Following the publication of the Government’s ‘Review of the UK’s System for the Recall of Unsafe Products’, industry bodies Electrical Safety First and AMDEA have released their own comments.
Electrical Safety First director general Phil Buckle said: “We are delighted this long awaited Review has finally been published and offers recommendations we have long called for. Electrical Safety First has been raising awareness of the safety issues presented by dangerous recalled electrical goods – millions of which still exist in UK homes – for several years. We fully support the Review’s primary call for a method of coordinating the recall system – and for better sharing of information by the industry, which is something our annual product safety conferences have consistently highlighted.”
The Government’s response to the Review includes the development of an online recall ‘centre of excellence’, to provide a single point of reference for consumers and business. It has also committed itself to establishing an industry-led steering group to support this.
“We would hope that our expertise in recalls and consumer protection would be of value to this enterprise,” added Phil. “However, as the Review itself makes clear, without an effective and properly resourced market surveillance and enforcement system, both consumer safety and business reputations are being put at risk.”
This view is echoed by Carolyn Harris MP, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Home Electrical Safety. She commented: “With the limited success of recalls and well over 200 electrical items recalled in the last four years, it was evident that the system needed to be reviewed. I congratulate Ms Faulds-Wood on her report and now hope to see the political will – and industry collaboration – to put some of her eminently sensible suggestions into practice.”
During the passage of the Consumer Rights Bill in 2014, Electrical Safety First lobbied hard for an amendment to provide greater transparency and improved communications around product recalls. While the amendment wasn’t included in the final legislation, its concerns were recognised by the Government, which established a Review of Recalled Consumer Products in March 2015.
AMDEA has also welcomed the Government’s announcement entitled ‘Government committed to Product Safety’, published along with the recall report which was prepared by Lynn Faulds Wood and commissioned by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
AMDEA pledges the domestic appliance industry’s staunchest support of the Government’s proposals for a Product Safety Steering Group and online ‘centre of excellence’.
The report backs AMDEA’s assertion that both information sharing and good ownership data are crucial to ensure that vital safety news reaches the people who need to know and act on recall advice.
AMDEA chief executive Douglas Herbison expressed the hope that these announcements and the work they involve will strengthen public understanding of the product recall process and prompt more owners to register their appliances.
“Product safety is paramount to all AMDEA members who have wholeheartedly backed our Register My Appliance initiative since its launch last year,” he explained. “In setting up Register My Appliance, engaging with our members, the public, consumer groups, market surveillance agencies and Government, we have gained invaluable insights which we look forward to sharing. We see that Lynn Faulds Wood says in the Foreword to her report that most unsafe products are often linked to counterfeiting and come into the country via cost-cutting suppliers. Any mechanism set up resulting from this review needs to address this issue too.”
The www.registermyappliance.co.uk portal provides quick access to the registration pages of 62 leading brands, representing over 90% of the large white goods sold in the UK. This safety initiative has made significant headway in the past 12 months, receiving tens of thousands of registrations in January on Register My Appliance Day, when some brands increased their registrations as much as twenty-fold.
AMDEA members recognise that to prompt a sea change in consumer behaviour will require sustained collaboration and promotion, the association says. This strengthens their commitment to work with the growing number of Register My Appliance supporters that include the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) as well as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), Age UK, Citizens Advice, Electrical Safety First (ESF), the Chief Fire Officers Association and local Fire and Rescue Services.
Additional product recall information can be found at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/product-recalls
