"The
Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) supports
the Government's
amendment, passed on Wednesday by the House
of Commons, that would give the Minister the power
to pass, at anytime in the future, an order allowing
the new manslaughter offence to apply to custody
deaths. The order would need to be voted on and
agreed by both houses of parliament.
The
amendment is a potentially important concession
by the Government - and we encourage members of
the Lords to support it.
The CCA had supported
the previous Lords amendment - now rejected by the
House of Commons - that allowed the offence to apply
to custody deaths.
However, it is crucial that this Bill becomes law
- and we believe that this bill would be in jeopardy
if the Lords voted against this amendment.
The Labour Government first promised this bill ten
years ago in October 1997. The CCA, trade unions,
and health and safety organisations have been campaigning
throughout this period for a new corporate manslaughter
offence.
This new Bill may not be all that we had hoped,
and in many ways remains a missed opportunity -
but we
do believe that this bill will deliver increased
justice and accountability when deaths result from
gross failures in large and medium sized organisations.
As a result the Lords should accept this new amendment
- so that the Bill can become law without delay."
You
can download the statement by clicking here
Read
the Commons Debate, 16 May 2007
The
Centre for Corporate Accountability is a human
rights charity advising those bereaved from work-related
deaths, and working on issues of safety, law enforcement
and corporate accountability.
Reference
"Health and safety responsibilities of
company directors and management board members:
2001, 2003 and 2005 surveys" Final report
Prepared by Greenstreet Berman Ltd, Page 80
