Offences Bill clears Lords hurdle

Jocelyn Dorrell | News | HSP
13.10.2008

The Health and Safety (Offences) Bill took a step closer to becoming law on 10 October after it passed its third reading in the House of Lords.

The Bill now awaits Royal Assent.

The Private Members' Bill, which was introduced by Labour MP Keith Hill, will amend Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act to raise the maximum penalty available in the lower courts to £20,000 for most safety offences, and to make imprisonment an option for more breaches.

Speaking at the third reading debate, work and pensions minister Lord McKenzie said the government "wholeheartedly" supports the Bill.

"Good employers and diligent managers and directors have nothing to fear from the Bill, indeed they have much to gain as it tackles the commercial advantage that unscrupulous businesses gain from non-compliance," he said.

Addressing concerns about the wider availability of prison sentences and the reverse burden of proof in safety cases, McKenzie underlined that the Bill would not add to or change existing health and safety requirements and that the regulators would not be changing their policy on prosecution of individuals as a result of the Bill.

McKenzie said he would be writing to the Sentencing Guidelines Council on the government's behalf to ensure that it updates its guidelines "as a matter of urgency" so that the courts have up-to-date advice once the Bill is enacted.

He said he would "stress the important point that imprisonment should be reserved for the most serious matters, and the expectation is that these matters will generally be concluded in the higher courts."

The text of the Bill is available here.