UK Offence Report

2 Any person who intentionally obstructs a person acting in the exercise of any power under regulation 4…

regulation 5(2) of The Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999

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

2 Any person who intentionally obstructs

a person acting in the exercise of any power under regulation

4 above 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
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 (intentionally).

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: intentionally.

What would breach regulation 5(2)?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a person intentionally obstructs a person acting in the exercise of any power under regulation 4 above.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Not determined
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

the level is stated but no money value is given: this instrument extends outside the United Kingdom, where the standard scale set by s.122(1) of the Sentencing Act 2020 does not run.

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
29 July 1999
In force from
1 September 1999
Extent
E

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 (“the Regulations”), which apply to England only, prohibit the use of lead shot for shooting with a shot gun– a on or over any area below the high-water mark; b on or over the sites of special scientific interest included in Schedule 1 to the Regulations; c any wild bird included in Schedule 2 to the Regulations. These birds are ducks, geese and swans (all species of each); coot; moorhen; golden plover and common snipe (regulation 3). “Lead shot” means any shot made of lead or of any alloy or compound of lead where lead comprises more than 1% of that alloy or compound (regulation 2). Regulation 4 provides for powers of entry and inspection, a power to take samples, and a power to take any dead or injured wild birds, to determine whether any provision of the Regulations is being, or has been, complied with. Regulation 5 provides that breach of regulation 3, or obstruction of a person exercising any power under regulation 4, is a criminal offence punishable with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. Notifications under section 28(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of sites of special scientific interest in England are registered as local land charges (section 28(11) of the 1981 Act). Details of the area covered by the sites of special scientific interest listed in Schedule 1 to the Regulations can be obtained from English Nature at Northminster House, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1UA.

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.

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