Emergency Workers (Protection) Bill

The hon. Lady makes an important point. When I was a solicitor for the FBU, I handled many compensation cases on behalf of firefighters who had been injured in such circumstances, some of whom had indeed been unable to continue in their chosen careers. The proposed impeding offence goes beyond the question of assault. If a fire engine on the way to a fire call is impeded and slowed down, that could result in the loss of valuable minutes in attending that call. Although nobody in the fire crew may have been hurt or directly assaulted, the people depending on that emergency response may find that they have suffered as a result through greater destruction of property, or possibly even injury or loss of life. The new offence would do a great service not only to fire crews and ambulance workers but to the general public as a whole, who may otherwise have their emergency response delayed. I am pleased that the Ambulance Service Association, which wrote to me the other day, also backs the proposals. It said that"““in 2004/05 more than 1300 ambulance staff in England suffered a physical assault from a patient or a patient’s carer, relative or friend. The 2004 NHS staff survey shows that nearly half of all ambulance staff had been threatened with assault or subjected to verbal abuse whilst at work in the preceding 12 month period.””" That sort of behaviour is wrong and must not only be condemned in this House and by the public at large but treated seriously by our legal system. We must give the courts, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police the tools that they need to do the job, and I believe that the Bill would go a long way towards achieving that.