Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 explained

Short Title:	Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015
Type:	Act
Parliament:	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:	An Act to make provision as to matters to which a court must have regard in determining a claim in negligence or breach of statutory duty.
Year:	2015
Citation:	2015 c. 3
Introduced Commons:	Chris Grayling
Introduced Lords:	Lord Faulks
Territorial Extent:	England and Wales
Status:	Current
Legislation History:	https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/1406
Original Text:	https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/3/enacted
Use New Uk-Leg:	yes

The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 (c. 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a Government bill by the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling on 12 June 2014, and given the Royal Assent on 12 February 2015, coming into force as the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 on 13 April 2015.

Background

The 2010 Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement contained a commitment to "take a range of measures to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action".^[1]

The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a Government bill by the Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling on 12 June 2014.^{[2] [3]} The Bill was noted for its brevity, at just over 300 words.^[4] The Bill was introduced to the House of Lords by the Minister of State for Justice, Lord Faulks, on 21 October 2014, where the criticism of Lord Pannick was noted for its intensity.^[5] The Act was given the Royal Assent on 12 February 2015, and came into force on 13 April 2015.

Act

The Act extends only to England and Wales.^[6]

Commentary

Necessity

The opposition Labour Party described the bill as a "vacuous waste of time".^[7] Lord Pannick called it "the most ridiculous piece of legislation approved by Parliament in a very long time".^[8]

As of May 2020, there have been no reported cases of the provisions within the Act having been applied.^[9]

Bibliography

• Goudkamp. James. 2 January 2018. Restating the common law? The Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015. Legal Studies. 37. 4. 577–598. Cambridge University Press for The Society of Legal Scholars. 10.1111/lest.12158. 152231144.
• Mulheron. Rachel. 5 January 2017. Legislating Dangerously: Bad Samaritans, Good Society, and the Heroism Act 2015. The Modern Law Review. 80. 1. 88–109. 10.1111/1468-2230.12243. 151833432. 0026-7961. 1468-2230.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Social Action, Responsibility, and Heroism Bill Fact Sheet. 3 June 2021. Government of the United Kingdom.
2. Web site: 13 February 2015. Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 - Details. 3 June 2021. Parliament of the United Kingdom.
3. Web site: 13 February 2015. Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015 - Stages. 3 June 2021. Parliament of the United Kingdom.
4. News: Bowcott. Owen. 12 September 2014. Opposition MPs question need for Chris Grayling's social action bill. The Guardian. 3 June 2021.
5. News: Hyde. John. 7 January 2015. 'Ridiculous' heroism bill clears Lords hurdle. The Law Society Gazette. Law Society of England and Wales. 3 June 2021.
6. act. 2015. 3. Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015. 5. 3 June 2021. 12 February 2015.
7. News: Slaughter. Andy. Andy Slaughter. 21 July 2014. Defining "acting heroically" in legal terms: Chris Grayling's Heroism Bill is a waste of time. New Statesman. 3 June 2021.
8. Web site: 6 Jan 2015. Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill, House of Lords Third Reading. Parliament of the United Kingdom.
9. Griffith. Richard. 14 May 2020. Duty, indemnity and immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Nursing. 29. 9. 537–538. 10.12968/bjon.2020.29.9.537. 32407224. 218648578. 0966-0461. 2052-2819.