UK Offence Report

Powers of entry and default powers

regulation 30(8) of The Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (England) (No.2) Regulations 2006

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

8 A person who intentionally obstructs or impedes any person acting in the exercise of the powers conferred by this regulation or who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with

a request made under paragraph (7) is guilty of an offence and is 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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).

“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: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

ise of the powers conferred by this regulation or who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a request made under paragraph (7) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 30(8)?

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 Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (England) (No.2) Regulations 2006.
  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
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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
13 September 2006
In force from
Not determined
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 implement Council Directive 85/337/EEC (O.J. No. L175, 5.7.85, p.40) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (as last amended by Directive 2003/35/EC (O.J. No. L156, 25.6.03, p. 17)) (“the EIA Directive”) in relation to two types of project in paragraph 1 of Annex II to that Directive: projects for the restructuring of rural land holdings, and projects for the use of uncultivated land and semi-natural areas for intensive agricultural purposes. They also implement Council Directive 1992/43/EEC (O.J. No. L206, 22.7.1992, p. 7) on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna (as last amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the new Member States (O.J. No. L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 667–70. See Annex II: 16. Environment, C. Nature protection.) (“the Habitats Directive”) insofar as those projects affect sites protected by that Directive. Regulation 3 sets out the types of projects which are excluded from the scope of the Regulations. It also gives the Secretary of State the power to exclude certain projects from the scope of the Regulations in accordance with the EIA and Habitats Directives. Regulation 4 prohibits any person from beginning or carrying out certain uncultivated land projects or restructuring projects unless that person has obtained a screening decision allowing the project to go ahead. Regulation 5 and Schedule 1 set out how to calculate the appropriate threshold for a project. Regulation 6 sets out provisions relating to the service of “screening notices” which allow Natural England to remove the application thresholds from areas of land. Regulation 7 sets out what must be included in an application for a screening decision, and allows Natural England to ask for further information. Regulation 8 and Schedule 2 set out the factors to be taken into consideration by Natural England when it makes a screening decision, and the procedures relating to a screening decision. Schedule 2 is based on Annex III to the EIA Directive. Regulation 9 prohibits a person from beginning or carrying out a project likely to have significant effects on the environment unless he has first obtained consent from Natural England. Regulation 10 sets out the procedure by which Natural England can give an applicant an opinion on the scope of an environmental statement. Regulation 11 sets out the duties of consultation bodies from whom information is sought in connection with applications and scoping opinions. Regulation 12 provides that applications for consent must include an environmental statement and sets out consultation procedures relating to the application. Regulation 13 sets out further procedures relating to any further information that is required from the applicant. Regulations 14 and 15 set out the procedures to be followed where a significant project in England might affect another EEA State, and a significant project in another EEA State might affect England. Regulations 16 and 17 set out the factors to be taken into consideration when Natural England makes a consent decision, including the situation where a project is likely to affect a European Site, and provide for the timing of consent decisions. Regulation 18 sets out the conditions which must be applied to a consent and Regulation 19 sets out the procedures following the consent decision. Regulation 20 makes provision on the treatment of transborder projects. Regulation 21 and Schedule 4 make provision for the situation where, following a decision permitting the commencement of a project, the relevant land becomes a European site. Regulation 22 makes it an offence to begin or carry out a project without obtaining a screening decision or a consent decision (where these are required). Regulation 23 makes it an offence to breach a condition of consent. Regulation 24 makes it an offence to procure a decision by deception or the supply of false or misleading information or documents. Regulation 25 empowers Natural England to issue stop notices. Regulation 26 makes it an offence to contravene a stop notice. Regulation 27 empowers Natural England to issue “remediation notices” requiring a person in breach of the Regulations to return his land to the condition it was in before the breach, or to good environmental condition. Regulation 28 makes it an offence to fail to comply with a remediation notice without reasonable excuse. Regulation 29 allows prosecutions under regulations 22, 23, 24, 26 and 28 to be brought within 6 months of the date sufficient evidence comes to the prosecutor’s knowledge. But prosecutions must be brought within 2 years of the date on which the offence is committed. Regulation 30 confers powers on persons authorised by the Secretary of State or Natural England to enforce these Regulations. Regulation 30(8) makes it an offence to obstruct an authorised person in the exercise of those powers. Regulation 31 to 35 and Schedule 5 contain provisions in respect of notices and decisions given under these Regulations. Regulations 37 to 39 contain amending, revoking and transitional provisions. A Transposition Note has been prepared to illustrate how these Regulations transpose the EIA Directive and the Habitats Directive. A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies of the Transposition Note and Regulatory Impact Assessment are available from the Environmental Land Management Division, Defra, Ergon House (Area 5B), Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL (or from www.defra.gov.uk/farm/environment/land-use/eia).

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
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