Any duty of care owed by a public authority in respect of a decision as to matters of public policy (including in particular the allocation of public resources or the weighing of competing public interests) is not a “relevant duty of care”.

Any duty of care owed in respect of things done in the exercise of an exclusively public function is not a “relevant duty of care” unless it falls within section 2(1)(a), (b) or (d).

Any duty of care owed by a public authority in respect of inspections carried out in the exercise of a statutory function is not a “relevant duty of care” unless it falls within section 2(1)(a) or (b).

In this section—

• “exclusively public function” means a function that falls within the prerogative of the Crown or is, by its nature, exercisable only with authority conferred—

  1. a

     by the exercise of that prerogative, or

  2. b

     by or under a statutory provision;

• “statutory function” means a function conferred by or under a statutory provision.