Archived decisions
County Council - 18 September 2008 Item 14(a)
REPORT OF THE
Cabinet / Leader
PART II
CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER AND CORPORATE HOMICIDE ACT 2007
On 21 July 2008, the Cabinet considered a report setting out the background to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and its main provisions and purpose /decisions/decisions-docs/080721-cabine-R0715122920. The Act (known as the Corporate Manslaughter Act) received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007 and came into effect on 6 April 2008. The Act introduces a criminal offence of corporate manslaughter. In summary, this offence is committed where an organisation owes a relevant duty to take reasonable care for a person's safety and the way in which activities of the organisation have been managed or organised amounts to a gross breach of that duty and causes the person's death. How the activities were managed or organised by senior management must be a substantial element of the gross breach. An organisation that is found guilty of the offence is liable on conviction on indictment to an unlimited fine.
While, under existing law, organisations can already incur liability in damages for a fatality resulting from its negligence, the Act raises the additional prospect of criminal liability now being incurred. This makes it even more important that the County Council has adequate arrangements in place to assess and manage risks arising in its activities, with particular regard to areas of service provision such as looking after vulnerable adults and children on off-site educational trips. Members have a role to play in seeking assurance from senior management that such arrangements are in place.
A basic guide to the Act and how it applies in a County Council has been prepared and will be circulated to all Members.
The County Council has a significant framework of controls in place to ensure that it complies with legal requirements in terms of Health and Safety legislation. The County Council strives for continuous improvement in its Health and Safety practice and its compliance with the standards contained in the Health and Safety Executive guidance "Successful Health and Safety Management". In order to ensure that misunderstandings over the provisions of the Corporate Manslaughter Act do not make the organisation risk averse, the County Council formally endorsed the joint Local Government Association and Health and Safety Executive's "Principles of Sensible Risk Management".
Although the County Council regularly reviews the effectiveness of its safety management systems, the Cabinet made the following decisions to ensure arrangements continue to be of a high standard:
(a) that the Chief Executive carry out a further review of the County Council's existing health and safety arrangements as part of its wider review of risk management arrangements to ensure that they provide sufficient levels of assurance that robust systems of health and safety management are in place
(b) that the Chief Executive prepare an initial report containing details of the findings of the review detailed in (a) above, together with detailed proposals for the ongoing reporting to Members on the efficiency and effectiveness of the health and safety arrangements within the County Council for initial submission to the Risk Management Board and ultimately this Cabinet.
(c) that the Chief Executive is asked to strengthen the existing assurance arrangements in advance of the review proposed in recommendation (a), by instigating a formal audit programme in all Departments to a standard set by the Chief Executive and based on accepted national standards, with an annual assurance report to the Governance Committee.
(d) To investigate concerns Members may have and to assist Members in understanding the Act and its implications in its widest sense:
- that a seminar be convened for all Members of the County Council
(subsequently been arranged for the full Council half day briefing
on 30 January 2009)
- that Executive Members are fully briefed on the Act for the
services they are responsible for
- that a presentation be given to each Select Committee
(subsequently been arranged to take place during October 2008).
T. K. THORNBER, C.B.E.,
Leader.