Consumer Safety legislation
Introduction
Consumer
Protection Act 1987
EU
100A Directives
Petroleum
(Consolidation) Act 1928
Children
and Young Persons (Protection From Tobacco) Act 1991
The
Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987
Furniture
and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
Electromagnetic
Compatability (4 articles)
Introduction
At the moment the product safety area is probably the
one of the greatest expansion of responsibilities for the
trading standards service.
Following the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act
1987, and the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 there
has been much wider controls on the safety of consumer goods.
The increase in european directives being enacted by UK
regulations, for example Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations
1992, has also meant a wider role for Trading Standards
Officers, and an important role also in supporting and advising
businesses, as well as cracking down on unsafe products
and unscrupulous traders.
Back to the top
Consumer Protection Act 1987
See also the summary available from HMSO
Part 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) is the
part concerned with product safety (Part 1 deals with product
liability and Part 3 with pricing). It is mostly a consolidating
act bringing together the provisions of the Consumer Protection
Act 1961 and the Consumer Safety Act 1978, although many
regulations made under the earlier acts continue in force.
The principal new feature was the general safety requirement
(GSR) of section 10, although it should be noted that these
requirements have been largely disapplied by the General
Product Safety Regulations 1994 (GPSR).
Part 2
Section 10 introduced a general safety requirement as mentioned
above, this was an important change as safety provisions were
made more broadly based than the previous specific requirements
imposed by safety regulations.
A person shall be guilty of an offence if he:
- supplies any consumer goods which fail to comply with
the general safety requirement
- offers or agrees to supply any such goods; or
- exposes or possesses any such goods for supply
For the purposes of this section consumer goods fail to
comply with the GSR if they are not reasonably safe
having regard to all the circumstances.
Circumstances include:
- the manner in which, and purposes for which, the goods
are being or would be marketed, the 'get-up' of the goods,
and any instructions or warnings with respect to the use
of the goods.
- any standards of safety published by any person for
the goods or for similar goods
- the existance of any means by which the goods could
have been made safer (ie a state of the art defence)
Goods do not fail the test if they are 'unsafe' due to compliance
with any EC requirement, or safety regulations.
Section 10 also has defences:
- that it was not reasonably believed that the goods were
for use of consumption in the UK
- that the supply was by retail and the supplier neither
knew, nor had reasonable grounds for believing that the
goods did not comply with GSR
- that the goods were not new goods
Subsection 6 prescribes the penalty for offenders as six months
imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 5000ukp for summary conviction.
Subsection 7 defines consumer goods as any goods
ordinarily intended for private use or consumption, not being:
- growing crops or things comprised in land
- water, food, feedingstuff or fertiliser
- gas
- aircraft or motor vehicles
- controlled drugs or medicinal products
- tobacco
It is worth noting that the GPSR 1994 are not so restrictive
in definition.
Section 11 empowers the secretary of state to make safety
regulations for the purpose of securing:
- that consumer goods are safe
- that 'unsafe' consumer goods are made available only
to certain persons
- that appropriate information is provided in relation
to consumer goods
There are a large number of regulations made under this section,
for example:
Bunk Beds (Entrapments Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987
Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988
Three-Wheeled All-Terrain Motor Vehicles (Safety) Regulations
1988
Low Voltage Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1989
Imitation Dummies (Safety) Regulations 1993
Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994
Section 12 contains the offences for contraventions of
safety regulations made under section 11. Again the penalty
on summary conviction is 5000ukp and/or six months imprisonment
maximum.
Section 13 gives the secretary of state the power to serve
prohibition notices and notices to warn on any
person who is supplying any relevant goods which are unsafe.
Again the penalty is as for contraventions of safety regulations.
As an example in 1992 prohibition notices were served on
14 suppliers of 'jelly balls' and other jelly-like products
which posed a potential choking threat to young children.
The products, for example jelly balls, splat balls, splat
eggs, slime balls, sticky hand, sticky flicker etc were
sold in bright colours and were very attractive to young
children.
Section 14 gives an enforcement authority the power to
issue suspension notices prohibiting the person
on which it is served from supplying the (unsafe) goods
specified in the notice for a period of up to six months.
The supplier must get the authority's permission before
moving the goods.
A point to note is that the authority will be liable to
pay compensation in respect of any loss suffered by anyone
having an interest in the goods if:
- there has been no contravention in relation to any safety
provision
- the exercise of the power is not attributable to any
neglect or default by that person
This compensation provision has made many authorities think
twice before issuing suspension notices, and many do not let
their officers issue them due to the expensive results of
any mistakes.
Section 15 makes provision for appeals against suspension
notices. Anyone having an interest in goods subject to a
suspension notice may apply to a magistrates, or sheriff
court in Scotland, for an order setting aside to notice.
Sections 16 and 17 deal with forfeiture, an order may
only be made where there has been a safety contravention.
Section 18 gives the secretary of state power to require
a person to provide information for the purposes of deciding:
- to make, vary or revoke any safety regulations
- to serve, vary or revoke a prohibition notice
- to serve or revoke a notice to warn
There are offences for failure to comply with any such notice.
Section 19 deals with interpretation of this part.
Enforcement of Part 2, ie officers powers of search, test
purchase, seizure etc, is dealt with in Part 4 of the Act.
Back to the top
EU 100A Directives
UK Regulations which implement EU 100A directives are
becoming an important area of trading standards responsibility.
The Regulations deal with a very wide and varied range of
products and attempt to reduce the barriers to trade through
'Essential Safety Requirements'.
Some examples of the regulations already implemented:
Toy Safety Regulations 1995
Gas Appliances Regulations 1995
Low Voltage Equipment Regulations 1994
Medical Devices Regulations 1994
Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 1992
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992
Supply of Machinery Regulations 1992
Simple Pressure Vessels Regulations 1991 For more information
on individual Directives and UK regulations currently implemented
visit Conformance.co.uk
Back to the top
The Bunk Beds (Entrapment Hazards)
(Safety) Regulations 1987
Provisions
These Regulations are made under the Consumer Safety Act
1978, s 1. They prohibit the supply etc of bunk beds (see
reg 2) so constructed as to create, at or above the height
of the bed's sleeping surface, a risk of injury (including
strangulation etc) to a child under six or to allow the
sleeping surface and any bars, rails, head-boards, foot-boards
etc round it to produce, at the same height, gaps which
are not within permissible limits. The method of measuring
whether a gap is a 'permissible gap' (defined in reg 2)
is set out in the Schedule to the Regulations. A gap in
the sleeping surface of a bed is permissible if it is no
more than 75 mm when measured in accordance with para 2
to the Schedule, and a gap elsewhere in the relevant part
of the bed's structure is permissible if it is not less
than 60 mm nor more than 75 mm when measured in accordance
with paragraph 3. The prohibition on supply extends to beds
supplied in kit form if the bed is not accompanied by full
and clear instructions for assembly or, if assembled in
accordance with such instructions, would not comply with
the requirements of the Regulations (regs 2, 3 and 4)
- These Regulations may be cited as the Bunk Beds (Entrapment
Hazards) (Safety) Regulations 1987 and shall come into
force on 1 September 1987.
- In these Regulations-
'bunk bed' means any bed having a sleeping surface which,
or any part (including the under-surface) of which, would
be 800 mm or more vertically above any horizontal surface
on which the bed were placed in such a position as would
be usual for the purpose of enabling a person to sleep
on the bed, and references to 'height' in relation to
a bunk bed or any part of one shall be construed accordingly;
'mattress' does not include any spring or wire frame intended
to support a mattress;
'permissible gap' means-
- in relation to a gap in the sleeping surface of
a bunk bed, a gap of not more than 75 mm;
- in relation to any other gap in the structure of
a bunk bed, a gap of not less than 60 mm nor more
than 75 mm,
where the gap is measured by the method prescribed by
the Schedule to these Regulations;
'sleeping surface', in relation to a bunk bed, means the
surface, excluding any mattress or upholstery, intended
to support a sleeping person.
-
- A bunk bed shall be so constructed as to present
any reasonable possibility of any part of the body
of a child under six years of age becoming wedged
or trapped in any part of the bed's structure which
is at or above the height of any part of the bed's
sleeping surface (including the under-surface) so
as to give rise to any risk of death or serious personal
injury, including, but without prejudice to the generality
of that, any risk of strangulation, suffocation or
injury to the neck or spinal column.
- Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph
(1) above and subject to paragraph (3) below, a bunk
bed shall be so constructed as to ensure that no gaps,
other than permissible gaps, exist at or above the
height mentioned in paragraph (1) above-
- in the sleeping surface; or
- in the head-board; or
- in the foot-board; or
- in any retaining structure at the side of the
sleeping surface; or
- between the sleeping surface and any of the
components mentioned in subparagraphs (a) to (d)
above; or
- between any ladder (whether a fixed and permanent
part of the bed or designed to be hooked onto
the bed) and-
(i) the sleeping surface; or
(ii) any of the components mentioned in subparagraphs
(a) to (d) above.
- Nothing in paragraph (2) above shall prevent-
(a) the existence in a bunk bed of gaps arising from
reasonable manufacturing tolerances; or
(b) the existence of any gap in any retaining structure
at the side of the sleeping surface of a bunk bed
where the purpose of such a gap is to allow access
to that surface by a person intending to sleep on
it, provided that any gap is at least 300 mm wide.
- No person shall supply, offer to supply, agree to
supply, expose for supply or possess for supply-
(a) any bunk bed in respect of which any of the requirements
of these Regulations are not satisfied or would not
be satisfied if any part of the bed intended to be
adjusted were adjusted; or
(b) any collection of components designed or intended
to be assembled into a bunk bed if:
(i) that collection is not accompanied by full and
clear instructions indicating the manner in which
the components are to be assembled; or
(ii) where that collection is accompanied by such
instructions, the bed, when assembled in accordance
with those instructions, would be a bed of the description
referred to in subparagraph (a) above.
SCHEDULE
MEASUREMENT OF GAPS
1. The Apparatus
The apparatus shall be constructed in accordance with the
diagram and specifications shown below and shall consist of
a cone so constructed as not visibly to distort under the
forces applied during the measurement. The angle included
between two opposite generating lines on the surface of the
cone shall be 30°. Two lines shall be marked continuously
round the surface of the cone, one where the diameter of the
circular section of the cone is 60 mm and the other where
the diameter is 75 mm. A means (such as a spring balance)
shall be attached to the cone in such a way that it can be
used to give an accurate indication of an axial force of 100
Newtons.
Method of Measurement
2. Gaps in the sleeping surface
Any gap in the sleeping surface of a bunk bed shall be measured
by inserting the point of the cone into the gap in such
a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular to the
plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. The cone shall
be advanced slowly and steadily further into the gap until
an axial force of 100 Newtons is indicated, in which condition
the points of contact between the surface of the cone and
the boundaries of the gap shall lie on the 75 millimetre
line marked round the cone or at a position representing
a smaller diameter. The measurement shall be taken in as
many places in any such gap as may be necessary to determine
the most onerous conditions of dimension and distortion
of the boundaries of the gap.
3. Other gaps
Any other gap in the structure of a bunk bed shall be measured
by each of the following methods.
First, the point of the cone shall be inserted into the
gap in such a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular
to the plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. Without
any axial force, and with at least two points of contact
between the boundaries of the gap and the surface of the
cone, such points of contact shall be on or between the
60 millimetre and 75 millimetre lines marked around the
cone. The measurement shall be taken in as many places in
any such gap as may be necessary to determine the most onerous
condition of dimension of the boundaries of the gap.
Secondly, the point of the cone shall be inserted into the
gap in such a way that its axis of symmetry is perpendicular
to the plane which joins the boundaries of the gap. The
cone shall be advanced slowly and steadily further into
the gap until an axial force of 100 Newtons is indicated,
in which condition the points of contact between the surface
of the cone and the boundaries of the gap shall lie on or
between the 60 millimetre and 75 millimetre lines marked
round the cone. The measurement shall be taken in as many
places in any such gap as may be necessary to determine
the most onerous conditions of dimension and distortion
of the boundaries of the gap
See also British Standard BSEN 747 :1993 Furniture - Bunk
Beds for Domestic use
Back to the top
Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928
Local authority Weights and Measures departments are currently
the licensing authorities for most storage of petroleum
spirit in the UK, whether for retail or for private use.
Licensees have to adhere to strict licence conditions issued
by the local authority, and pay an annual fee (£30.40 for
up to 5000 litres, £44.00 for 5000 to 50000 litres and £88.40
for over 50000 litres). Most authorities use standard licence
conditions as compiled by LACOTS the Local
Authorities Coordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards.
Section 1 of the Act states that petroleum spirit shall
not be kept unless a licence is in force, and unless licence
conditions are being adhered to. A licence is not needed
if no more than 15 litres of petroleum spirit is kept, so
long as it is in securely closed containers of no more than
570ml.
Section 2 makes provisions as to the issuing of licences
by the council, or in harbours by the Harbour Authority.
And provisions as to the attachment of conditions to those
licences.
Section 3 deals with appeals against the local authority's
refusal to grant a licence. The appeal is to the Secretary
of State under section 44 of the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974. If he finds for the plaintiff he may direct the
Health and Safety Executive to grant a licence.
Section 4 deals with the payment of fees to the local
authority or to HSE if they have granted the licence under
section 3
Section 5 deals with the labelling of vessels containing
petroleum spirit, ie 'Petroleum Spirit Highly Inflammable'
Section 17 gives authorised officers the power to test
purchase samples of petroleum spirit for testing, generally
for proving that petroleum was indeed being stored.
Over the years many amendments have been made to petroleum
legislation, with statutory instruments introduced for example
to deal with plastic containers, storage of petroleum in
motor vehicles, and so on. In addition enforcement of the
Act is mostly done under the Health and Safety at Work Act
1974, of which the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act is a relevant
statutory provision
Section 18 of the HSWA makes local authorities responsible
for enforcement of petroleum legislation within their area
and makes it a duty for them to make adequate arrangements
for that enforcement.
Section 19 of the HSWA deals with the appointment of inspectors
by the local authority. Such persons must be suitably qualified,
and their authority of appointment must be in writing.
Section 20 of the HSWA deals with the powers of inspectors,
for carrying into effect any statutory provision. Powers
of inspectors are necessarily very wide and obstruction
offences are included.
Section 21 of the HSWA gives inspectors the power to issue
improvement notices if either relevant statutory provisions
are being contravened, or if a contravention may be repeated
or continued.
Section 22 of the HSWA gives inspectors the power to issue
prohibition notices if the activities carried on are likely
to involve a risk of serious personal injury.
It is worth noting that petroleum regulation is currently
under review, and a proposal by the Health and Safety Executive
will by the end of 1998 mean the end of the licensing regime
which has been successful for the past 60 odd years.
The proposals will do away with the need for a licence,
and will be replaced with an initial consent with
a one off fee being payable. There will also be changes
to the quantity of petrol which can be stored privately.
Back to the top
Children and Young Persons (Protection
From Tobacco) Act 1991
This is:
An Act to increase the penalties for the sale of tobacco
to persons under the age of 16 years; to make other amendments
of section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933
and section 18 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland)
Act 1937; to prohibit the sale of unpackaged cigarettes;
to require the publication of warning statements in retail
premises and on vending machines; to make provision with
respect to enforcement action by local authorities relating
to offences connected with the sale of tobacco and to other
matters; and for connected purposes.
Section 1 of the Act amends section 7 of the Children
and Young Persons Act 1933 as follows:
- Section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933
(sale of tobacco, etc, to persons under 16) shall be amended
as follows.
- In subsection (1)-
- the word 'apparently' shall be omitted; and
- for the words from 'on summary conviction' onwards
there shall be substituted 'on summary conviction
to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale'
- After subsection (1) there shall be inserted-
'(1A) It shall be a defence for a person charged with
an offence under subsection (1) above to prove that he
took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due
diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.'
- In subsection (2)-
- for 'is being extensively used by persons apparently'
there shall be substituted 'has been used by any person';
and
- for the words from 'to a fine' onwards there shall
be substituted 'to a fine not exceeding level 4 on
the standard scale.'
General note
Before this amendment children had to be 'apparently' under
age for there to be an offence - similar in fact to the wording
of the new Firework (Safety) Regulations 1997
Offences attract Level 4 on the standard scale which is currently
£2,500.
The onus of proof is expressly placed on the defendant. It
may be discharged by proof on the balance or preponderance
of probabilities.
The defence of taking all reasonable precautions and exercising
all due diligence is similar to the defence of s39 of the
Consumer Protection Act 1987
Section 2 amends section 18 of the Children and Young
Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 in a similar fashion as above.
Section 3 deals with the sale of unpackaged cigarettes
- It shall be an offence for any person carrying on a
retail business to sell cigarettes to any person other
than in pre-packed quantities of 10 or more cigarettes
in their original package.
- Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1)
above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
- In this section 'original package' means the package
in which the cigarettes were supplied for the purposes
of retail sale by the manufacturer or importer; and 'package'
means any box, carton or other container.
General note:
In this section 'person' includes a body corporate.
Level 3 on the standard scale is currently £1,000.
Section 4 deals with the display of warning statements
in retail premises and on vending machines
- A notice displaying the following statement-
'It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under
the age of 16'
shall be exhibited at every premises at which tobacco
is sold by retail, and shall be so exhibited in a prominent
position where the statement is readily visible to persons
at the point of sale of the tobacco; and where-
- any person carries on a business involving the sale
of tobacco by retail at any premises; and
- no notice is exhibited at those premises in accordance
with this subsection;
that person shall be guilty of an offence.
- A notice displaying the following statement-
'This machine is only for the use of people aged 16 or
over'
shall be exhibited on every automatic machine for the
sale of tobacco which is kept available for use as such
at any premises, and shall be so exhibited in such a way
that the statement is readily visible to persons using
the machine; and where-
- any person is the owner of any such machine which
is so kept or the owner of the premises at which any
such machine is so kept; and
- no notice is exhibited on the machine in accordance
with this subsection;
that person shall be guilty of an offence.
- The dimensions of the notice to be exhibited in accordance
with subsection (1) or (2) above, and the size of the
statement to be displayed on it, shall be such as may
be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of
State; and any such regulations may make different provision
for different cases.
- Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1)
or (2) above shall be liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
- It shall be a defence for a person charged with any
such offence to prove that he took all reasonable precautions
and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission
of the offence.
- Where any such offence is committed by a body corporate
and is proved to have been committed with the consent
or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect
on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other
similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who
was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well
as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence
and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly. In relation to a body corporate whose affairs
are managed by its members, 'director' means a member
of the body corporate.
- Where any such offence is committed in Scotland by a
Scottish partnership and is proved to have been committed
with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable
to any neglect on the part of, a partner, he as well as
the partnership shall be guilty of that offence and shall
be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
- In this section-
'premises' includes any place and any vehicle, vessel,
aircraft, hovercraft, stall or moveable structure; and
'tobacco' (except where it appears in the statement required
by sub-section (1)) has the same meaning as in section
7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or, in relation
to Scotland, section 18 of the Children and Young Persons
(Scotland) Act 1937.
- Any regulations under this section shall be made by
statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance
of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
General notes
Prescribing regulations are the Protection from Tobacco (Display
of Warning Statements) Regulations 1992, SI 1992/3228
Section 5 deals with Enforcement action by local authorities
in England and Wales
- It shall be the duty of every local authority to which
this section applies-
- to consider, at least once in every period of twelve
months, the extent to which it is appropriate for
them to carry out in their area a programme of enforcement
action relating to section 7 of the Children and Young
Persons Act 1933 and sections 3 and 4 above, and
- accordingly to carry out in their area any programme
which is for the time being considered by them to
be appropriate under paragraph (a) above.
- In subsection (1)(a) above the reference to a programme
of enforcement action relating to the provisions there
mentioned is a reference to a programme involving all
or any of the following, namely-
- the bringing of prosecutions in respect of offences
under those provisions;
- the investigation of complaints in respect of alleged
offences under those provisions;
- the taking of other measures intended to reduce
the incidence of offences under those provisions;
- the making of complaints under section 7(2) of the
Act of 1933 and, with a view to determining whether
such complaints should be made, the monitoring of
the use of such machines for the sale of tobacco as
are mentioned in that provision.
- This section applies to the following local authorities,
namely-
- the council of a county, a metropolitan district
or a London borough;
- the Common Council of the City of London; and
- the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
Section 6 deals with enforcement action by local authorities
in Scotland
- It shall be the duty of a regional or islands council-
- to consider, at least once in every period of twelve
months, the extent to which it is appropriate for
them to carry out in their area a programme of enforcement
action relating to section 18 of the Children and
Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and sections 3 and
4 above, and
- accordingly to carry out in their area any programme
which is for the time being considered by them to
be appropriate under paragraph (a) above.
- In subsection (1)(a) above the reference to a programme
of enforcement action relating to the provisions there
mentioned is a reference to a programme involving all
or any of the following, namely-
- the investigation of complaints in respect of alleged
offences under those provisions;
- the taking of other measures intended to reduce
the incidence of offences under those provisions;
- in relation to section 18(2) of the Act of 1937,
the monitoring of such use of automatic machines for
the sale of tobacco as is mentioned in that provision.
Section 7 deals with payment of expenses
There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament
any increase attributable to this Act in the sums so payable
under any other Act.
Section 8 contains the short title, commencement and extent
- This Act may be cited as the Children and Young Persons
(Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991.
- This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary
of State may appoint by order made by statutory instrument;
and different days may be so appointed for different provisions
or for different purposes.
- Nothing in section 1 or 2 above has effect in relation
to any offence committed before the commencement of that
section.
- Subsection (4)(a) of section 1 or 2 above-
- shall not affect the continued operation of the
relevant provision, as in force before the date of
the coming into force of that section, in a case where
the relevant use of which evidence has been or would
be given in support of a complaint or application
under that provision (as so in force) took place before
that date; and
- accordingly shall, in particular, not affect-
- any complaint or application made under that
provision before that date; or
- any order so made;
and no complaint or application shall be made on or
after that date under the relevant provision (as for
the time being in force) in respect of any relevant
use which took place before that date.
- In subsection (4) above-
'the relevant provision' means;
- in relation to England and Wales, section 7(2) of
the Children and Young Persons Act 1933; and
- in relation to Scotland, section 18(2) of the Children
and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937; and
'relevant use' means use of any such automatic machine
as is mentioned in the relevant provision.
- An Order in Council under paragraph 1(1)(b) of Schedule
1 to the Northern Ireland Act 1974 (legislation for Northern
Ireland in the interim period) which states that it is
made only for purposes corresponding to those of this
Act-
- shall not be subject to paragraph 1(4) and (5) of
that Schedule (affirmative resolution of both Houses
of Parliament); but
shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution
of either House.
- Except for this section, this Act does not extend to
Northern Ireland.
See also the summary available from HMSO
Back to the top
Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety)
Regulations 1988
Scope of the regulations:
Applies to:
- Any furniture ordinarily intended for private use in
a dwelling
- furniture for private outdoor use which is suitable
for indoor use
- Collection of components for assembly into any furniture
- Furniture in a new caravan
- Furniture for any caravan
Upholstery and fillings
- Upholstery must pass the cigarette test
- Fillings must pass the relevant ignitability test
- Loose fillings must pass the relevany ignitability test
if the supplier knows that they will be used for:
- filling a cushion or pillow
- reupholstery
- Permanent covers must pass the match test
Swing tickets
New furniture:
- must carry a swing ticket on each piece of furniture
which can be read by anyone inspecting the furniture saying
either:
- cover fabric not match resistant in a red
triangle or
- resistant in a green square
Permanent labels
New furniture must have a permanent label stating:
- Carelessness causes fire
- the manufacturers or importers name and postcode
- the batch or identification number
- the date of the manufacture or import
- a description of the fillings
- a description of the coverings
- whether an interliner is fitted
nb Some requirements differ for cots, carrycots, playpens,
pushchairs etc.
Back to the top
|