Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL]

Lord Foster of Bath Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, I feel that I am standing in the middle of a perfectly good debate between the noble Baroness and the noble Lord. Perhaps we can reconcile it in some other way.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

In the Division Lobby, perhaps.

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Moved by

[Lord Foster of Bath]

2: Clause 1, page 1, line 4, after “marketing” insert “, installation”

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[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, I begin by thanking the Minister for his willingness to engage with all noble Lords who have shown an interest in this Bill, and I thank his team for the support and help that they have given. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, on his new role.

We have frequently described this Bill as being skeletal. In the two amendments that I am proposing, Amendments 2 and 27, I am offering some flesh to put on the bones of that skeleton. I am acutely aware that many of the regulations that will arise from the Bill will look at products in isolation, but there are many cases whereby products are intended for use when they are installed within some system or other, and it is usually an electrical system.

Amendment 2 suggests that, when considering the safety of a product, we should take into account, where relevant, its installation. Amendment 27 argues that, when the product is installed into a system, the system as a whole, including the product, should require third-party certification.

Let us take as an example something that is happening up and down the country at the moment—the installation of EV charging points, more often than not in individual homes. They are installed by electricians who, under current regulations, register the circuit and the changes made to the consumer unit, but who do not have to register the EV charging point itself. That means that the certification body is not tracking where those charge points are, not informing local building control and not doing any inspection or assessment of the charge points to ensure that they are compliant with building regulations or safety.

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I hope I have reassured the noble Lord, Lord Foster, that the Bill as drafted adequately addresses his concerns behind these amendments, supporting both physical components and third-party certification standards. I therefore respectfully ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, I almost want to say that the Minister doth protest too much. We have been given a whole range of examples that he says illustrate that it might be that they will take installation into account. It seems to me that there is a much simpler solution: to accept my amendment and put it in the Bill, since that is what he almost implies he wants to achieve. Clearly, we will have further deliberations. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment 2 withdrawn.

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[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend’s amendment and the amendment that is still to be debated by the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe. The amendment that I propose is to strengthen and future-proof the Government’s ability to identify and respond to high-risk products on the UK market. It proposes a clear mechanism to flag high-risk products and then requires them to be subject to additional safety measures. Such products would have to be, for example, conformity assessed by a UK-approved body and marked with subsequent CE and UKCA marking.

The concept of high-risk products with special requirements applying to them is not new. Animals and animal products imported into the UK are classified under the border target operating model as low, medium or high risk. Each of those categories, including the high-risk category, has different requirements before entry to the UK is allowed. As noble Lords will be aware, fireworks, heavy machinery and some types of medical devices are already recognised and labelled as high risk. However, outside these types of products, the situation is less clear and, at present, far too discretionary. It may well be that the Government have plans for a clearer, less discretionary framework approach. But given the skeletal nature of the Bill, as we discussed in the first group of amendments, and given the limitations of consultation on secondary legislation, it seems that Parliament will have little say in what emerges in this area.

My amendment provides an opportunity for Parliament to have a say in clarifying and strengthening arrangements around high-risk products. It goes beyond that because it provides a way forward by making use of the fairly recently developed product safety risk assessment methodology, along with other logical approaches that are clearly listed within the amendment.

I will use the proposed way forward by illustrating it in reference to the area of lithium-ion batteries yet again, particularly in the respect of their use in e-scooters and e-bikes, which I have spoken about on a number of occasions. Many other examples could have been used to make my case.

Last month, a batch of imported e-bike chargers, intended for use with GIN e-bikes, was rejected at the border and destroyed by customs officials. According to the Office for Product Safety & Standards, the products presented

“a high risk of fire and explosion”

because of the poor build quality of the transformer and concerns about the fuse used, and the products did not meet the requirements of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 or the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and were therefore rejected and destroyed.

Frankly, however welcome this intervention was—and it certainly was—it does not happen all the time. Just a couple of months earlier, the UK cycling sector, including industry trade bodies, e-bike brands, bike shops and charities, joined forces in an e-bike-positive campaign to boost knowledge of e-bike battery safety, helping the public to safely buy, charge and ride them. The e-bike industry is also developing a new scheme to highlight reputable, high-quality brands that thoroughly safety test their e-cycles and batteries. This suggests to me that the industry itself is currently having to act in the absence of clear regulations in respect of high-risk products in this sector. Recent figures sadly show the loss of life and property caused by e-bike and e-scooter fires, clearly showing that the current arrangements are simply not working.

Indeed, lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes and e-scooters are a textbook example of a high-risk product. Prone to catastrophic failure from poor manufacturing or improper use, they can, as we have heard on many occasions in your Lordships’ House, explode and catch fire, posing significant danger. ITV News has found that, in the past two years, e-bike fires have increased by 204%; Electrical Safety First found that over 180 constituencies have experienced an e-bike or e-scooter fire; the London Fire Brigade warned that e-bike and e-scooter fires are the capital’s fastest-growing fire risk and are responding to an associated incident once every two days; and, sadly, earlier this month, two people lost their lives in an e-bike fire in Coventry.

The charity Electrical Safety First has been campaigning for e-bike and e-scooter batteries and their associated chargers to be classified as high-risk and require third-party certification. Its campaign, which I have been supporting for a number of years, now has the support of around 100 major national stakeholders, from fire brigades to Which?, and over 500 parish and local councils, among many others supporting it. This amendment would meet those demands.

I sought to make the case with reference to lithium-ion batteries, but, of course, we must address all existing and future high-risk product safety issues. The Bill must set down robust precedents for the identification of safety risks coming down the line, given the ever-increasing developments in technology and consumer behaviour. I hope that this amendment achieves this by allowing the Government quickly to identify high-risk products and set subsequent additional safety regulations. Above all, it ensures that we have consistency, rather than the lack of consistency in the current arrangements.

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[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

Just for absolute clarity, I did not say that the Bill was too discretionary; I said that the current arrangements were too discretionary and I want a change from that situation.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

I am sorry if I misinterpreted what the noble Lord said, but I get his drift. We believe that the operation of our current product regulation framework already recognises the point that he made.

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I have noted the comment of the noble Lord, Lord Foster, on lithium batteries and the e-bike safety campaign. He has put this point forward on a number of occasions with considerable passion. We feel that determining whether a product is a serious risk should be based on an appropriate risk assessment, accounting for the nature of the hazard and the likelihood of occurrence. These are general provisions providing baseline rules, but the Bill allows for more specific provisions to be made to account for particular circumstances.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

I apologise but I am not quite sure what the Minister’s concern about my amendment therefore is. It specifically suggests that we put into the Bill a power for the Secretary of State to choose to bring forward regulations that will enable the classification of high-risk products in the way that he has just described. They are all included, including the recently developed framework, as possible ways of doing that within the amendment. I genuinely do not understand the Minister’s argument. I am giving an opportunity for clarity—so that in all circumstances there is an opportunity to use that framework.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

We do not think it is necessary.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

Why?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

If the noble Lord will let me explain, Clauses 1 and 11 grant powers to make regulations relating to product safety for a range of purposes, general or specific. The Government have set out in their response to the product safety review our intention in the months ahead to begin a process of sector reviews. They will consider whether any changes are needed to our existing regulation of higher-risk products to reflect modern challenges, such as those that the noble Lord has pointed out in two speeches this afternoon. We will also consider whether updates to the GPSR are necessary to ensure that cross-cutting and emerging risks are properly addressed, particularly where products fall outside current sector-specific rules.

Furthermore, in December 2022, the Office for Product Safety & Standards developed a product safety risk assessment methodology for GB regulators to use with non-compliant products. The methodology requires consideration of the tolerability of the risk identified. Where a risk is intolerable, a regulator can act robustly in relation to risks that may have a low possibility of occurring, but where, if they did, the outcome would be disastrous. A noteworthy example is the effort made by the Office for Product Safety & Standards to protect young people from the dangers of ingesting small, powerful magnets.

In Amendment 95 the noble Lord, Lord Fox, makes the sensible point that safe disposal can be a key part of protecting consumers and businesses. Clause 1(5) makes clear that regulations can cover safe disposal of products. We will consider whether particular products need specific regulation in this area on a case-by-case basis.

On the disposal of batteries specifically, the Government are committed to cracking down on waste as we move toward a circular economy. We shall have a discussion on the circular economy—I was going to say “in a few minutes”, but that might be a little hopeful. We are reviewing and propose to consult on reforms to UK batteries regulation before setting out our next steps.

Finally, regarding the question from the noble Lord, Lord Jackson, on the Schedule to the Bill, the things mentioned in the exclusions are covered by separate legislation. It is as simple as that.

[Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Con)]

I am grateful for the Minister’s indulgence; I have a straightforward question regarding Amendment 7 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foster. The Minister has answered it thoroughly but I still do not understand. What else would the Government be doing, in looking at the efficacy of product safety, that is not already in the amendment? Surely the noble Lord’s amendment merely formalises actions with regard to product safety that the Government themselves would do in analysing what they need to do to protect consumers. I cannot understand the Minister’s resistance to at least being a bit more emollient towards what seems to me quite a sensible amendment.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

Hear, hear!

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I think that is surprising support from the noble Lord, Lord Foster. This is an iterative process in Committee, and we are certainly always prepared to look at suggestions put forward. My response is simply that we think the Bill as it stands, and the reviews that will take place, cover the points he raises. The Attorney-General’s advice also suggests that we should not unnecessarily add to legislation, but we will give it some consideration.