Are Your Children Safe?
The Department of Trade and Industry have announced that they are considering a review of several pieces of "childrens" safety regulations which should be going out to public consultation this Summer. These ar
e likely to include:
- The Wheeled Child Conveyance (Safety) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/2866)
- The Bunk beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/1337)
- The Imitation Dummies (Safety) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/2923)
- The Children’s Clothing (Hood Cords) Regulations 1976 (SI 1976/2)
- The Pencils and Graphic Instruments (Safety) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2406)
The Wheeled Child Conveyances (Safety) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/2866)
These require compliance with a standard in terms of strength, stability, locking mechanisms, harnesses, linings, entrapments, sharp points, markings and instructions. There are also various tests that the products must pass including rolling road tests, handle strength and impact tests.
The Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/1337)
These ensure that no gaps in the base of the bed are bigger than 75mm and that there are no gaps elsewhere of more than 75mm or less than 60mm.
The Imitation Dummies (Safety) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/2923)
These ban products that could be confused with a dummy and could cause death/injury if swallowed. Potentially lethal sugar dummies have been found on sale on Teesside this week. Trading standards officers have warned retailers and the public to be on their guard after the sweets were discovered in two shops in Hartlepool.
The Children's Clothing (Hood Cords) Regulations 1976 (SI 1976/2)
Children's outer garments with a measurement across the chest of 44 cm or less must not have a hood secured by a cord which passes through the material.
The Pencils and Graphic Instruments (Safety) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2406)
These limit the amount of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, antimony, lead and barium) that are allowed in these products.
The main issue with these types of regulations is they often rely on a standard and when standards are updated the regulations become out of date and then require amending. The good thing about reliance on a standard (as with upholstered furniture) is that they make the law very prescriptive (which is also welcomed by manufacturers who benefit from knowing exactly how to manufacture their products).
One option available to the DTI is to repeal all of these regulations and use the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (which themselves draw upon relevant standards in assessing the safety of products). This will accommodate revisions to all standards (the 2005 regulations will never become "out of date") but will mean a less prescriptive regime for all of these products. The obvious concern from RoSPA's point of view in this respect is whether a more "general" assessment of products' safety will be to the detriment of consumer safety and we will be heavily involved in the consultation process for all of these regulations.
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