Amendment Paper as at
Friday 16th July 2004
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
New Amendments handed in are marked thus *
PROMOTION OF VOLUNTEERING BILL, AS AMENDED
Declaration as to extent of liability in negligence
Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Frank Dobson
Mr John Burnett
NC29
To move the following Clause—
'(1) In respect of volunteering and voluntary organisations there is no liability in negligence for something that might not be avoided by taking reasonable care or exercising reasonable skill.
(2) The cases to which subsection (1) applies include, for example, cases where liability in negligence is alleged to arise in connection with recreational, sporting, play or other activities as a result of something that is an inherent risk of the activity concerned.
(3) Where persons suffering harm (and the parents of minors suffering harm) have knowingly accepted that there were risks involved, the court shall take account of that fact.
(4) In this section "negligence" means the breach—
| (a) | of any obligation, arising from the express or implied terms of a contract, to take reasonable care or exercise reasonable skill in the performance of the contract; |
| (b) | of any common law duty to take reasonable care or exercise reasonable skill (but not any stricter duty); |
| (c) | of the common duty of care imposed by the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 or the duty imposed by the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984. |
(5) The Secretary of State shall by regulations prescribe the meaning of "volunteering" and "voluntary organisations" in this section.
(6) Regulations under subsection (5) shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.'.
Civil procedure rules
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall only apply to proceedings in court to the extent specified in the civil procedure rules.'.
[R] Relevant registered interest declared.
Consultation
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not come into force until organisations representing victims of personal injury have been consulted.'.
Non-application to fatal accidents
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply to civil proceedings in court for negligence or breach of statutory duty in respect of fatal accidents.'.
Coroner's jury rider
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'A coroner's jury on conclusion of an inquest may issue a rider that this Act should not apply in respect of subsequent court proceedings for damages in respect of the death on which they have adjudicated.'.
Statement of Public Inquiry
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'A person conducting a public inquiry into a death or deaths may issue a statement that this Act shall not apply in respect of civil proceedings arising out of that death or other deaths.'.
Role of expert evidence
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC6
To move the following Clause:—
'The presumption of exclusion of a finding of negligence or breach of statutory duty provided by section 2(6) of this Act shall be rebuttable by expert evidence.'.
Publicising the terms of section 2(6)
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC7
To move the following Clause:—
'The Secretary of State shall take such steps as he considers necessary to ensure the terms of section 2(6) are brought to the attention of persons who are intending to undergo activities covered by this Act.'.
Compliance with European Union Treaty obligations
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC8
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not come into force until the Attorney General has confirmed that it complies with the United Kingdom's European Union Treaty obligations.'.
Insurance Cover
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC9
To move the following Clause:—
'For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Act shall absolve any person, voluntary organisations or voluntary bodies from obtaining insurance cover as otherwise required by law.'.
Compatability with Human Rights Act 1998
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC10
To move the following Clause:—
'Nothing in this Act shall exclude civil liability for personal injury until the Attorney General has confirmed such exclusion is compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.'.
Absence of statement
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC11
To move the following Clause:—
'In an action for damages for personal injury a court shall take into account the absence of a statement of inherent risk in circumstances where a statement might have been expected as evidence of the lack of a risk assessment for the activity concerned.'.
Application to catastrophic injuries
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC12
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply in respect of civil proceedings for personal injury where the injuries concerned are catastrophic within the meaning of the Judicial Studies Board Guidelines on Personal Injury Damages.'.
Application to cases of permanent disability
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC13
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply in respect of civil proceedings for personal injury where the injuries are such that the claimant is permanently disabled from—
| (a) | carrying out his usual occupation; or |
| (b) | engaging in any paid employment (other than for therapeutic purposes)'. |
Application to cases involving the loss of a limb
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC14
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply in respect of civil proceedings for personal injury where the claimant has suffered the loss of a thumb, hand, foot, arm, leg or eye.'.
Activities in consideration for money etc.
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC15
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply to any activity where the person undertaking that activity has been given consideration for that activity in money, money's worth or in kind beyond the strict not for profit cost of providing that activity.'
Non-application to activities involving enforceable contracts
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC16
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall not apply to any activity where there is a contract enforceable in law to provide that activity between the person undertaking the activity and its provider.'.
Application only in respect of fast track procedures
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC17
To move the following Clause:—
'This Act shall only be taken into account by any court in considering a claim for negligence or breach of statutory duty resulting in personal injury if that claim is commenced in the fast track as provided for by the Civil Procedure Rules.'.
Liability under Occupiers Liability Act
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC18
To move the following Clause:—
'Nothing in this Act shall remove or reduce liability under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 from a farmer or land owner.'.
Vicarious liability resulting from criminal conduct
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC19
To move the following Clause:—
'Nothing in this Act shall reduce or remove vicarious civil liabilty for personal injury (including psychological injury) from a voluntary body or voluntary organisation as a consequence of criminal conduct by a volunteer or employee of that body or organisation.'.
Continuing liability of local authority
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC20
To move the following Clause:—
'Nothing in this Act shall reduce or remove the liability for negligence or breach of statutory duty for personal injury caused by a local authority.'.
Hunting wild mammals with dogs
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC21
To move the following Clause:—
'The provisions of section 2(6) of this Act shall not apply to any volunteer, employee, voluntary organisation or voluntary body in respect of activities consisting of hunting wild mammals with dogs.'.
Claims against National Health Service organisations
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC22
To move the following Clause:—
'Nothing in this Act shall reduce or remove vicarious civil liability for personal injury insofar as such a claim is brought against a National Health Service organisation.'.
Assessment
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC23
To move the following New Clause:—
'This Act shall not come into force until an assessment has been made and published by the Secretary of State of the likely impact of the Act on
| (b) | the cost of claims for personal injury; |
| (c) | the numbers of people engaged in volunteering; and |
| (d) | the numbers of people participating in activities covered by this Act.'. |
Insurance companies
Mr Andrew Dismore [R]
NC24
To move the following Clause:—
'An insurance company shall not take the existence or non-existence of a statement of inherent risk into account when quoting a price for an insurance premium to a volunteering body or voluntary organisation.'.
