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Compensation Bill [Lords]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. As the House knows, the Bill is part of a much wider set of initiatives that have been taken across Government. We are determined to tackle practices that can stop normal activities taking place because people fear litigation or have become risk averse. We want to stop people being encouraged to bring frivolous or speculative claims for compensation. The provisions of the Bill help us to do that. Clause 1 will provide reassurance to the many people and organisations anxious about possible litigation, such as those in the voluntary sector, about how the law works. It will serve a valuable purpose in improving awareness of this aspect of the law and in ensuring that normal activities are not prevented because of the fear of litigation and excessively risk-averse behaviour. I want to confirm for the avoidance of any doubt that clause 1 is not intended to change the law in relation to statutory duties that are not expressed in terms of a duty of care, and which thus do not depend on whether the employer should have taken particular steps to meet a standard of care.