Speeches by Munt.

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendment made: 5, Clause 11, page 10, line 4, at end insert “by— (i) a recognised news publisher, within the meaning of Part 3 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (see section 56 of that Act), or (ii) a person in the course of working for such a p…”

“I previously asked for some clarity on coroners. I accept the position on His Majesty’s chief coroner, and the Minister confirmed about His Majesty’s area coroner. I presume senior coroners are also included in that remit, but I want to be very clear, because they are the people who very often see exactly what is happe…”

“Does the Minister feel that this provision might actually lead to some clarity about the amount of money that is spent by local authorities on defending themselves and their position, and the actions that they may have taken? It is almost impossible to get them to cough up. They just say, “Oh, well, it’s business as us…”

“I have had discussions with the Minister about the Bill’s relationship with the families of those who are deceased, and I am rather hopeful that she will consider new clause 5. It has been implied that people who are seriously injured or survivors are included in the Bill, but I would like to be very specific about tha…”

“I seek a little clarity. The Minister made reference to somebody who is seriously injured. They might be part of the proceedings as a friend of the family of somebody who has died. We have seen fairly recently people being injured in a terrorist attack in which colleagues around them have died. They might have somethin…”

“I am very grateful to the Minister for that assurance. Question put and agreed to. Clause 18 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 6 Conduct of public authorities at inquiries and inquests Amendments made: 14, in schedule 6, page 54, line 2, leave out from “paragraph” to “and” in line 3 and insert “(d…”

“I have to disagree a little with the hon. Gentleman. A year is probably a good time in which one can make an initial assessment. We can then recognise what is happening on an annual basis. With reference to our earlier discussion, might the Minister consider the annual report be the appropriate vehicle to look at what …”

“I would be grateful if the Minister could include me in those discussions, because I am very keen that we get this right.”

“On a point of order, Sir Roger. I have not a clue where I am—have I missed amendment 41?”

“I beg to move amendment 41, in clause 25, page 22, line 23, leave out subsections (1) to (8) and insert— “This Act shall come into force on Royal Assent, save for sections 9, 10 and 18, which will come into force six months thereafter.” This amendment clarifies that the Act should come into force straightaway except fo…”

“The amendment seeks to clarify that the Act should come into force straight away, except for clauses 9, 10 and 18, which require the provision of codes or guidance. I seek purely to ensure that the Hillsborough law comes into force as soon as possible, as families have been waiting so many years for justice.”

“I accept the Minister’s assurance that she is going to get her skates on, so I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clauses 25 and 26 ordered to stand part of the Bill.”

“Is it possible to have some vague timeframe? The Minister is saying that there is a 12-week consultation, which I absolutely understand, but so many of these people are desperately ill. Can he give me any idea of when that might come into action?”

“The Minister will probably anticipate what I am about to ask him. It has been a long wait for a number of families, some of whom are in my constituency, so I am pleased to see that we now have an effective and speedier compensation scheme. That will be hugely welcomed by the families. I recognise that the five recommen…”

“Amendment 31 would clarify that an indirect wrongdoing would be considered an occurrence of misconduct or failure when examined as part of an inquiry, investigation, inquest or independent panel. The purpose of and rationale for the amendment is that it would ensure that the Bill clearly covers situations where a publi…”

“I beg to move amendment 31, in clause 2, page 2, line 23, at end insert— “(ba) their failure to act, omission, or approval or tacit approval of an action are or may be relevant to the inquiry or investigation, or”. This amendment clarifies that an indirect wrongdoing would be considered as an occurrence of misconduct o…”

“Might I seek some clarity on what happens with area coroners as opposed to senior coroners?”

“I beg to move amendment 29, in clause 4, page 4, line 19, after “authority” insert— “or any sub-contractor in any chain of provision to a service provider”. This amendment ensures that any person involved in providing a service to a service provider which was subcontracted will fall under the duty to comply with the du…”

“I rise to support amendment 3, proposed by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle. I am also a co-signatory of amendment 1, and I thank the right hon. Member for Liverpool Garston for her reference to it. I echo the comments that have been made about Primodos and many other things. We have investigations, inquiries, in…”

“If subcontractors get contracted and know that they are working for a local authority or Government body, they just need to pass on that responsibility within the contractual terms. The difficulty comes the moment there is separation between the organisation that is subject to duty of candour and a subcontractor of a s…”