Part of Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 9:00 am on 19 October 2006.
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment No. 34, in page 1, line 3, leave out from if to end of line 5 and insert
a management failure by the organisation.
Government amendments Nos. 1 to 4.
Amendment No. 35, in page 1, line 16, leave out paragraph (a).
Government amendment No. 5
Clause 2 stand part.
Amendment No. 76, in title, line 3, after homicide;, insert
to make provision for orders to encourage remedial action; to create an offence of causing death which was preventable by better corporate organisation or management;.
I should perhaps, for clarification, explain why we are taking clause 2 stand part now. The group of amendments effectively relates to clause 2 as well as clause 1 and, were they to be carried, clause 2 would not exist.
As a matter of guidance to the Committee, those who have not served under my chairmanship before will probably be unaware that I am more than willing to have a stand part debate at the start of a clause, if that facilitates debate, rather than at the end, but I do not propose to have both. It is for the Committee to decide whether it would be beneficial to have a broad-ranging debate on a first group of amendments, which may be considerableas this one is. That would be perfectly acceptable, on the strict understanding that you cannot have your cake and eat it later.