Lawford Kidd's Blog

A consultation has recently been launched by the UK Government on tightening the law on the criminal liability of partnerships. The consultation is also seeking views on reforming the law on unincorporated associations.

The need for reform to the Scots law on criminal liability of partnerships was highlighted after 14 elderly residents lost their lives in the Rosepark nursing home fire in Lanarkshire in 2004. The case against the care home operators failed in the courts because of a loophole which prevented the prosecution of a partnership once it had been dissolved.

The proposed change, which is based on the work of the Scottish Law Commission, would prevent all Scottish partnerships from escaping prosecution for potentially serious offences by dissolving, and ensure they could be held to account if they commit crimes.

Members of the public and young people in particular are being urged to take a zero tolerance approach to drink-driving this festive season to help prevent devastating Christmas tragedies.

A survey of young drivers, released by Brake and Direct Line, finds a shocking three in ten (29%) are willing to take the deadly gamble of driving after drinking alcohol. An even bigger proportion – 53%, up from 45% four years ago – risk driving drunk the day after a heavy night, suggesting widespread complacency about how long alcohol stays in your system.

In 2010, one in seven road deaths involved drink drivers. Around 250 road deaths and 1,230 road casualties occurred when someone was over the drink drive limit. Many more drink-drive crashes are caused by drivers who only have small amounts of alcohol in their blood. A further estimated 65 road deaths per year are caused by drivers who are under the drink-drive limit, but who have a significant amount of alcohol in their blood. Research shows that even very small amounts of alcohol significantly increase reaction times and therefore the risk of crashing.

The Scottish Government has published terms of reference for an inquiry to be conducted by the Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities. The independent inquiry will report to Ministers by 31st March 2012.

The inquiry was announced by the First Minister following the publication of a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the death of Allison Hume. Ms Hume died after falling down a disused mineshaft in Ayrshire.

The FAI, led by Sheriff Leslie, found that her death may have been avoided had a number of reasonable precautions been taken.