ANOTHER VIEW; Safety first, last and always

The Law Commission's new recommendations, published yesterday, creating a new criminal offence of "corporate killing" are well-motivated but misguided.

In circumstances where corporations cannot be imprisoned, only fined, what is proposed adds very little to the duties, powers and penalties already in place. These include the Health & Safety Executive's power to shut down a business that poses a serious risk of injury, and related powers to order improved safety practices. This is backed up by the threat of prosecution, hefty fines and even imprisonment of directors or managers for repeated disregarding of formal warnings. Furthermore, the Department of Trade & Industry can seek the disqualification of "unsafe directors" from taking any part in the management of business.

Unfortunately, these existing powers have not sufficiently affected boardroom attitudes. The HSE's own staffing and funding have been woefully inadequate in recent years, despite repeated calls to restore and increase its capabilities. At present, it can do little more than investigate after the loss of life or limb.

The DTI's power of disqualification for safety reasons has rarely been used (only once, to my knowledge, in three and a half years) and yet thousands of directors have been removed for fiscal mismanagement, which has not put any lives at risk. Adding a new criminal offence to an already over- stuffed statute book may do more for lawyers' pockets than for safety. The better way forward is to encourage management to become more safety conscious before the event.

Most disasters are the result of years of sloppy practices and ignored warnings. What is needed is legislation requiring all companies to put their safety record (including details of warnings and prosecutions) on public view. By this means, safety failures could not be swept under the corporate carpet until disaster strikes, and the public could compare safety records, as well as prices, before purchasing. Bad safety, just like bad financial performance, would have to be publicly justified or remedied. Lives would be saved.

This idea was the main thrust of the Corporate Accountability Bill, which I prepared and my firm put forward more than four years ago, to government, opposition, the HSE, the TUC and employer groups. Putting safety records in the public domain was broadly welcomed but not pursued. It is still needed. This reform is outside the Law Commission's remit, but it is well within the power of the Government. Will it act before yet another disaster?

The writer is a senior partner of Davis Arnold Cooper, which has been involved in legal actions resulting from the Piper Alpha oil platform explosion and Hillsborough disaster.