§ 31. Mr. Chapmanasked the Attorney-General when he proposes to introduce legislation to amend the law relating to latent damage.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Patrick Mayhew)It is hoped to introduce a Bill in the near future to amend the law of limitation in negligence cases involving latent damage, based on the recommendations of the Law Reform Committee.
§ Mr. ChapmanIs my hon. and learned Friend aware of the disquiet among professional organisations in the construction industry that the proposed date of breach is vague and imprecise? Does he agree that that is the problem in existing legislation? Will he consider sympathetically the suggestion that the period of liability should begin on a date which is definite and leaves nothing to chance?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI shall draw my hon. Friend's views to the Lord Chancellor's attention. The Government have accepted the Law Reform Committee's reasons for rejecting the date of completion approach. The date of completion would be difficult to apply to the many other types of cases, other than construction, for which legislation is intended. Moreover, date of completion might cause injustice in lengthy construction projects, when completion occurs many years after the relevant date of breach of duty.
§ Mr. RymanRegarding the law relating to latent damage, can the Solicitor-General confirm that he wrote a letter to the former Secretary of State for Defence accusing him of uttering a material inaccuracy?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI admire the hon. Gentleman's ingenuity, but his question does not arise out of the main question.