Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking steps to protect cleaners from lung damage due to exposure to cleaning products; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive, the national independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness.

Under normal ventilation conditions or product use, use of household cleaning and personal care products is not a public health concern.

However, there are some cleaning products that will contain hazardous substances and in such circumstances regulations will apply. In these cases the employer needs to undertake a risk assessment and where necessary put the appropriate measures in place to ensure that the products are used properly and safely. The regulations also require employers to provide information, instruction and training for all employees who use hazardous substances in their work, including the appropriate precautions and actions an employee must take to safeguard both themselves and others in the workplace.