UK Offence Report

Obstruction of authorised officer

regulation 12(1) of The Animal Health (Fixed Penalty Notices) (Scotland) 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

1 A person commits an offence if that person obstructs an authorised officer who is exercising functions in relation to fixed penalty notices, including by—

a failing to give, or providing

a false, name or address when required to do so under regulation 11(1), or

b refusing to grant an authorised officer access to premises under regulation 11(2).

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 regulation 12(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 Animal Health (Fixed Penalty Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2026.
  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
10 February 2026
In force from
7 March 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.

These Regulations make provision for a fixed penalty notice procedure in relation to certain legislative requirements or prohibitions under the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006, the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007, the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (Scotland) Order 2019, the Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002, the Markets, Sales and Lairs Order 1925, the Sheep Scab (Scotland) Order 2010 and the Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2023 (breach of these Orders being an offence under the Animal Health Act 1981) and the Bee Diseases and Pests Control (Scotland) Order 2007 (breach of which is an offence under the Bees Act 1980). These Regulations also make amendments to the Animal Health Act 1981 and the Bees Act 1980 to exclude the time period during which a fixed penalty notice may be paid from the time limit during which criminal proceedings may be brought in relation to an offence. Part 2 provides for a fixed penalty notice procedure. Regulation 3 gives an authorised officer the power to issue a fixed penalty notice where the authorised officer has reason to believe that a person has committed a relevant offence and sets out the circumstances in which a fixed penalty notice may not be issued. Regulation 4 provides for the contents of a fixed penalty notice. Regulation 5 sets out the procedure for determining the fixed penalty amount. Regulation 6 sets out the effect of paying a fixed penalty notice within the payment period. Regulation 7 provides that payment of the fixed penalty must be made to the relevant enforcement authority in accordance with the procedure set out in the notice. Regulation 8 provides for circumstances in which a fixed penalty notice may be withdrawn. Regulation 9 sets out the process for appealing the issue of a fixed penalty notice. Regulation 10 sets out the procedure for intimating an intention not to pay a fixed penalty notice to the relevant enforcement authority. Regulation 11 sets out the powers of authorised officers in relation to fixed penalty notices. Regulation 12 makes it an offence to obstruct an authorised officer who is exercising functions in relation to fixed penalty notices. Regulation 13 lists the record keeping requirements that enforcement authorities must adhere to. Part 3 contains supplementary provision amending the Bees Act 1980 and the Animal Health Act 1981. Regulation 14 amends the Bees Act 1980 to insert a new section 2A which will exclude the payment period for a fixed penalty notice from the time limit for bringing proceedings under section 136 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. Regulation 15 makes similar amendments to section 75 of the Animal Health Act 1981 in order to exclude the payment period from the time limit for bringing proceedings under section 75(4) of the Animal Health Act 1981. The table in schedule 1 lists the relevant requirements under legislation and relevant offences in relation to which a fixed penalty notice may be issued. It also notes the penalty level for breaching each requirement under legislation and sets out exclusions to certain relevant requirements. The table in schedule 2 lists the monetary amount that is attributable to each penalty level.

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 0.64.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.64 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