UK Offence Report

False statements

regulation 11 of The Habitat (Species-Rich Grassland) (Wales) 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

11 If any person, for the purposes of obtaining for himself or any other person any aid under these Regulations, knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false in

a material particular, that person 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 11?

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 Habitat (Species-Rich Grassland) (Wales) Regulations 1994.
  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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1995-01-09); 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
12 December 1994
In force from
9 January 1995
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 implement in part Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 (OJ No. L215, 30.7.92, p.85) on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside. The Regulations, which apply to Wales, provide for the payment of aid to eligible persons, who as regards an area of eligible land (as defined in regulation 2(1)), undertake for a period of 10 years not to use that land for agricultural production, other than for mowing as part of a programme for managing the eligible land and for grazing in accordance with the requirements of the Schedule to the Regulations, and to manage it and any features bordering on it in accordance with those requirements (regulation 3). Applications for aid must include details such as a map of the eligible land (regulation 4) and restrictions on the acceptance of applications in certain circumstances are set out (regulation 5). Provision is made for a new occupier of land to receive aid in place of the original occupier upon the Secretary of State’s acceptance of his undertaking to comply with the obligations undertaken by the original occupier for the remainder of the management period (as defined in regulation 2(1)) (regulation 6). Aid is payable annually and the rate is set out (regulation 7). The Regulations also— a provide for an obligation to permit entry and inspection (regulation 9); b provide for withholding and recovery of aid and termination of undertakings (regulation 10); and c create an offence, punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, of knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in order to obtain aid (regulation 11).

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 0.92.

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