In the Queen's Speech in May the government committed to "take forward proposals to introduce an offence of Corporate Manslaughter". On 21 November sub-committees of the Parliamentary Home Affairs and Work & Pensions Committees, which are undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill, concluded its evidence sessions with various interested parties. The evidence is published at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhaff.htm
A key issue emerging in advancing the legislation is whether proposals for personal responsibilities of directors (previously shelved) might be re-introduced. Many supporters of corporate manslaughter reforms have argued for this in their evidence. The sub-committees posed the question whether supporters would accept the legislation in its current form, or face longer delays while the contentious issue of directors' duties was resolved.
