Consumer Safety legislation

Introduction

At the moment the product safety area is probably the one of the greatest expansion of responsibilities for the trading standards service.
Following the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, and the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 there has been much wider controls on the safety of consumer goods.
The increase in european directives being enacted by UK regulations, for example Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 1992, has also meant a wider role for Trading Standards Officers, and an important role also in supporting and advising businesses, as well as cracking down on unsafe products and unscrupulous traders.

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Consumer Protection Act 1987

See also the summary available from HMSO
Part 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) is the part concerned with product safety (Part 1 deals with product liability and Part 3 with pricing). It is mostly a consolidating act bringing together the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1961 and the Consumer Safety Act 1978, although many regulations made under the earlier acts continue in force. The principal new feature was the general safety requirement (GSR) of section 10, although it should be noted that these requirements have been largely disapplied by the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 (GPSR).

Part 2

A person shall be guilty of an offence if he:
• supplies any consumer goods which fail to comply with the general safety requirement
• offers or agrees to supply any such goods; or
• exposes or possesses any such goods for supply

• the manner in which, and purposes for which, the goods are being or would be marketed, the 'get-up' of the goods, and any instructions or warnings with respect to the use of the goods.
• any standards of safety published by any person for the goods or for similar goods
• the existance of any means by which the goods could have been made safer (ie a state of the art defence)

• that it was not reasonably believed that the goods were for use of consumption in the UK
• that the supply was by retail and the supplier neither knew, nor had reasonable grounds for believing that the goods did not comply with GSR
• that the goods were not new goods

1. growing crops or things comprised in land
2. water, food, feedingstuff or fertiliser
3. gas
4. aircraft or motor vehicles
5. controlled drugs or medicinal products
6. tobacco

Section 11 empowers the secretary of state to make safety regulations for the purpose of securing:

• that consumer goods are safe
• that 'unsafe' consumer goods are made available only to certain persons
• that appropriate information is provided in relation to consumer goods

Section 12 contains the offences for contraventions of safety regulations made under section 11. Again the penalty on summary conviction is 5000ukp and/or six months imprisonment maximum.

Section 13 gives the secretary of state the power to serve prohibition notices and notices to warn on any person who is supplying any relevant goods which are unsafe. Again the penalty is as for contraventions of safety regulations.
As an example in 1992 prohibition notices were served on 14 suppliers of 'jelly balls' and other jelly-like products which posed a potential choking threat to young children. The products, for example jelly balls, splat balls, splat eggs, slime balls, sticky hand, sticky flicker etc were sold in bright colours and were very attractive to young children.

Section 14 gives an enforcement authority the power to issue suspension notices prohibiting the person on which it is served from supplying the (unsafe) goods specified in the notice for a period of up to six months. The supplier must get the authority's permission before moving the goods.
A point to note is that the authority will be liable to pay compensation in respect of any loss suffered by anyone having an interest in the goods if:

• there has been no contravention in relation to any safety provision
• the exercise of the power is not attributable to any neglect or default by that person

Section 15 makes provision for appeals against suspension notices. Anyone having an interest in goods subject to a suspension notice may apply to a magistrates, or sheriff court in Scotland, for an order setting aside to notice.

Sections 16 and 17 deal with forfeiture, an order may only be made where there has been a safety contravention.

Section 18 gives the secretary of state power to require a person to provide information for the purposes of deciding:

• to make, vary or revoke any safety regulations
• to serve, vary or revoke a prohibition notice
• to serve or revoke a notice to warn

Section 19 deals with interpretation of this part.

Enforcement of Part 2, ie officers powers of search, test purchase, seizure etc, is dealt with in Part 4 of the Act.

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EU 100A Directives

UK Regulations which implement EU 100A directives are becoming an important area of trading standards responsibility. The Regulations deal with a very wide and varied range of products and attempt to reduce the barriers to trade through 'Essential Safety Requirements'.
Some examples of the regulations already implemented:
Toy Safety Regulations 1995
Gas Appliances Regulations 1995
Low Voltage Equipment Regulations 1994
Medical Devices Regulations 1994
Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 1992
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
Supply of Machinery Regulations 1992
Simple Pressure Vessels Regulations 1991 For more information on individual Directives and UK regulations currently implemented visit Conformance.co.uk

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The Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987

Provisions
These Regulations are made under the Consumer Safety Act 1978, s 1. They prohibit the supply etc of bunk beds (see reg 2) so constructed as to create, at or above the height of the bed's sleeping surface, a risk of injury (including strangulation etc) to a child under six or to allow the sleeping surface and any bars, rails, head-boards, foot-boards etc round it to produce, at the same height, gaps which are not within permissible limits. The method of measuring whether a gap is a 'permissible gap' (defined in reg 2) is set out in the Schedule to the Regulations. A gap in the sleeping surface of a bed is permissible if it is no more than 75 mm when measured in accordance with para 2 to the Schedule, and a gap elsewhere in the relevant part of the bed's structure is permissible if it is not less than 60 mm nor more than 75 mm when measured in accordance with paragraph 3. The prohibition on supply extends to beds supplied in kit form if the bed is not accompanied by full and clear instructions for assembly or, if assembled in accordance with such instructions, would not comply with the requirements of the Regulations (regs 2, 3 and 4)

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987 and shall come into force on 1 September 1987.
2. In these Regulations-
   'bunk bed' means any bed having a sleeping surface which, or any part (including the under-surface) of which, would be 800 mm or more vertically above any horizontal surface on which the bed were placed in such a position as would be usual for the purpose of enabling a person to sleep on the bed, and references to 'height' in relation to a bunk bed or any part of one shall be construed accordingly;
   'mattress' does not include any spring or wire frame intended to support a mattress;
   'permissible gap' means-
   • in relation to a gap in the sleeping surface of a bunk bed, a gap of not more than 75 mm;
   • in relation to any other gap in the structure of a bunk bed, a gap of not less than 60 mm nor more than 75 mm,
   where the gap is measured by the method prescribed by the Schedule to these Regulations;
   'sleeping surface', in relation to a bunk bed, means the surface, excluding any mattress or upholstery, intended to support a sleeping person.
3. 1. A bunk bed shall be so constructed as to present any reasonable possibility of any part of the body of a child under six years of age becoming wedged or trapped in any part of the bed's structure which is at or above the height of any part of the bed's sleeping surface (including the under-surface) so as to give rise to any risk of death or serious personal injury, including, but without prejudice to the generality of that, any risk of strangulation, suffocation or injury to the neck or spinal column.
   2. Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1) above and subject to paragraph (3) below, a bunk bed shall be so constructed as to ensure that no gaps, other than permissible gaps, exist at or above the height mentioned in paragraph (1) above-
      1. in the sleeping surface; or
      2. in the head-board; or
      3. in the foot-board; or
      4. in any retaining structure at the side of the sleeping surface; or
      5. between the sleeping surface and any of the components mentioned in subparagraphs (a) to (d) above; or
      6. between any ladder (whether a fixed and permanent part of the bed or designed to be hooked onto the bed) and-
         (i) the sleeping surface; or
         (ii) any of the components mentioned in subparagraphs (a) to (d) above.
   3. Nothing in paragraph (2) above shall prevent-
      (a) the existence in a bunk bed of gaps arising from reasonable manufacturing tolerances; or
      (b) the existence of any gap in any retaining structure at the side of the sleeping surface of a bunk bed where the purpose of such a gap is to allow access to that surface by a person intending to sleep on it, provided that any gap is at least 300 mm wide.
   4. No person shall supply, offer to supply, agree to supply, expose for supply or possess for supply-
      (a) any bunk bed in respect of which any of the requirements of these Regulations are not satisfied or would not be satisfied if any part of the bed intended to be adjusted were adjusted; or
      (b) any collection of components designed or intended to be assembled into a bunk bed if:
      (i) that collection is not accompanied by full and clear instructions indicating the manner in which the components are to be assembled; or
      (ii) where that collection is accompanied by such instructions, the bed, when assembled in accordance with those instructions, would be a bed of the description referred to in subparagraph (a) above.

Method of Measurement

2. Gaps in the sleeping surface
Any gap in the sleeping surface of a bunk bed shall be measured by inserting the point of the cone into the gap in such a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. The cone shall be advanced slowly and steadily further into the gap until an axial force of 100 Newtons is indicated, in which condition the points of contact between the surface of the cone and the boundaries of the gap shall lie on the 75 millimetre line marked round the cone or at a position representing a smaller diameter. The measurement shall be taken in as many places in any such gap as may be necessary to determine the most onerous conditions of dimension and distortion of the boundaries of the gap.

3. Other gaps
Any other gap in the structure of a bunk bed shall be measured by each of the following methods.
First, the point of the cone shall be inserted into the gap in such a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. Without any axial force, and with at least two points of contact between the boundaries of the gap and the surface of the cone, such points of contact shall be on or between the 60 millimetre and 75 millimetre lines marked around the cone. The measurement shall be taken in as many places in any such gap as may be necessary to determine the most onerous condition of dimension of the boundaries of the gap.
Secondly, the point of the cone shall be inserted into the gap in such a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. The cone shall be advanced slowly and steadily further into the gap until an axial force of 100 Newtons is indicated, in which condition the points of contact between the surface of the cone and the boundaries of the gap shall lie on or between the 60 millimetre and 75 millimetre lines marked round the cone. The measurement shall be taken in as many places in any such gap as may be necessary to determine the most onerous conditions of dimension and distortion of the boundaries of the gap

See also British Standard BSEN 747 :1993 Furniture - Bunk Beds for Domestic use

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Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928

Local authority Weights and Measures departments are currently the licensing authorities for most storage of petroleum spirit in the UK, whether for retail or for private use.
Licensees have to adhere to strict licence conditions issued by the local authority, and pay an annual fee (£30.40 for up to 5000 litres, £44.00 for 5000 to 50000 litres and £88.40 for over 50000 litres). Most authorities use standard licence conditions as compiled by LACOTS the Local Authorities Coordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards.

Section 1 of the Act states that petroleum spirit shall not be kept unless a licence is in force, and unless licence conditions are being adhered to. A licence is not needed if no more than 15 litres of petroleum spirit is kept, so long as it is in securely closed containers of no more than 570ml.

Section 2 makes provisions as to the issuing of licences by the council, or in harbours by the Harbour Authority. And provisions as to the attachment of conditions to those licences.

Section 3 deals with appeals against the local authority's refusal to grant a licence. The appeal is to the Secretary of State under section 44 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. If he finds for the plaintiff he may direct the Health and Safety Executive to grant a licence.

Section 4 deals with the payment of fees to the local authority or to HSE if they have granted the licence under section 3

Section 5 deals with the labelling of vessels containing petroleum spirit, ie 'Petroleum Spirit Highly Inflammable'

Section 17 gives authorised officers the power to test purchase samples of petroleum spirit for testing, generally for proving that petroleum was indeed being stored.

Over the years many amendments have been made to petroleum legislation, with statutory instruments introduced for example to deal with plastic containers, storage of petroleum in motor vehicles, and so on. In addition enforcement of the Act is mostly done under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, of which the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act is a relevant statutory provision
Section 18 of the HSWA makes local authorities responsible for enforcement of petroleum legislation within their area and makes it a duty for them to make adequate arrangements for that enforcement.

Section 19 of the HSWA deals with the appointment of inspectors by the local authority. Such persons must be suitably qualified, and their authority of appointment must be in writing.

Section 20 of the HSWA deals with the powers of inspectors, for carrying into effect any statutory provision. Powers of inspectors are necessarily very wide and obstruction offences are included.

Section 21 of the HSWA gives inspectors the power to issue improvement notices if either relevant statutory provisions are being contravened, or if a contravention may be repeated or continued.

Section 22 of the HSWA gives inspectors the power to issue prohibition notices if the activities carried on are likely to involve a risk of serious personal injury.

It is worth noting that petroleum regulation is currently under review, and a proposal by the Health and Safety Executive will by the end of 1998 mean the end of the licensing regime which has been successful for the past 60 odd years.
The proposals will do away with the need for a licence, and will be replaced with an initial consent with a one off fee being payable. There will also be changes to the quantity of petrol which can be stored privately.

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Children and Young Persons (Protection From Tobacco) Act 1991

This is:
An Act to increase the penalties for the sale of tobacco to persons under the age of 16 years; to make other amendments of section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and section 18 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937; to prohibit the sale of unpackaged cigarettes; to require the publication of warning statements in retail premises and on vending machines; to make provision with respect to enforcement action by local authorities relating to offences connected with the sale of tobacco and to other matters; and for connected purposes.

Section 1 of the Act amends section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 as follows:

1. Section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (sale of tobacco, etc, to persons under 16) shall be amended as follows.
2. In subsection (1)-
   1. the word 'apparently' shall be omitted; and
   2. for the words from 'on summary conviction' onwards there shall be substituted 'on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale'
3. After subsection (1) there shall be inserted-
   '(1A) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) above to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.'
4. In subsection (2)-
   1. for 'is being extensively used by persons apparently' there shall be substituted 'has been used by any person'; and
   2. for the words from 'to a fine' onwards there shall be substituted 'to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.'

Section 2 amends section 18 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 in a similar fashion as above.

Section 3 deals with the sale of unpackaged cigarettes

1. It shall be an offence for any person carrying on a retail business to sell cigarettes to any person other than in pre-packed quantities of 10 or more cigarettes in their original package.
2. Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
3. In this section 'original package' means the package in which the cigarettes were supplied for the purposes of retail sale by the manufacturer or importer; and 'package' means any box, carton or other container.

Section 4 deals with the display of warning statements in retail premises and on vending machines

1. A notice displaying the following statement-
   'It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 16'
   shall be exhibited at every premises at which tobacco is sold by retail, and shall be so exhibited in a prominent position where the statement is readily visible to persons at the point of sale of the tobacco; and where-
   1. any person carries on a business involving the sale of tobacco by retail at any premises; and
   2. no notice is exhibited at those premises in accordance with this subsection;
   that person shall be guilty of an offence.
2. A notice displaying the following statement-
   'This machine is only for the use of people aged 16 or over'
   shall be exhibited on every automatic machine for the sale of tobacco which is kept available for use as such at any premises, and shall be so exhibited in such a way that the statement is readily visible to persons using the machine; and where-
   1. any person is the owner of any such machine which is so kept or the owner of the premises at which any such machine is so kept; and
   2. no notice is exhibited on the machine in accordance with this subsection;
   that person shall be guilty of an offence.
3. The dimensions of the notice to be exhibited in accordance with subsection (1) or (2) above, and the size of the statement to be displayed on it, shall be such as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State; and any such regulations may make different provision for different cases.
4. Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
5. It shall be a defence for a person charged with any such offence to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
6. Where any such offence is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. In relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, 'director' means a member of the body corporate.
7. Where any such offence is committed in Scotland by a Scottish partnership and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, he as well as the partnership shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
8. In this section-
   'premises' includes any place and any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, hovercraft, stall or moveable structure; and
   'tobacco' (except where it appears in the statement required by sub-section (1)) has the same meaning as in section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or, in relation to Scotland, section 18 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937.
9. Any regulations under this section shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Section 5 deals with Enforcement action by local authorities in England and Wales

1. It shall be the duty of every local authority to which this section applies-
   1. to consider, at least once in every period of twelve months, the extent to which it is appropriate for them to carry out in their area a programme of enforcement action relating to section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and sections 3 and 4 above, and
   2. accordingly to carry out in their area any programme which is for the time being considered by them to be appropriate under paragraph (a) above.
2. In subsection (1)(a) above the reference to a programme of enforcement action relating to the provisions there mentioned is a reference to a programme involving all or any of the following, namely-
   1. the bringing of prosecutions in respect of offences under those provisions;
   2. the investigation of complaints in respect of alleged offences under those provisions;
   3. the taking of other measures intended to reduce the incidence of offences under those provisions;
   4. the making of complaints under section 7(2) of the Act of 1933 and, with a view to determining whether such complaints should be made, the monitoring of the use of such machines for the sale of tobacco as are mentioned in that provision.
3. This section applies to the following local authorities, namely-
   1. the council of a county, a metropolitan district or a London borough;
   2. the Common Council of the City of London; and
   3. the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

Section 6 deals with enforcement action by local authorities in Scotland

1. It shall be the duty of a regional or islands council-
   1. to consider, at least once in every period of twelve months, the extent to which it is appropriate for them to carry out in their area a programme of enforcement action relating to section 18 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and sections 3 and 4 above, and
   2. accordingly to carry out in their area any programme which is for the time being considered by them to be appropriate under paragraph (a) above.
2. In subsection (1)(a) above the reference to a programme of enforcement action relating to the provisions there mentioned is a reference to a programme involving all or any of the following, namely-
   1. the investigation of complaints in respect of alleged offences under those provisions;
   2. the taking of other measures intended to reduce the incidence of offences under those provisions;
   3. in relation to section 18(2) of the Act of 1937, the monitoring of such use of automatic machines for the sale of tobacco as is mentioned in that provision.

Section 7 deals with payment of expenses

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament any increase attributable to this Act in the sums so payable under any other Act.

Section 8 contains the short title, commencement and extent

1. This Act may be cited as the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991.
2. This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may appoint by order made by statutory instrument; and different days may be so appointed for different provisions or for different purposes.
3. Nothing in section 1 or 2 above has effect in relation to any offence committed before the commencement of that section.
4. Subsection (4)(a) of section 1 or 2 above-
   1. shall not affect the continued operation of the relevant provision, as in force before the date of the coming into force of that section, in a case where the relevant use of which evidence has been or would be given in support of a complaint or application under that provision (as so in force) took place before that date; and
   2. accordingly shall, in particular, not affect-
      1. any complaint or application made under that provision before that date; or
      2. any order so made;
      and no complaint or application shall be made on or after that date under the relevant provision (as for the time being in force) in respect of any relevant use which took place before that date.
5. In subsection (4) above-
   'the relevant provision' means;
   1. in relation to England and Wales, section 7(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933; and
   2. in relation to Scotland, section 18(2) of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937; and
   'relevant use' means use of any such automatic machine as is mentioned in the relevant provision.
6. An Order in Council under paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (legislation for Northern Ireland in the interim period) which states that it is made only for purposes corresponding to those of this Act-
   1. shall not be subject to paragraph 1(4) and (5) of that Schedule (affirmative resolution of both Houses of Parliament); but
   shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House.
7. Except for this section, this Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.

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Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988

Applies to:
• Any furniture ordinarily intended for private use in a dwelling
• furniture for private outdoor use which is suitable for indoor use
• Collection of components for assembly into any furniture
• Furniture in a new caravan
• Furniture for any caravan

• Upholstery must pass the cigarette test
• Fillings must pass the relevant ignitability test
• Loose fillings must pass the relevany ignitability test if the supplier knows that they will be used for:
  1. filling a cushion or pillow
  2. reupholstery
• Permanent covers must pass the match test

• must carry a swing ticket on each piece of furniture which can be read by anyone inspecting the furniture saying either:
  1. cover fabric not match resistant in a red triangle or
  2. resistant in a green square

New furniture must have a permanent label stating:

1. Carelessness causes fire
2. the manufacturers or importers name and postcode
3. the batch or identification number
4. the date of the manufacture or import
5. a description of the fillings
6. a description of the coverings
7. whether an interliner is fitted

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