CORE CAMPAIGN BILL ADOPTED IN HOUSE OF COMMONS 19/1/2004

The Corporate Responsibility campaign has succeeded in getting the Corporate Responsibility Bill adopted as a private members ballot in the House of Commons.

The bill has three main aims:

 - Mandatory Reporting: Companies shall report against a comprehensive set of key social, environmental and economic performance indicators with which they can benchmark (and ultimately better manage) their operations and performance - here in the UK and abroad.

 - Directors' Duties: Expanding current directors' duties to include a specific duty of care for both society and the environment, in addition to their current financial duty to shareholders.

 - Foreign Direct Liability: To enable affected communities abroad to seek damages in the UK for human rights and environmental abuses committed by UK companies or their overseas subsidiaries.

Labour’s Andy King MP has introduced the Bill and will take it through Parliament over the coming session. Mr King was lobbied by hundreds of national organisations and individuals to take up this Bill.

House of Commons authorities have renamed the Bill to the ‘Performance of Companies and Government Departments (Reporting) Bill’ but irrespective of the name change, the Bill remains the same.

The Second Reading for the Bill will take place next week on January 30th, and the campaign needs people to mobilise now to ensure a smooth passage for the Bill.

What happens next?

Second Reading is where the Bill is first debated and Parliament must decide whether or not to give support to the main principles of the Bill. It is crucial to succeed at this stage in order for Parliament to move on and consider the detail of the Bill in Committee.  Only if it reaches the Committee Stage will there be a full and proper debate. The most effective way to make this happen is if the Government comes under intense pressure, receiving thousands of letters from constituents.

nef would like to ask all supporters and people interested in our work to send a letter to the Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett (DEFRA Minister), Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt (DTI Minister) and Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, asking them to ensure the Performance of Companies and Government Departments (Reporting) Bill receives a full and proper debate, by allowing it through to Committee Stage.

You can either write the letter in your on words, or if you would like a sample letter to send please email brians@foe.co.uk for one.

Corporate Responsibility is something that will benefit all of us – and this is our best chance yet to get it legislated.  If you would like to become more involved in this campaign, please go to the website http://www.corporate-responsibility.org