| 2
Dec 2004 |
BHOPAL
20 YEARS ON: New Manslaughter Bill unlikely to
bring British companies causing death abroad to
account.
British Companies whose serious negligence causes
deaths abroad will not be brought to account as
a result of the Government's new manslaughter
bill, due to be published this month. The government
is planning to restrict the application of its
new offence of corporate manslaughter so that
it only applies to companies that cause death
in Britain. The CCA has written to the Home Secretary
today - on the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal
disaster - urging him to reconsider the Government's
position on this matter.
|
| 23
Nov 2004 |
CCA
Comment on Queens Speech
"We
are pleased that the Government will soon be publishing
a draft bill, but it should be noted that the
Labour government first promised reform in October
1997 - and it was a manifesto commitment in March
2001. An apparent lack of Government commitment
to reform has resulted, over the last couple of
years, in a series of broken commitments to publish
a draft bill. These delays now mean that legal
reform appears dependent on the Labour Government
winning the next election. ......."
|
| 18
Oct 2004 |
ALLIANCE
TO ASSIST FAMILIES BEREAVED FROM
WORK-RELATED DEATHS
Families bereaved from work-related deaths can
now receive even better independent advice on
investigation and prosecution issues following
work-related deaths as a result of joint working
between two charities - the CCA and the Public
Law Project |
| 14
Sep 2004 |
GOVERNMENT’S
SAFETY POLICIES "INCONSISTENT
WITH RESEARCH" NEW REPORT CONCLUDES
Central planks of the Government/Health and Safety
Commission's current health and safety strategy
are "inconsistent with the national and international
published research on the most effective strategies
to improve worker and public safety”, says
a report published today (15 September 2004) by
the Centre for Corporate Accountability. The report,
"Making Companies Safe: What Works?"raises
serious questions about the Government’s
claimed commitment to pursue policies that are
‘evidence-based’
Embargoed: 00.01 am 15th September
2004 |
| 25
Jul 2004 |
SELECT
COMMITTEE CHALLENGES GOVERNMENT TO SIGNIFICANTLY
INCREASE THE RESOURCES TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY
EXECUTIVE AND INTRODUCE LEGISLATION ON DIRECTOR
DUTIES
The Government should give substantial new
resources to the Health and Safety Commission/Executive
(HSC/E) in order for it to double the number
of inspectors over a six year period, and change
prosecutions procedures, according to a report
published by the parliamentary Work and Pensions
select committee which published its report
today.
|
| 27
Jun 2004 |
"KEEP
THE SAFETY REGULATION OF RAILWAYS INDEPENDENT",
DISASTER FAMILY AND SAFETY GROUPS TELL THE GOVERNMENT
The regulation of safety should continue to be
the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive
and not be transferred to the Department of Transport
or any other body, safety groups have told the
Department of Transport in a submission to its
Rail Review which is due to report this summer.
The Submission also questions the Secretary of
State's view that there are too many safety standards
enforced in an over-cautious manner. |
| 25
Jun 2004 |
HSE'S
RESTRICTIVE POLICY ON PUBLIC SAFETY
"UNLAWFUL" SAYS LEGAL ADVICE
The Health and Safety Executive's new
policy on public safety - which stops HSE inspectors
enforcing public safety duties upon employers
in certain circumstances - is "unlawful"
says a legal opinion obtained by the Centre for
Corporate Accountability. The legal opinion has
been given by two public law specialists, barrister
Michael Fordham - one of Britain's top barristers
in the field - and John Halford from the solicitors,
Bindman and Partners. It was sought by the Centre
for Corporate Accountability after the HSE refused
to investigate a number of deaths of members of
public. |
| 08
Jun 2004 |
NON-UK
EUROPEAN BUSINESSES ESCAPE HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW
ENFORCEMENT
Non-UK European businesses providing services
in Britain on a non-permanent basis may no longer
have to comply with British health and safety
law if the European Parliament and Council of
Ministers agrees to the text of a new Framework
Directive currently under consultation. The Health
and Safety Executive and Local Authorities will
not be able to inspect, investigate, impose enforcement
notices or lay criminal charges against the company
or individuals for any breaches of health and
safety law, according to the "Directive on
Services in the Internal market".
|
| 27
May 2004 |
MAJOR
POLICY SHIFT MEANS THAT CERTAIN DEATHS AND INJURIES
OF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO LONGER INBESTIGATED
BY THE HSE
Deaths and injuries of members of the public,
which until recently would have been investigated
by the Health and Safety Executive, will no longer
be subject to inquiry, the Centre for Corporate
Accountability has discovered. The
HSE will also no longer inspect hospitals, the
police, local authorities and others to see whether
they are complying with their public safety duties. |
| 19
May 2004 |
NINE
"APPRENTICE" WORKERS DIED WHILST RECEIVING
GOVERNMENT-FUNDED TRAINING, CCA INVESTIGATION
REVEALS
In the last twenty months, nine apprentice
workers - all under the age of 23 - have been
killed on work placements as part of Government
funded courses, the Centre for Corporate Accountability
can reveal.
The release of these figures comes on the day
(Wednesday 19th May 2004) that the Safety Minister
will be giving oral evidence to the Select Committee
on Work and Pensions concerning the work of
the Health and safety Commission.
|
| 21
Mar 2004 |
CCA
ASKED TO GIVE ORAL EVIDENCE TO SELECT COMMITTEE
ON WORK OF THE HSE
The CCA has been asked to give oral evidence
to the Select Committee on Work and Pensions
on Wednesday 24 March at 10.45 am in the Grimond
Room, Portcullis House.
The
Select Committee is undertaking an enquiry into
the work of the Health and Safety Commission
and Executive.
|
| 3
Mar 2004 |
HOME
OFFICE MINISTER TO SPEAK AT MAJOR CONFERENCE ON
"CORPORATE KILLING"
Home Office Minister, Baroness Scotland has agreed
to speak at a major conference in London on 29
April 2004 on 'Corporate Killing' organised by
the Centre for Corporate Accountability. The Government
is due to publish its new proposals to reform
the law of corporate manslaughter in the month
prior to the conference. The conference will examine
these proposals in detail and consider how effective
they would be in promoting worker and public safety
and in holding companies, public sector bodies
and directors/senior managers to account. Speakers
representing trade unions, employers and safety
organisations are speaking along with human rights
lawyers and hazard campaigners. |
| 12
Feb 2004 |
MANSLAUGHTER
PROSECUTION AGAINST COUNCIL "LANDMARK DECISION"
The decision by the Crown Prosecution Service
to charge Barrow Borough Council for the manslaughter
of seven people who died from legionnaires disease
in 2002 is the first time a Council has been charged
with manslaughter. The CCA said: "It does
not reflect any change in the law but a change
in the way work-related deaths are investigated" |
| 6
Feb 2004 |
ONE
OF BRITAIN'S WORST WORK-RELATED 'DISASTERS'
"The deaths of 18 Cockle Pickers in Morecambe
bay is one of Britain's worst work-related disasters
in recent years. If it is discovered that these
people had been asked to undertake this work for
a company, business or individual, a manslaughter
investigation needs to be carried out into whether
their deaths were the result of gross negligence
on their part." says the CCA
|
| 28
Jan 2004 |
'CORPORATION
OF LONDON' UNDER SCRUTINY OVER WORK-RELATED
DEATH
An 84-year-old North London man's daily
walk in his local park ended in tragedy, when
a heavy goods vehicle, on park business, reversed
into him in March last year. Martin and Celia
Glass have issued a statement
|
| 12
Jan 2004 |
SCOTLAND
JUDGES DEVELOP LAW OF CORPORATE HOMICIDE
Scotland's
High Court of Justiciary sitting as a Court
of Criminal Appeal has ruled for the first time
that companies can be prosecuted for the offence
of ‘culpable homicide’. It has also
established a principle of law – wider
than the legal test that exists in England –
that allows companies to be prosecuted without
needing to prosecute a director or senior manager.
|
