Penalties Bill clears another hurdle

The private member's Bill which aims to increase the penalties magistrates can levy for health and safety offences has just passed another stage on the way to becoming law. It's unusual for a member-sponsored Bill to get this far.

If it eventually gains Royal Assent without too many changes Labour MP Keith Hill's Health and Safety (Offences) Bill would raise the ceiling on fines in magistrates courts for breaching safety regulations such as the Work at Height Regs or PUWER from £5000 to £20,000 (the level they can only apply at present to offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act). It would also make imprisonment a possible sentence for this sort of offence.

The Bill has been around in other incarnations but all of them have failed at earlier fences. Now it's passed dicussion in the Public Bills Committee, it now has to go for report followed by a third reading in the Commons before it passes to the House of Lords.If it goes the distance this time it should bolster the message sent by the corporate manslaughter legislation that the law is firming up on health and safety offences.