Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made by the Steering Group created as a result of the Government's response to the independent review by Lynn Faulds Wood, UK consumer product recall, published 18 February 2016.

In October 2016 the Steering Group was replaced by a new Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety with a permanent Chair, wider representation, and a broader remit. It was also asked to report to a much tighter timeframe than the Steering Group it replaced.

I received the Working Group’s initial recommendations to further improve the safety of white goods and the recall system in December 2016 and work started immediately to take these forward. In June this year, I asked the Working Group to review their report in light of the Grenfell Tower fire and their final report was published on 19^th July.

Significant progress has already been made by the Working Group to develop a code of practice on corrective action and product recalls together with the British Standards Institution (BSI), and a public consultation will be published in the autumn. The Report also sets out the further work that is underway to strengthen the product safety framework including promoting the registration of appliances and better understanding consumer responses to safety information and recall communications.