KEY MEASURES

• To create a new offence of corporate manslaughter, providing a more effective sanction for holding companies and other organisations to account when gross negligence in their senior management has had fatal consequences.
• This will improve the effectiveness of the law by enabling a wider range of senior management conduct to be taken into account when prosecuting an organisation for manslaughter.
• This would not introduce new standards: organisations taking their current health and safety obligations have nothing to fear.  The Bill is intended to target corporate liability, as opposed to the responsibility of individual directors or others.  But individual prosecutions will continue to be possible for existing offences.
• The Bill would apply to Government Departments and other Crown bodes, as well as industry, where both are engaged in similar activities.  But it would not apply to certain core public functions or decisions relating to matters of public policy, that are subject to existing lines of public accountability.

TERRITORIAL EXTENT

England and Wales

COMMENTS

If you have any comments on the proposals you can email them to:

corporatemanslaughterbill@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Draft Bill published 25 March and open to public consultation until 17 June.

Parliamentary pre-legislative scrutiny expected.