Electrical Safety

(asked on 13th December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to support a review into the timer switches on electrical consumer units following the report by the London Fire Brigade into the cause of the New Providence Wharf fire.


Answered by
Christopher Pincher Portrait
Christopher Pincher
This question was answered on 20th December 2021

The Department welcomes the London Fire Brigade's report into the causes of the New Providence Wharf fire and has noted the content.

Electrical equipment is required to meet the health and safety requirements under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations before it can be placed on the market. To meet these requirements many businesses will follow voluntary designated standards.

In response to the report, the Office for Product Safety and Standards has conducted an initial review of existing designated standards relevant to timer switches. This review has established that there are already standards in place which although not specifically for timer switches in consumer units, are broadly comparable with the standards for components intended for use in consumer units.

When a new consumer unit is installed, electrical regulations require this to be a metal consumer unit or a plastic consumer unit in a non-combustible enclosure. We will keep these requirements under review through our work with the industry committee responsible for development of BS7671, the standard used to show compliance with electrical safety regulations.

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