UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 20(1) of The Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1994

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 If any person contravenes regulation 11(2), 13(1), 18(4) or 19(1), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

3 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

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

The defence, as drafted

1 In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that the fresh meat in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed was intended for export outside the European Community and complied with the importing country’s domestic legislation relevant to the alleged offence. 2 In any proceedings f

What would breach regulation 20(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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1994, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
7 April 1994
In force from
1 May 1994
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 Great Britain, give effect to the provisions of CouncilDirective 71/118/EEC, and Council Directive 91/495/EEC (both defined in regulation 2(1)),and in part to the provisions of Council Directive 91/494/EEC on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in and imports from third countries of fresh poultrymeat (OJ No. L268, 24.9.91, p. 35), as amended by Council Directive 93/121/EEC (OJ No. L340,31.12.93, p. 39). They revoke and replace the Regulations specified at items 1 to 3, 7 to 11, 14 and 15 in Schedule 23. The powers conferred upon the Ministers by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (1972 c. 68) are being exercised so far as is required to give effect to specified requirements as to the welfare of poultry and for the amendment and revocation of Regulations made in exercise of powers under that section. The Regulations do not apply to premises where fresh meat is cut up, stored or re-wrapped for sale direct to the final consumer; premises with an annual production of less than 10,000 birds or rabbits and cold stores (subject to specified restrictions); fresh meat intended for exhibitions; special studies or analyses, or for sale to international organisations; and fresh meat not intended for human consumption (regulation 3). The Regulations— a prohibit the use of any premises as a slaughterhouse, cutting premises, cold storeor re-wrapping centre unless they are licensed and make provision for the issue, on application, of licences by the Minister (regulation 4); b provide for the revocation of licences (regulation 5); c provide for an Appeals Tribunal to hear appeals against refusals to licence, conditions imposed on the grant of licences, and revocations of licences (regulation 6); d subject to a specified exemption, prohibit the use of a slaughterhouse for slaughtering a bird or rabbit not intended for sale for human consumption (regulation 7); e require every food authority to appoint official veterinary surgeons and inspectors to supervise licensed premises (regulation 8); f provide for the designation by the Minister of official veterinary surgeons, there vocation and suspension of such designations, and specify the powers of official veterinary surgeons (regulations 9 and 10); g provide for the authorisation by the Minister of persons as plant inspection assistants and for the revocation and suspension of such authorisations (regulation 11); h require food authorities to arrange for the carrying out of pre-slaughter health inspections and post-mortem health inspections of birds and rabbits and also make provision in relation to the application of the health mark, and prohibit the use of a mark resembling a health mark likely to deceive (regulation 12); i prohibit the slaughter of a bird or rabbit for human consumption without giving the food authority at least 72 hours, or other shorter period as agreed with the food authority, advance notice except where such slaughter is at a fixed time and day in accordance with a regular practice (regulation 13); j specify the conditions to be complied with in relation to the sale of fresh meat for human consumption and, subject to specified exceptions, prohibit the sale of such meat unless those conditions are complied with (regulation 14); k specify the documents necessary when transporting fresh meat (regulation 15); l enable an official veterinary surgeon or inspector to prohibit slaughter in specified circumstances and provide for authorisation of slaughter subject to conditions (regulation 16); m require official veterinary surgeons to keep specified records and also require them to notify the presence of specified diseases, and require food authorities to keep specified records and supply copies to the Minister on request (regulation 17); n specify the duties of occupiers and producers (regulations 18 and 19); o create offences and prescribe penalties (regulation 20); p enable food authorities to recover specified costs from producers (regulation 21); q require food authorities to supply specified information to the Minister (regulation 22); r provide defences in relation to exports (regulation 23); s specify the enforcement authorities and make provision for the application of various provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (regulations 24 and 25); t amend specified Regulations (regulation 26). A Compliance Cost Assessment in relation to these Regulations has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and copies can be obtained from the Meat Hygiene Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Government Buildings, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7NF.

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”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
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