Compensation Bill [Lords]

I strongly support the Bill, because I believe that an increasingly litigious culture is destroying voluntary and community activities in this country. In particular, I want to speak in favour of part 1 of the Bill. I worked in the voluntary sector before I came to the House. My experience there, and with the community initiatives that my constituents in Bishop Auckland have tried to take, demonstrates to me that the fear of litigation and punitive levels of insurance deter small-scale but worthwhile activities. Many hon. Members will know that the annual miners’ gala—the ““Big Meeting””—has been going for 121 years. Indeed, many will have taken part in that wonderful cultural festival, which is rooted in the history and traditions of mining in Durham and across the north. It begins early in the morning, when people in villages across the county march behind their own banner and band and listen to the miners’ hymn. Then they get on the bus and go into Durham for the Big Meeting. This year, there will be a parade of 100 banners and bands. It will end at the race course, where people will listen to speeches and enjoy the fairground. The whole day is an affirmation of the human spirit. Life and leisure are not about shopping—they are about history, music and the values of solidarity and community. The event is highly valued. In my constituency, the people of Spennymoor this year raised money for a new banner, which will be taken to the cathedral and blessed by the bishop. I am sure that the House will join me in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), whose portrait is on the banner. However, local village events are threatened by the dreaded compensation culture. A so-called health and safety expert belonging either to the county council or the police—I do not know which, because both organisations blame each other—has said that, although the village parades last only 20 minutes, they must fulfil the appropriate requirements. That means that they must put up notices of road closures two or even three weeks before the event. Moreover, the notices must be made to a particular specification by a traffic management company, and they must be put up by trained operatives because of the alleged risks that crossing the road poses to ordinary citizens. The cost is proving to be astronomical. After last year’s gala, I received a list of complaints from people throughout the county. The County Durham Association Of Local Councils carried out a survey, which found that the costs sometimes amounted to hundreds of pounds. For example, they came to £294 in Shildon, and to a staggering £1,580—plus value-added tax!—in Peterlee. As a result, 10 per cent. of villages have said that they have cancelled events already because of the problem, and 70 per cent. have said that the costs involved might dissuade them from holding an event in the future. There are many rural villages in the west of my constituency. They hold carnivals along traditional lines, and are facing the same problem. For example, at last year’s remembrance service in Middleton in Teesdale, a veteran was told that she could not carry the Union jack because she was over 60 and would not be safe in the traffic. The Bill will be helpful because the present situation is unbalanced. Costs, problems and risks are taken into account, but not benefits. We are destroying not only enjoyable days, but communities. Communities are like families: they need to do things together—they need to meet to maintain social cohesion. We are in a crazy situation where we are paying people to set up community development offices and to run initiatives, while we are destroying the home-grown ones with that ridiculous culture. Given that other hon. Members want to speak, I will not talk about my other experiences—I will write to the Minister—but I hope that, despite the blandishments of my colleagues, she will hold fast to the content of clauses 1 and 2.