82. Memorandum submitted by CORGI
1. INTRODUCTION
CORGI is the national watchdog for gas safety.
It is the body charged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
to maintain a register of competent gas installers in Great Britain,
Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
It is a legal requirement for businesses carrying
out gas work in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of
Man to be registered with us. We also operate a voluntary registration
scheme in the Channel Islands.
CORGI's principal representative body is its
Council, which consists of organisations with a real interest
in gas safety, including trade associations, trade unions, safety
bodies, charities and consumer groups. CORGI will investigate
complaints about the safety of gas work undertaken by both registered
installers and non-registered installers free of charge to the
consumer.
We hold a database of some 47,000 registered
gas installation businesses employing around 100,000 gas-fitting
operatives, helping consumers locate a local registered installer.
Our mission is to lead standards in safety.
We manage complex registers of competence, advise on regulation
to deliver improved levels of safety and promote consumer awareness.
Safety drives everything we do—from administration and registration
through to training and inspection, we have developed over the
years an expertise in gas safety that is also applicable to other
issues of consumer protection. In addition, we have built a strong
reputation providing guidance on operational and management safety
standards, and inspection and reporting to ensure that standards
are met and maintained.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is entirely preventable.
The UK has a strong gas safety record, and the mandatory registration
of gas installers which CORGI maintains is the cornerstone of
the UK's safety regime. It has led to improvements in gas safety
and our figures show that work undertaken by non-registered installers
has a significant chance of containing serious safety defects.
However, every year about 30 people die from
carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues
that have not been properly installed or maintained, often the
result of negligence on the part of landlords and property management
groups.
We therefore welcome the Government's proposals
for a new, clearer regime for tackling corporate manslaughter
and the opportunity to respond to this consultation.
2. THE NEED
FOR REFORM—PROTECTING
THE PUBLIC
Although gas is a safe fuel if used correctly,
poor installation and lack of maintenance can lead to safety issues.
When a gas system fails, for example through pipework leakage,
or the flue failing to function, it can present a potential hazard.
The United Kingdom has a good gas safety record,
built upon a strong legislative framework that, as well as establishing
a mandatory registration scheme for competent gas installers,
imposes rigorous duties on landlords to undertake regular safety
checks on gas appliances they own in properties they let. Both
CORGI and the HSE take regular action to raise levels of public
and landlord understanding of this duty.
CORGI notes that the complications resultant
from the current law to tackle corporate manslaughter has in turn
led to too few convictions. The identification principle has proven
difficult to overcome in the court, particularly in larger companies,
which has made it hard to find an individual guilty of direction
(or misdirection) which has led to the criminal death of a person.
We agree with the Home Office's guiding principle
that this must change. It is essential that a corporation can
be held accountable for the lives for which they are responsible
so that the criminal action of the individual can be de-coupled
from the liability of a corporation.
CORGI works closely with the Health and Safety
Executive and others to secure justice for victims and the families
of victims where criminal negligence has caused death. We firmly
agree with the Home Office that the new offence should focus on
the management failures at a senior level within the organisation,
to engender an approach which is focussed on safety from the top
through to the bottom of an organisation.
Strong penalties act as a deterrent and we believe
that the proposals in the Draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill will
therefore result in still higher standards of gas safety.
3. THE SCOPE
OF THE
OFFENCE
We agree with the Government's proposal that
the new offence should link into duties which companies are already
obliged to comply with, notably the Health and Safety at Work
Act (1974) and all other legislation and guidance on health and
safety, such as the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations
(1998) which places specific duties on gas users, installers,
suppliers and landlords.
This ensures both that the scope of the offence
is suitably comprehensive to be effective, but does not create
a new regulatory burden which might prove difficult and prohibitively
expensive for business, as well as complicated for consumers.
CORGI also supports the Government's proposal
that the new regime should cover Crown bodies.
The Government's proposals also seek to extend
the offence of corporate manslaughter to those companies which
have a "duty of care" for the victim of their management
failures. This includes those who supply goods or services and
would therefore apply to those providing gas installation services,
such as those registered with CORGI.
The proposals state that the new law would not
make an organisation liable for "an immediate, operational
negligence causing death, or indeed for the unpredictable, maverick
acts of its employees. Instead [the new law] will focus on the
working practices of the organisation".
Any organisation which fails to ensure that
appropriate staff are adequately trained and registered competent
with CORGI for doing relevant gas work are negligent and already
breaking the law. We welcome the Government's proposal to further
deliver a new and tougher sanction to tackle corporate negligence
which results in someone's death, as this is likely to offer a
deterrent and save lives in the future.
4. INSPECTION
AND REPORTING
The Government is proposing no change to the
current responsibilities of the police to investigate, and the
CPS to prosecute, corporate manslaughter. This should be complimented
by the "expertise of health and safety enforcing authorities
such as the HSE in an investigation, not only to pursue questions
of liability under more specific legislation, but also to provide
advice and assistance to the police in investigating corporate
manslaughter."
CORGI has a robust inspection regime. We work
closely with the Health and Safety Executive to secure justice
for the victims of criminal negligence which results in injury
or death from unsafe gas appliances.
CORGI would welcome the opportunity to become
an inspection authority, working more closely with the police
to ensure that investigations are grounded on the right evidence
and provide the highest level of safety for consumers.
5. GUIDANCE AND
SUPPORT
CORGI believes that the Government has taken
a clear step to protect consumers and workers by introducing proposals
to strengthen the law to tackle corporate manslaughter. These
measures will work as a deterrent only if people are aware of
the new penalties, and have the necessary guidance and support
to ensure that their activities are compliant and safe. The Home
Office will need to ensure that adequate resources are made available
to communicate this thoroughly.
CORGI already provides this kind of communication
to landlords and tenants and would welcome the opportunity to
discuss with the Home Office how we could support in the communication
of a new penalty of Corporate manslaughter in the future. Below
are a few examples of the way we are doing this already:
— Landlords—CORGI already works
closely with local authorities to advise them on best practice
in managing their own housing stock. We work with the ODPM, Local
Government Association and other stakeholders to ensure that landlords
are made aware of their duties to protect tenants through safe
management of homes.
— We also provide landlords with access
to a database of legal, registered gas installers via our website
and customer service helpline and have prepared a leaflet, including
a "frequently-asked-questions" section, which offers
tailored advice to landlords.
— Tenants—As the national watchdog
for gas safety, CORGI runs regular campaigns, including those
alongside the Health and Safety Executive, to raise public awareness
of gas safety and the duties which tenants can expect of their
landlords.
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