| 173. |
Revitalising states that a Law Commission
report published in 1998 found that the
requirement to seek the consent of the Director
of Public Prosecutions in order to conduct
a private prosecution made ‘substantial
inroads into the ordinary individual’s
right to set the criminal law in motion.’
The Law Commission recommended that consent
provisions should exist only for three categories
of offences and should otherwise be dispensed
with. It was also reported that the Director
of Public Prosecutions has to date received
no more than a handful of applications in
relation to health and safety offences,
all of which have been rejected. |
| 174.
|
Action
Point 10 of Revitalising committed the Government
to considering an amendment to the 1974
Act (when Parliamentary time allows) to
enable private prosecutions in England and
Wales to proceed without the consent of
the Director of Public Prosecutions’.
A progress report on the Revitalising Action
Points in April 2004 stated that legislative
proposals were being considered. The Minister
told us in oral evidence that the Government
remained committed to legislating if it
proved necessary. |
| 175. |
The Committee believes that private prosecutions
for health and safety offences should be
allowed, subject to terms on legal costs
in the event of a failed prosecution, without
the consent of the Director of Public Prosecution.
|
| 176. |
Given the HSE’s limited resources,
if safety representatives were empowered
to enforce health and safety law in the
workplace, we believe this would have a
powerful effect in improving standards.
We also believe this power to take action,
should include not just criminal prosecutions
but also improvement and prohibition notices,
subject to the usual right of appeal to
the Employment Tribunal and as to terms
on legal costs. |
