UK Offence Report

False statements

regulation 12(1) of The Rural Diversification Programme (Scotland) Regulations 1995

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 the eligible person, for the purposes of obtaining for himself or any other person any financial assistance under these Regulations, knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false in any material particular he shall be 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 eligible 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 12(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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Rural Diversification Programme (Scotland) Regulations 1995.
  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 (1996-02-01); 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
14 December 1995
In force from
1 February 1996
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 come into force on 1st February 1996, lay down measures necessary to implement Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4256/88 laying down provisions for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 as regards the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guidance Section (O.J. No. L374, 31.12.88, p.25), as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2085/93 (O.J. No. L193, 31.7.93, p.44). They enable financial assistance to be received from that Section under approved programmes contained in the Single Programming Documents for the four Objective 5b areas in Scotland approved by Commission Decisions of 21st April 1995 [O.J. No. ]. The Single Programming Documents include proposals for the economic diversification of the agricultural sector in those areas. Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 (O.J. No. L185, 15.7.88, p.9) as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2081/93 (O.J. No. L193, 31.7.93, p.5) requires the Structural Funds to support the achievement of the objectives set out in Articles 130a and 130c of the EC Treaty by contributing to the attainment of certain priority objectives, one of which is the promotion of rural development by facilitating the development and structural adjustment of rural areas (Objective 5(b)). Article 11 provides for establishment of a list of eligible areas by the Commission. Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4253/88 (O.J. No. L374, 31.12.88, p.1) as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2082/93 (O.J. No. L193, 31.7.93, p.20) lays down provisions for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 as regards co-ordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds etc. Article 5 deals with the submission of rural development plans to the Commission along with other plans in the form of a single programming document for approval by decision of the Commission in accordance with Article 10. Article 14 deals with applications for assistance from the Structural Funds. Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4256/88 as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2085/93 lays down provisions for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 as regards the EAGGF Guidance Section. Article 6 provides that financial assistance for promoting the development of rural areas covered by Objective 5(b) shall in the main take the form of operational programmes. The established list of rural areas eligible under Objective 5(b) was confirmed by Commission Decision (94/197/62) of 26th January 1994 (O.J. No. L96, 14.4.94, p.1) and includes the Dumfries and Galloway and Borders Regions and parts of North and West Grampian, Rural Stirling and Upland Tayside. Schedule 1 to these Regulations details the precise areas involved. These Regulations provide for financial assistance to be given towards the cost of the diversification measures specified in Schedule 2 by an eligible person within the relevant part of the programme area (as defined in regulation 2(1)). A diversification measure must be one which will provide employment opportunities within that part or increase the income of the eligible person (regulation 4(2)(e)). “Eligible person” is defined in regulation 3(1) as meaning a legal occupier of an agricultural unit within the programme area who has been involved in agriculture on that unit for the 2 year period prior to the making of the application for assistance or any person authorised by him, or a member of his immediate family living on or adjacent to the agricultural unit. To benefit from financial assistance an eligible person must make an application for approval (regulation 4). The Regulations also— a impose certain restrictions on the approval of the application (regulation 5); b allow the variation of the approval given (regulation 6); c set out the measures on which financial assistance can be given and the amount available (regulation 7 and Schedule 2); d provide for how financial assistance may be claimed (regulation 8); e provide for the Secretary of State to determine the manner, timing and conditions of payment of the approved financial assistance (regulation 9); f confer a power of entry and inspection (regulation 10); g provide for the revocation of approval and the reduction, withholding or recovery of financial assistance (regulation 11); and h create an offence punishable on summary conviction of knowingly or recklessly making a false statement to obtain financial assistance (regulation 12).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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