Electrical Safety

Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about electrical safety and the regulation of online marketplaces.

I appreciate your concerns on this issue. Last year, the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee published a report that highlighted the extent of the problem. It noted that in June 2018, for example, Electrical Safety First found evidence of dangerous electrical goods for sale across a range of online marketplaces, including Amazon and eBay. In September 2019, meanwhile, ITV’s This Morning found thousands of cheap and dangerous electrical goods for sale on online retailers. At the same time, consumer organisation Which? found that nearly three quarters of cheap electrical devices it bought online and tested were unsafe. I therefore agree that this is a very important issue.

The Government says it is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK. It says distributors, including those selling online, as well as manufacturers and importers, have legal responsibilities to ensure that they do not make unsafe equipment available on the market.

The Government further states that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is conducting a review of the UK’s product safety framework that will consider the impact of new technologies and business models, including e-commerce.  It also says the OPSS works to ensure that major online marketplaces protect UK consumers from unsafe goods. As part of this, it says the OPSS is developing a voluntary commitment for online marketplaces to agree additional actions they will take to reduce the risks from unsafe products being sold online.

I believe it is vital that the Government sets out a clear plan for addressing the sale of dangerous goods online. It cannot simply be left to the online platforms themselves. Enforcement will be required. It is therefore worrying that the Government has cut funding to frontline trading standards services by more than 50% in just over seven years, which will have contributed to the entry into homes of unsafe electrical products and other consumer goods.

It is vital that we properly protect consumers when they buy products, including online. I can therefore assure you that I will continue to monitor this issue.

Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP