Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the regulatory systems for (a) hand sanitiser and (b) disinfectant products in (i) Australia and (ii) the US; whether his Department plans to implement similar regimes; and what steps his Department is taking to protect consumers from (A) misleading and (B) inaccurate statements on the efficacy of those products.

We have made no such assessment.

Hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants are biocidal products. They are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). The BPR establishes a process for the in-depth assessment of both the safety and efficacy of biocidal products, which mirrors the system used across the European Union. Some products for use as antibacterial or antiviral products for use on people’s hands may instead be regulated under the cosmetics or medicines legislation, depending on the products’ intended use, function, composition or how they are described. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 also apply across all sectors and prohibit misleading and deceptive commercial practices by traders who sell goods, including hand sanitisers and disinfectant, to consumers.