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The Health and Safety (Directors' Duties) Bill failed to pass its second reading in Parliament on 4 March. Whilst 40 votes were required for the bill to go through to Committee stage only 28MP voted (all in favour). This is the second time the Bill has failed at it's second reading, when originally introduced by Ross Cranston QC MP in 2001, it passed its first reading then but did not get through its second on 13 June 2003. The Bill was then reintroduced in 2004 as a private member's bill and was intended to place a general duty on all company directors and for large companies to appoint a director at board level to be responsible for health and safety. Under the Bill, companies would face not just fines but the prospect of custodial sentences for directors where serious health and safety breaches or negligence has resulted in death. The MP who moved the bill at it?s second reading on 4th March 2005 commented on the Health and Safety Executives expert assessment that 70% of workplace fatalities were preventable noting that whilst there were some 620 workplaces deaths only 23 directors have been convicted with an average fine of only ?6,500. It was further observed by way of contrast that whilst a director who financially mismanages his company could face upto 7 years imprisonment no equivalent effective sanction exists in relation to management of health and safety of the workers. |
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Intro • Services • Quality • Contact • DPF Website
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