Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his article of 2 June 2014 on the Conservative Home website, what the evidential basis is for his statement that time and again we see stories of a jobsworth culture or a legalistic culture that seems to stop common sense in its tracks.

I have spoken to many business groups and employers who tell me about how the compensation culture is tying their business in knots. Employers often do the right thing, put sensible safety procedures in place, and then someone does something daft and the employer still finds himself facing a negligence claim. The Bill should reassure employers and others that the courts will always consider the context of their actions before making a decision on liability. It should also deter claimants from bringing unfounded claims in the first place thereby helping to reduce insurance premiums. We have published an impact assessment at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-action-responsibility-and-heroism-bill#impact-assessment