Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

My Lords, I also thank the noble Baroness for giving a clear exposition of the Bill, as she habitually does—as I have learnt in the short time that I have been in this place. I am pleased to welcome this legislation from the other place: it has been long sought and long needed. I think it is fair to say that the public have frequently been dismayed at the lack of accountability and apportionment of blame following many disasters. It says it all when we learn that the investigation into the Potters Bar rail crash exposed the sadness and frustration of the victims’ relatives, as no organisation seemed to take responsibility. How often does one read that, many years later, recommendations resulting from an official inquiry or investigation have still not been implemented? The Minister referred to the ““Herald of Free Enterprise””. I could be wrong but I believe that measures and changes to, for example, procedures, which were recommended after that tragic disaster, have still to be implemented. I hope that, although it is not within the scope of the Bill, this legislation will provide an inducement to see that measures are put in place promptly and urgently with proper application to close off as much as possible the likelihood of disasters recurring. The message from this legislation must be: ““Act now or else””. In this House, we have the opportunity to scrutinise further. The Minister in the other place acknowledged that many important issues were not sufficiently discussed, and I hope that we will be able to carry forward those discussions in this place. In the time available to examine the Bill that has been passed to us, it has become evident that there are key areas to pursue. It is boldly claimed that Crown immunity has been put to one side, but there are also many exceptions and exclusions of certain activities. This area has already been followed up in the other place but it remains a concern. We must be assiduous in doing what we can in this area, as exceptions are said to apply to the Armed Forces, the police, the emergency services and bodies concerned with child protection. Those are the very areas that attract the greatest concerns and disbelief from the public, where dismay is felt that blame is not apportioned, and where concern remains. Will lessons be learnt for the future? My noble friend Lord Lee will later address issues concerning the Armed Forces and police custody. I mentioned child protection as being seemingly excluded under Crown immunity, yet being an area of very great distress to the public. Can the Minister reassure us that there will be no repeat of the Victoria Climbié case? One junior person took the blame, but five senior managers representing the organisation as a whole were criticised but not held to account. They either stayed in post or went on to be promoted. When I was a Member in the other place, a heart-rending case was put to me where a much loved daughter lost her life due to a collision with a fire engine. Her parents were distraught and wanted to feel that someone would be found accountable for causing the accident. I hope we will be able to address this type of personal tragedy. My fear is that such an accident is not covered by the Bill. With a few exceptions, emergency services appear to be exempt from the offence created by the Bill. Will the Minister give the House some advice on how such incidents may be addressed by the Bill, or at least think about what mechanisms of redress are available to members of families when the actions of public authorities result in the deaths of people due to the gross negligence of such bodies? On road accidents, it is concerning that fatal accidents involving the police are rising at an alarming rate, with 48 members of the public being killed last year compared to nine deaths in 1997. Indeed, only yesterday, a father lost his life as a result of a police van being on a 999 call. Is driver training enough to ensure that procedures are put in place to avoid such incidents? Having been in business prior to my time in politics, as a managing director of a small manufacturing company, I have learnt that business must also take its responsibilities seriously, within reason—the noble Baroness, Lady Scotland, herself alluded to a sense of balance. I say that because, when my factory was broken into and property stolen, I was made to feel the transgressor when the police pointed out a door on the third floor which could be opened from inside. They said that, had the burglars opened the door, got on to the roof and then fallen to the ground, I would have been responsible. We need common sense on these issues. The Bill fails to cover a number of concerns. One is the exclusion of unincorporated bodies in the offence, whereby the legislation would cause companies to structure themselves as incorporated associationsto evade health and safety regulations, a matterwhich the noble Baroness, Lady Scotland, has acknowledged is worthy of further consideration. Another is whether the financial sanctions proposed by the Government will provide a greater deterrent to companies. Does the Minister feel that unlimited fines will deter large corporations? Will these unlimited fines give victims’ families a sense of justice? I understand that Professor Macrory’s report has stated that reliance on criminal prosecution fails to give regulators adequate means to effectively deal with many cases in a proportionate and risk-based way. Will the Minister respond to the report, which has raised some concerns? Our colleagues in the other place have proposed a corporate community service order, which would provide a greater stigma to the company. During consideration in the other place, the Minister Gerry Sutcliffe promised to look into disqualification orders for directors as an extra recourse. Can the Minister indicate whether this has been progressed? Individual liability is a key issue that must be scrutinised. Clause 17 argues that an individual director cannot be held responsible for the commission of an offence. A company can therefore be penalised, but the Bill fails to deal with accountability for an accident at a senior level. This serious problem must be followed up. There are also concerns that the relevant duty of care as specified in Clause 2(1) is too narrow. We hope the Government will look at that again. It is important to identify the effect that this Bill will have on small business. Essentially, it will not make much difference, since individual small business owners are being caught and prosecuted under existing legislation because they are easily identifiable. Although larger organisations will become more accountable under the Bill, individuals in large organisations will escape prosecution whereas small business managers will still be more open to charges. The legislation has two key purposes: first, to ensure that companies and organisations are heldto account following accidents and events; secondly, to provide a spur and real incentive to ensure that steps are taken to avoid unnecessary accidents in future. In particular, as I mentioned earlier, we frequently learn years after the event that recommendations made at the time—usually after exhaustive inquiries and official investigations—have not been implemented. The message must go out that such recommendations should be implemented fully and speedily. We on these Benches look forward to our opportunity to further examine the Bill. I hope that the Government will respond favourably to the concerns that still remain.