UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 13(1) of The Rural Development Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2014

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 A person is guilty of an offence if—

a for the purposes of obtaining financial assistance under these Regulations for themselves or for any other person, that person knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false or misleading in

a material particular;

b in relation to the exercise by the Welsh Ministers of the powers specified in regulation 10(2), that person knowingly or recklessly makes

a statement which is false or misleading in

a material particular;

c without reasonable excuse, that person fails to comply with

a requirement imposed by or under regulation 8(1)(b), regulation 8(1)(d) or by regulation 9; or

d that person intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or

a person accompanying and acting under the instruction of an authorised person) acting in the execution of these Regulations.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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, knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly).

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

The defence, as drafted

nt which is false or misleading in a material particular; c without reasonable excuse, that person fails to comply with a requirement imposed by or under regulation 8(1)(b), regulation 8(1)(d) or by regulation 9; or d that person intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or a person accompanying and acting under the instruction of an autho

What would breach regulation 13(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Rural Development Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2014.
  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
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
8 December 2014
In force from
1 January 2015
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 apply to the Rural Development Programmes (“programmes”), established under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013. In Wales, these Regulations will regulate new programmes which are administered by the Welsh Ministers. These Regulations supplement the European Union legislation listed in the Schedule to the Regulations (“the EU legislation”). The provisions in the EU legislation are directly applicable and have direct effect in a member State. These Regulations provide a domestic legal framework for the operation of the EU legislation in Wales. The EU legislation provides (amongst other provisions) for assistance to be granted from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development towards operations which promote rural development in Wales. These Regulations provide the Welsh Ministers with the power to approve operations for the receipt of financial assistance (regulation 4) and to pay financial assistance (regulation 3). An “operation” has the meaning given to it in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 and means a project, contract, action or group of projects selected by the managing authorities of the programmes concerned, or under their responsibility, that contributes to the objectives of a priority or priorities. The Regulations also set out the circumstances in which approval of an operation may be revoked and financial assistance paid to a beneficiary, in respect of that operation, may be withheld or recovered (regulation 10). The Regulations provide powers of entry and inspection to authorised persons in relation to premises on which an approved operation is situated or documents relating to an approved operation are held (regulations 7 and 8) (“authorised person” is defined in regulation 2). The Regulations also require beneficiaries of financial assistance to keep records relating to the approved operation for a certain period (regulation 9), to supply such information relating to the approved operations as the Welsh Ministers require (regulation 6) and to assist an authorised person in the exercise of their powers under regulation 10. Regulation 11 allows the Welsh Ministers to demand interest on sums due to them. Regulation 12 provides that sums payable to the Welsh Ministers are recoverable as a debt. The Regulations make it an offence (regulation 13) to knowingly or recklessly make false statements, intentionally obstruct an authorised person acting in the execution of these Regulations and to fail (without reasonable excuse) to keep relevant records for the required period under regulation 9 or to provide an authorised person with assistance. Regulation 14 applies to offences committed by a body corporate, partnership or other unincorporated association. Regulation 15 requires a beneficiary to give an undertaking if required to do so. In relation to the transfer of holdings to which an operation has already been approved, the period within which the transferee must inform the Welsh Ministers of the transfer and request for payment of the aid and/or support is 30 days (regulation 16). The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.

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 0.92.

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