NEWS

Pressure mounts over potential cull of toy safety regulations

Published on: 23rd February 2023

Lib Dems will today ask government ministers to confirm or deny whether they’re planning to scrap certain toy safety regulations under their new Bill which is currently going through the Lords.

Liberal Democrats are fighting to save children’s toy safety regulations which they say have been put at risk due to new legislation introduced in the House of Lords.

The Government’s new Retained EU Law Bill (REUL) aims to remove hundreds of pieces of legislation from UK law. The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 is one of these retained statutes from British membership of the EU which requires warning labels for toys with choking hazards.

Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Clement-Jones has tabled an amendment to the Bill to ensure these regulations are immune from being discarded. This means that government ministers will be forced to treat the regulations separately, with a new debate about whether they should be retained later this month before the remainder of the Bill can be discussed – holding up proceedings to ensure that child safety is protected.

Lord Clement-Jones, who tabled the amendment, said: “The Conservative government’s plan to scrap regulations that protect children from choking hazards is a blatant act of disregard for the welfare of British people. This is short-sighted politics at its worst, putting political posturing above all else.

“Liberal Democrats are demanding that the government puts the needs of real people, as well as our children, before their ideological obsessions. Risking these regulations is reckless and irresponsible.”

As reported on politics.co.uk recently, the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) has joined forces with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to call to remove the 2023 sunset clause in the government’s proposed REUL.

Under the government’s proposed timetable for REUL, swathes of complex EU-derived legislation will need to be reviewed and rewritten before 31st December, 2023.

Kerri Atherton, head of Public Affairs at the BTHA, told politics.co.uk: “We share CTSI’s concerns, particularly around REUL’s timetable for the blanket sunsetting of EU-derived legislation at the end of this year.

“Toy safety is our number one priority and existing toy safety laws have been developed with the input and scrutiny of the reputable toy industry over many decades. The regulations that are in place are important for how legitimate toy businesses operate and our members rely on certainty around these regulations to bring safe products to market, and ultimately protect children from serious harm.

“We agree that legislation needs to be examined to ensure it is fit for purpose and in keeping with the needs of modern businesses and consumers, but remain concerned that under the REUL Bill, vital safety protections could fall away as it is not clear what the government’s plans for the regulations are. Legitimate businesses need clarity from government that these regulations will be upheld.”

 

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