Court fears ease as Manslaughter Bill offers defence clause

29 November 2006

The Corporate Manslaughter Bill is unlikely to increase the chances of a prosecution against a local authority for services it provides but should increase the importance of best practice guidance.
This is the view of the County Surveyors’ Society, which gave ‘a cautious welcome’ to the carrying over of the Bill into the new legislative session.
CSS spokesman, Paul Jameson, said the fact that Whitehall decisions were now outside the remit of prosecutions would ensure a council did not face court because it had insufficient funds for maintenance. Local authorities would be able to defend themselves by demonstrating that their practices were in line with good practice, as evidenced by the code of practice on maintenance and the activities of their neighbours.
But if one council was to carry out significantly lower amounts of winter maintenance than similar authorities ‘it would be on thin ice,’ Jameson stressed.

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