UK Offence Report

Obstruction

regulation 12(1) of The Cattle (Identification of Older Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2000

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 No person shall —

a intentionally obstruct any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;

b without reasonable cause, fail to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information which that person may reasonably require of him or her for the purposes of his or her functions under these Regulations, or fail to comply with any notice served on him or her under these Regulations; or

c furnish to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information which he or she knows to be false or misleading. and any person who contravenes or fails to comply with this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 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. On these words an offence is committed where a person contravenes or fails to comply with this regulation.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Cattle (Identification of Older Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2000.
  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
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

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
19 December 2000
In force from
25 December 2000
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 apply to Wales, implement the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 in relation to older cattle. They require cattle born before 1st July 1996 (which is when the first cattle passports were issued) which are not already registered with the National Assembly for Wales on a voluntary basis to be registered before 29th January 2001 (regulation 5). They require the keepers of cattle to notify the National Assembly of the location of cattle not previously registered with the National Assembly(regulation 6). They provide for the issue of movement cards to cattle born before 28th September 1998 (which is when the passports with movement cards were first issued) and require notification to the National Assembly when these animals are moved. They also provide for the use of electronic notification of movement as an alternative to notification using movement cards, and for a register of approved users of electronic notification (regulations 7 and 8). They make provision for the notification of the death of cattle born before 1st July 1996 (regulation 9). They make provision for powers of inspectors (regulation 10) and provide for an officer of the National Assembly to impose movement restrictions for cattle to which the Regulations relate (regulation 11). They make it an offence to obstruct inspectors (regulations 12 and 14(1)). Failure to comply with other obligations created by the Regulations is an offence punishable as specified in regulation 14(2). Specific provision is made in regulation 13 for offences committed by corporate bodies. They are enforced by the National Assembly or local authorities (regulation 15). The database and the register of approved users of electronic mail are maintained on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales by— The British Cattle Movement Service Curwen Road Workington Cumbria CA14 2DD A regulatory appraisal has been prepared in accordance with section 65 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the Standing Orders of the National Assembly for Wales. Copies can be obtained from the National Assembly for Wales, Agriculture Policy Division, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

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”
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