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Exercise of Reasonable Discretion Bill


 

Exercise of Reasonable Discretion Bill

 

 
 

Contents

1   

Protection from penalties: public authorities

2   

Protection from penalties: public servants

3   

Contracts for public services

4   

Interpretation

5   

Human rights

6   

Short title, commencement and extent

 

Bill 56                                                                                                 

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Exercise of Reasonable Discretion Bill

1

 

A

Bill

To

Provide that public authorities and public servants shall not be subject to any

criminal or civil penalty as a result of the exercise of reasonable discretion in

the performance of their functions; and for connected purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and

consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present

Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1       

Protection from penalties: public authorities

A public authority or its servants or agents shall not be subject to any criminal

liability and shall be indemnified from any action for breach of statutory duty,

malfeasance or negligence in respect of any action taken (or intentionally not

taken) in good faith as a result of the exercise of reasonable discretion in the

5

public interest (but this is not to be construed as offering protection against any

action of gross negligence or recklessness).

2       

Protection from penalties: public servants

(1)   

Any servant, agent or person acting on behalf of a public authority shall not be

subject to any criminal liability and shall be indemnified from any action for

10

breach of statutory duty, malfeasance or negligence in respect of any action

taken (or intentionally not taken) in good faith as a result of the exercise of

reasonable discretion, provided that the action was taken (or not taken) in the

public interest, and did not amount to gross negligence or recklessness.

(2)   

A public authority may not dismiss an employee or subject an employee to

15

disciplinary proceedings solely as a consequence of circumstances in which

that employee acted (or intentionally did not act) in good faith by exercising

reasonable discretion in the public interest, unless the action (or failure to act)

amounted to gross negligence or recklessness.

3       

Contracts for public services

20

No action may be brought by any party to a contract for the supply of services

to a public authority for any breach of that contract in relation to any act done

 

Bill 56                                                                                                 

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Exercise of Reasonable Discretion Bill

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(or intentionally not done) by a party to the contract if that act was done (or not

done) in good faith as a result of the exercise of reasonable discretion in the

public interest, provided that the action done (or not done) did not amount to

a fundamental breach of that contract.

4       

Interpretation

5

In this Act—

“public authority” means

(a)   

any government department or agency;

(b)   

any non-departmental public body;

(c)   

any body or agency of the devolved administrations in Wales

10

and Scotland;

(d)   

any local authority, as defined by section 1 of the Local

Government Act 2000 (c. 22);

(e)   

any body designated as part of the National Health Service;

(f)   

any police authority;

15

(g)   

any of the above acting together;

“servants or agents” of a public authority includes any person acting

under a contract for the supply of services to that authority in respect

of the delivery of those services.

5       

Human rights

20

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as disapplying any provision of the

Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42).

6       

Short title, commencement and extent

(1)   

This Act may be cited as the Exercise of Reasonable Discretion Act 2009.

(2)   

This Act comes into force on the second day of December 2009.

25

(3)   

This Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.

 

 
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