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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to prevent counterfeit electrical goods from entering the UK.

The Government views the problem of counterfeit electrical goods extremely seriously and a range of work is ongoing that aims to intercept and prevent all types of counterfeit products entering the UK.

The Government is working closely with a number of source countries around the world to prevent counterfeit goods being shipped. When suspected counterfeit items are identified at the UK’s borders, customs legislation enables goods arriving from outside the EU to be detained and destroyed, which prevents them from entering the UK market.

The National Trading Standards ‘Safety at Ports and Borders Teams’ work across 14 local authorities at ports, airports and postal hubs intercepting dangerous and illegal items, including electrical appliances. The UK is also part of the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products.

This range of measures, together with proactive enforcement, is having a very positive preventative impact on the import of counterfeit goods.