Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) help prevent the online sale of products containing asbestos; and whether the Health and Safety Executive has issued recent (i) enforcement actions and (ii) guidance to online marketplaces on this matter.

Product safety regulations require consumer products to be safe when placed on the market, whether sold online or offline. The Office for Product Safety and Standards has published three recalls for products containing asbestos in the last three years.

In the last 12 months, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not received any concerns related to the supply of asbestos containing articles that were part of its workplace safety remit; should any be received, they would be investigated.

HSE regularly engages with online platforms on their restricted items policies and provides advice to Local Authorities on asbestos related products.