It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Hove (Mike Weatherley) who spoke so well in support of the new clauses tabled by the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson). I also wish to associate myself with the clear arguments put forward by the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) in respect of other amendments in this group.
I wish to speak to new clause 15, in my name and that of the hon. Members for East Lothian (Fiona O’Donnell) and for Batley and Spen (Mike Wood). I raised this issue in Committee, although new clause 15 is not simply a retread of the new clause I tabled there about product recalls, especially of electrical items, and safety. It is a new and improved new clause, with added provisions based on the very fine contribution by the hon. Member for Batley and Spen in an Adjournment debate on 24 March.
When my original new clause was debated in Committee, the hon. Member for East Lothian had to speak to it, as I was in the United States as part of a delegation on the Colombian peace process. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for speaking so well on the new clause in Committee.
The purpose of the new clause is to try to make good the deficiencies in the product recall system. I am one of those people, probably like many other Members, who laboured under the assumption that there are very clear schemes, strict regimes and tightly managed fine systems for product recalls, particularly for products that can threaten the life and health of families and the fabric of properties. We read about products catching fire and being recalled—washing machines, cookers and so on—but the Electrical Safety Council report “Safer Products, Better Business” shows that most product recalls succeed in recalling only 20% of products, with some recalling only 10%. That means there are a lot of unsafe products in people’s homes, threatening lives and property.
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We are told that the Bill is all about giving consumers rights; that it will give more power to consumers in relation to faults; that they will be more aware that products are unsuitable and more able to return them and get redress. Surely we also need to make good the serious gap between faults that manufacturers and suppliers know about, but consumers do not. New clause 15 would improve recall standards and create direct powers for the Secretary of State to take more responsibility in that regard.
The additional points we have included in the new version of the new clause come from the hon. Member for Batley and Spen, who highlighted existing US federal
legislation. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal body, operates mainly under the Consumer Product Safety Act 1972, which was enhanced by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act 2008. It takes federal responsibility for recall measures and is able to ensure that the considerable gaps in suppliers’ and manufacturers’ customer records are made good. It has become a federal responsibility to ensure that records are kept of who has bought products and where they have gone.
The Government seem to be relying on the industry for that. That is what I took from an answer the Minister gave me in January. She said that there is no problem because the industry has not told her that there is one, but it currently relies on its records of ownership, and they depend on whether people return their warranty and registration cards when they buy products. A lot of people do not because they think they will receive a great deal of marketing bumph and other material they do not want, but doing so is vital if a product recall is required. What we are left with are general media information recalls and signage, which people may not see or take in, being put up in various stores. That is why our recalls do not have a very high success rate, and that is leaving people at risk.