Contravention of Disease Control (Interim Measures) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003

the instrument as a whole of Disease Control (Interim Measures) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003

Status not determined
Strict liability
Set by another provision
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public health

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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section
73 of the Animal Health Act 1981. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: breaching the provision
Fault element: Strict liability
Burden of proof: Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Disease Control (Interim Measures) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine: Not determined
Maximum prison (summary): Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

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.

Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 February 2016
Covers breaches of duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it, and food safety and food hygiene offences. Sentencing turns on culpability and on the seriousness and likelihood of harm risked, not only on the harm that happened.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 9 May 2003
In force from: 30 May 2003
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 Order revokes and replaces the Disease Control (Interim Measures) (England) Order 2003. It changes the provisions of that Order as follows— It creates a new requirement that all sheep and goats being moved to a show or exhibition must be marked with an individual number (article 4); It permits movement of pigs, cattle, sheep and goats to shows and exhibitions from premises under standstill under specified conditions (paragraphs 11 and 12 of Schedule 1) and provides that the return of these animals from a show or exhibition will not trigger a standstill on the premises under certain conditions (paragraph 4 of Schedule 2). As before, the Order provides that cattle, deer, goats, pigs and sheep may not be moved without a licence, and provides that these animals (with the exception of deer) may not be moved from premises if cattle, goats or sheep have been moved on to those premises in the previous 6 days (the “standstill period” triggered by movement of those animals), or if pigs have been moved on in the previous 20 days (the “standstill period” triggered by movement of pigs). It also provides for exceptions from these requirements (article 3 and Schedules 1 and 2). Schedule 1 lists the movements off premises which are permitted during the standstill period and Schedule 2 lists the movements on to premises that do not trigger the standstill period. It controls movement of animals to and from slaughterhouses (article 5) and provides for sets of premises to be linked together as sole occupancy groups (article 6). It makes provisions for licences, permits and authorisations, and empowers the Secretary of State to serve notices removing individual premises or people from operating under a general licence (articles 7 to 13). It provides for disinfection of vehicles (article 14). It provides for change of occupation of premises affected by the Order (article 15). It is enforced by the local authority or the Secretary of State (article 16). Breach of the Order is an offence under section 73 of the Animal Health Act 1981, punishable in accordance with section 75 of that Act. A regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for this Order.

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 0.55.

Basis: the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence: 0.55 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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
Disease Control (Interim Measures) (England) (No. 2) Order 2003 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Alcohol licensing, gambling, smoke-free and public healthOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 2003