Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

My hon. Friend says, rather unkindly, ““Like Ministers, sometimes””, but not this Minister. I say that not simply because he is my hon. Friend, but because he is also my friend, which is an important distinction that we occasionally have to make in the House. My final point is that the House is at its best on this kind of legislation—when it is serious of purpose and when, even if we cannot agree on the final conclusion, we at least have a common aim. We still have some way to go, but our aim is to provide a piece of legislation that is fit for the 21st century, and that says that corporate manslaughter is gross and unacceptable in our society and that those who are responsible for a lack of a safety culture and who allow corporate manslaughter to take place must be brought before the law one way or another, whether as corporations or individuals, and whether through the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 or the Bill, as we shall continue to debate. The Bill is a good piece of work, but it is not yet the piece of work that we need. I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will continue to reflect on how we need to improve it, to ensure that it is fit for that 21st-century purpose.