Tag: APIL

Letters: Plans to dismantle Human Rights Act are ‘abhorrent’

Dear Editor

Plans to dismantle the Human Rights Act and create legal hurdles for ordinary people who seek to hold public bodies to account are abhorrent.

The bereaved parents of soldiers who died in ‘Snatch’ Land Rovers in Iraq and Afghanistan sued the Ministry of Defence under the Human Rights Act. Their children were sent to war in lightly armoured vehicles which were known not to offer enough protection against roadside bombs.

The Government suggests that cases brought under the Human Rights Act are often trivial and without merit.

What happened to those families was not trivial and their cases were found to be valid. If they had not fought for justice, the MoD’s failings would simply have been allowed to happen without any accountability.

Human rights claims play an essential role in keeping organisations in check and ensuring justice where those human rights are breached. We should all be alarmed by the Government’s approach.  

Neil McKinley

President, Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)

Rogue electricians risk the lives of Scottish homeowners

New safety measures are needed to protect Scottish homeowners from electrocution and electrical fires, lawyers have warned.

“Currently anyone can set up as an electrician in Scotland,” said Gordon Dalyell a Scottish spokesman for APIL, an organisation which is dedicated to the rights of needlessly injured people.

“There is no requirement to have any skills, qualifications, or expertise in electrical work before setting up a business as an electrician in Scotland. Homeowners must be protected from substandard electrical work, which could lead to injuries or even deaths from electric shocks or electrical fires.”

In response to a Scottish government consultation, APIL has called for a system similar to the widely recognised Gas Safety Register to be implemented to ensure all electricians are qualified for the work they carry out.

“A mandatory safety register for electricians would give people the confidence of knowing their electrician is fully qualified to carry out the work,” said Mr Dalyell.

“Electricians would be unable to join the register without proper qualifications and training. No one would make the decision to use an unqualified gas company. Electricity safety should be taken just as seriously.”

Until proper regulation and specific qualification requirements are in place, Scots looking for a safe, qualified expert to carry out work should look out for electricians or electrical businesses which have voluntarily registered with the regulatory systems listed below:

  • Scottish Joint Industry Board
  • SELECT (Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland) is a trade association for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland.
  • NICEIC (the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) is a registration body that provides assessment and certification services for contractors.
  • NAPIT (National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers) operates an accredited membership scheme in the building services and fabric sector.

Is your child road safety aware?

Survey of parents reveals road safety fears

Most parents do not think their children understand road dangers or concentrate properly when near roads, a new survey reveals as Scottish pupils return to school.

Safety campaigners have urged parents to help children learn the Green Cross Code “as they would their spellings or times tables”.

In a survey by YouGov, commissioned for Injury Prevention Week (17-21 August) almost two-thirds of parents did not think their children had a good understanding of the dangers or concentrate near roads.

“One in eight parents went as far as to say they are very concerned about their children’s safety,” said Sam Elsby, president of APIL – a not-for-profit group for injured people, which hosts Injury Prevention Week.

“The Highway Code states that children should not be allowed out alone until they can understand and use the Green Cross Code properly. So it is particularly important for those children who may be walking to school without a parent or guardian for the first time this term,” said Mr Elsby.

“I urge parents to be proactive this Injury Prevention Week. Support children in their knowledge and understanding as it is their best tool for avoiding harm on the roads,” he went on.

“Test your children this week on crossing between parked cars and on bends. And ask them if they know to look out for reverse lights so they know if a car is about to move backwards. Test them in the same way you would test them on their spellings or times tables,” said Mr Elsby.

Children aged 15 and under account for around a quarter of pedestrian injuries and deaths on British roads.