UK Offence Report

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

regulation 13 of The Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) 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

13 It shall be an offence for a person– a intentionally to obstruct an authorised person in the exercise of a power conferred by regulation 8; b without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with a requirement made under regulation 8 or a request made under regulation 9; 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 8; b without reasonable excuse, to fail to comply with a requirement made under regulation 8 or a request made under regulation 9; 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 o

What would breach regulation 13?

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 1994.
  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
20 October 1994
In force from
15 November 1994
Extent
E+W+S

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 1993, 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 80/666/EEC and Council Directive 82/786/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, Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1992/93 and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3669/93. The Regulations also make provision 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”(regulation 2(1));the maps are available for inspection during normal office hours at the addresses specified in the definition of “designated maps” contained in regulation 2(1). The rates of payment of the allowance are as set out in regulation 3. Apart from minor and drafting amendments, the following changes of substance are also made by these Regulations– a there is substituted for the existing definition of “the qualifying day” a definition which relates to the day an application for an allowance is made in any given Scheme year(regulation 2(1)); b there is created a revised definition of “breeding cow”, which brings within its scope animals which are regarded as being in calf on the qualifying day(regulation 2(1)); c provision is made for compensatory allowances to be reduced or withheld if the claimant uses unsuitable supplementary feeding methods(regulations 4(3) and (4) and 5(3) and (4)); d the detailed conditions relating to the number of animals in respect of which an allowance may be paid now reflect the requirement (see Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92) to submit an area aid application containing details of the claimant’s forage area(regulations 4(1)(d) and 5(1)(d) and (e)); e there are removed from the detailed conditions referred to in sub–paragraph (d) of this paragraph those formerly contained in regulations 4(3)(b) and 5(2)(b) of the Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1993 (maintenance of cattle and sheep for specified qualifying period); f in the detailed conditions referred to in sub–paragraph(d) of this paragraph, the retention periods set out in these Regulations in regulation 4(1)(b) (for cattle) and regulation 5(1)(b) (for sheep) are extended to four months; g the appropriate Minister is empowered to issue the occupier of land with a notification where he is satisfied that that land is being overgrazed and may do so in any event where the land has already been made subject to such a notification. The notification will specify the maximum number of animals which may be grazed and maintained on that land in the next Scheme year, and no allowances will be paid in respect of that Scheme year for any cattle or sheep grazed and maintained on the land in that year in excess of the maximum number specified in the notification(regulation 6); h authorised persons are empowered to inspect land for the purposes of determining whether or not unsuitable supplementary feeding methods have been used on it(regulation 8(3)(d));and i the appropriate Minister is empowered to withhold or recover allowances where he is satisfied that (despite the issue of a notification under regulation 6) the claimant has permitted overgrazing(regulation 11(4)). A compliance cost assessment has been prepared and has been deposited in the Library of each House of Parliament.

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