THE Institute of Directors (IoD) has praised the draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill because it will focus blame on organisations rather than individuals.

The IoD has been calling for action over the issue of corporate manslaughter for several years and Alyson Howard, chairman of the IoD's Kent branch, says its long-running campaign seems to have paid off.

She said: "In general, the proposals seem intended to take forward many of the specifics that the Institute of Directors has been asking for in recent years. In particular, the fact that the new offence would be aimed at organisations, rather than focused on individuals.

"We understand that deliberations around public sector bodies have held up proposals until now, but we see that the Home Office has made a start by announcing the new law would apply to Crown bodies as well as the public sector and industry.

"There are some aspects that we need to seek further progress on – such as unincorporated associations, but we look forward to continued dialogue with the Home Office and parliamentarians in due course."

The IoD is concerned that unincorporated bodies, such as trade unions and partnerships, are not included and will be holding a seminar in the next few months to garner views on the Bill’s provisions.