UK Offence Report

12 It shall be an offence for a person– a intentionally to obstruct an authorised person in the exercise of…

regulation 12 of The Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1993

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

12 It shall be an offence for

a person–

a intentionally to obstruct an authorised person in the exercise of

a power conferred by regulation 7;

b without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with

a request made under regulation 8; or

c knowingly or recklessly to make

a statement or furnish any information which is false or misleading in

a material particular where the statement is made or the information is furnished for the purposes of obtaining for himself or any other person the whole or any part of any compensatory allowance.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, intentionally, recklessly, knowingly or recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

son in the exercise of a power conferred by regulation 7; b without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with a request made under regulation 8; or c knowingly or recklessly to make a statement or furnish any information which is false or misleading in a material particular where the statement is made or the information is furnished for the pu

What would breach regulation 12?

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 Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1993.
  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
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
25 October 1993
In force from
15 November 1993
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 consolidate with amendments the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1992, as amended. The Regulations extend to Great Britain. They comply with Council Directive 75/268/EEC on mountain and hill farming and farming in certain less–favoured areas, as amended by Council Directive No. 80/666/ EEC, and with Articles 17 to 19 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2328/91 on improving the efficiency of agricultural structures, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 870/93. The Regulations also make provision for the first time for the administration and enforcement of provisions for payment of compensatory allowances contained in Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes. The Regulations continue to provide for the payment of an annual compensatory allowance for cattle and sheep which are maintained by the occupier of “eligible land” (regulation 3). “Eligible land” continues to be defined as land located in a less–favoured farming area which is shown on designated maps and which is “disadvantaged” or “severely disadvantaged”; the maps are available for inspection during normal office hours at the addresses specified in the definition of “designated maps” (regulation 2(1)). The rates of payment of the allowance are reduced to 20.3 ECU per cow and 3.045 ECU per ewe, but the total amounts which may be paid per hectare of land remain the same (regulation 3). Apart from minor and drafting amendments, the following changes are also made by these Regulations– a detailed new conditions are introduced relating to the number of animals in respect of which an allowance may be paid (regulations 4(3)(a) to (c) and 5(2)(a) to (c)); b an application for an allowance must be made in a specified period (regulation 6); c powers of entry and inspection are enlarged (regulation 7); d the rate of interest payable on amounts recovered in specified circumstances is prescribed (regulation 11); e new offences are created (regulation 12(a) and (b)) and penalties are prescribed in respect of them (regulation 13(1)); f time limits for bringing prosecutions are specified (regulation 14) and provision is made for dealing with offences committed by corporate bodies and Scottish partnerships (regulation 15).

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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