Today the Commons examines the Corporate Manslaughter Bill. It creates an offence of corporate manslaughter where a company can be prosecuted and fined if people have died as a result of its actions.

None of us want to see people die as a result of company errors. No airline or train company takes risks with passenger safety, no food company wants to poison its customers. Decency,?? the knowledge of the bad business consequences, and the criminal law unite to encourage high standards.

??The government seems to think we need a stronger law to stop the private sector making mistakes, but it does??not want this to apply to many actions of the public sector. We will be moving and backing an amendment to get the Law to apply to deaths in custody.

Although the Bill lists government departments to come under the Bill, there are large exemptions.?? Public policy, regulatory inspections, military activities, emergency services, ??policing and law enforcement are all excluded.

We also need to ask whether the government could do more to stop the many other deaths that occur on its watch.

Are they taking strong enough action to curb deaths from MRSA and c.dif in NHS hospitals?

Are they providing our forces with sufficient equipment and protection to minimise deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Are they sufficiently in control of Network Rail to prevent deaths from broken track or damaged signals?

Have they put in place a good enough mental health service to reduce suicides?

The numbers involved are worrying -

??Numbers of deaths where MRSA/ c.dif is mentioned on the death certificate???? 5,890 in 2005

Numbers of deaths in custody -?? 174 in 2005

207 Service personnel died since??2001

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