UK Offence Report

False statements

regulation 16 of The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Regulations 1980 (revoked)

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

16 If any person, for the purposes of obtaining for himself or any other person any grant under these regulations, knowingly or recklessly makes

a false statement, he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding £400.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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).

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, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 16?

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 Agriculture and Horticulture Development Regulations 1980.
  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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£400
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
28 August 1980
In force from
1 October 1980
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, which apply to the whole of the United Kingdom, are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, in implementation of Directive 72/159/EEC of the Council (O.J./S.E. 1972 (II), p.324)), on the modernisation of farms, and of Directive 75/268/EEC of the Council on mountain and hill farming in certain less-favoured areas. They supersede, and in effect largely consolidate, the Farm and Horticulture Development Regulations 1978 (as amended). The Regulations make provision for aid for agricultural and horticultural businesses in relation to development plans. This aid is mainly in the form of grants in respect of expenditure of a capital nature. The works, facilities and transactions and the rates of grant applicable to them, set out in the Schedule, remain the same as those provided for in the superseded regulations. Higher rates of grant may be payable in certain circumstances for agricultural businesses in less-favoured areas. The classes of persons and the types of agricultural business or horticultural production business which may benefit from grant-aid are defined (regulations 3 and 4 respectively). To benefit from assistance an applicant must submit a development plan for approval. To be approved a development plan must show either that the income per labour unit of the business can be raised up to or above the average level of non-agricultural incomes (the “comparable income”—regulation 13) or, if the income per labour unit is above the comparable level but may fall below that level because of the nature or structure of the business, that the income per labour unit can be maintained at or above the comparable level (regulation 5). Power is also given to pay grants to farmers and growers who keep and submit accounts related to approved development plans (regulation 9), and to pay grants by way of guidance premium to farmers whose development plans provide for their business to concentrate on the breeding or keeping of cattle or sheep suitable for the production of beef or sheep meat (regulation 10). The Regulations also provide for— (a) certain restrictions on grant (regulation 5(3)); (b) standard costs (regulation 12); (c) in certain circumstances the reduction or withholding of grant otherwise payable (regulation 14) and the recovery of grant paid (regulation 15); and (d) the imposition of a penalty for making a false statement to obtain grant (regulation 16).

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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