 July 2026). Where the 1946 Act continues to be relied upon, in accordance with regulation 5, Part 2 of the 2024 Act will not apply. However, if an application is made under the 2024 Act, the 2024 Act will apply and the 1946 Act will not.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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