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Product Safety - MPs Listen To The Council's Concerns
1st January 2008
At a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards (APPG-CATS) last October, the Council was invited to speak on a range of product safety issues and to promote its current campaigning activities.
APPG-CATS was established in 1995, in partnership with the Trading Standards Institute, to promote the charter of consumer rights and raise the level of debate in both Houses of Parliament and in Government Departments on issues relating to consumer affairs.
The meeting presented an ideal opportunity for speakers representing regulatory, consumer and business interests to inform MPs and Peers about the current key product safety issues affecting consumers and the Trading Standards profession, and to encourage them to raise the issues during relevant parliamentary sessions.
In light of the recommendations of the Rogers Review of Local Authority Regulatory Priorities published last year, concerns were raised over the apparent lack of commitment by Government to enforcement by Trading Standards in the field of product safety.
However, following the high profile product recalls instigated last year by Mattel toys, the European Commission issued a stark warning to manufacturers that there will be no compromise on consumer safety and that producers have a clear legal responsibility to put only safe products on the market.
The Commission has also confirmed its intention to engage in a two month stocktaking exercise, using the case of the toy recalls last summer, to review the strengths and weaknesses of the consumer product safety mechanisms currently in place in Europe.
Further areas of debate at the meeting included:
- Does the UK have a robust regime for protecting consumers from unsafe products? How does the UK (and EC) compare with other regimes, such as the US Consumer Products Safety Commission?
- Is the recall system effective and should more work be on proactive measures?
- Should there be a centralised testing regime as in other countries?
- With the discontinuation of the home and leisure accidents (HASS and LASS) databases, how do we know whether product standards have fallen?
- Is product safety a sufficient priority for regulators?
- Is the CE Mark and self-declaration of conformity by manufacturers still adequate for products such as toys and electrical goods?
- Is the purpose of the CE Mark really understood by consumers?
The Council will be attending future meetings of the All Party Parliamentary Group to establish electrical product safety matters as a high priority on the political agenda, and to raise awareness of our profile and current activities within Government and industry.
