UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 14(2) of The Beef Carcase (Classification) Regulations 1991 (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

2 If any person—

a fails to comply with any requirement imposed on him under

a Community provision or these Regulations; or

b for the purpose of obtaining

a licence under regulation

8 knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false in

a material particular; or

c makes an alteration to such

a licence, he shall be guilty of an offence and 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (for the purpose of obtaining, knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, recklessly, for the purpose of obtaining, knowingly or recklessly.

The defence, as drafted

15 It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under these Regulations to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or by a person under his control.

What would breach regulation 14(2)?

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 Beef Carcase (Classification) Regulations 1991.
  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
£2,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1991-10-31); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
8 October 1991
In force from
31 October 1991
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.

Regulations, which apply to Great Britain only, provide for the administration and enforcement of the Community system of classification of beef carcases (“the Community system”), as required by Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 (OJ No L119, 11.5.90, p.32). The Community system requires: a the classification of carcases and half-carcases in accordance with the Community scale defined by Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 (OJ No L123, 7.5.81, p.3), as amended, and by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2930/81 (OJ No L293, 13.10.81, p.6), as amended; b the identification of carcases and half-carcases which have been so classified by means of a mark or, if a Member State so authorises, a label (Articles 1 and 2(3) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 344/91 (OJ No L41, 14.2.91, p.15)); c the communication of the results of classification to the person who has the slaughtering carried out (Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90); and d the classification to be carried out only by qualified technicians who have obtained a licence for that purpose (Article 3(1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 344/91). As from 1st January 1992 occupiers of slaughterhouses which are approved for intra-Community trade in fresh meat under Article 8 of Council Directive 64/433/EEC (OJ/SE 1963-64 p.185), as amended, (in the Regulations defined as “regulated slaughterhouses”) are obliged, subject to specified exemptions in relation to classes of occupier and of carcase, which may be adopted by Member States, to operate the Community system in relation to all carcases and half-carcases bearing the Community health stamp as provided for in Article 3 of that Directive (in the Regulations defined as “regulated carcases”). The Fresh Meat Export (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/2237), as amended, and the Fresh Meat Export (Hygiene and Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/800), as amended, implement these provisions of the Directive in England and Wales and in Scotland respectively. The Regulations— a make provision for exemptions from the Community system (regulation 3); b require every occupier of a regulated slaughterhouse to give the appropriate Agriculture Minister specified particulars of his business (regulation 4); c in the case of regulated carcases which are not intended for sale into intervention or for private storage aid, authorise replacement of identification marking by the use of labels and specify alternative positions on which marks and labels may be applied (regulations 5, 6 and 7); d make provision for the granting of classification licences (regulation 8); e require occupiers of regulated slaughterhouses to keep, retain and produce specified records (regulation 9); f empower the Meat and Livestock Commission to carry out classifications and identifications of regulated carcases and make provision for its entering into agreements with occupiers of regulated slaughterhouses for such purpose (regulation 10); g confer on authorised officers of the Agriculture Ministers powers of entry and inspection for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Community system and the Regulations and require that such assistance be given them for that purpose as they may reasonably request (regulations 11 and 12); h provide for the service of notices (regulation 13); and i create offences and penalties, and provide for defences (regulations 14 and 15).

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 is “guilty of 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