Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that second-hand electrical products sold online meet the relevant safety standards.

Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 any distributor, including those selling second-hand goods online, must act with due care to ensure that electrical products are safe.

The Government recognises the challenge in applying and enforcing legislation to online sales, where consumers can import goods directly from outside the UK. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was set up, in part, to meet the evolving challenges of product safety by responding to the increasing rate of product innovation, the growth in online shopping and expanding international trade.

OPSS is gathering evidence on the online sales of second-hand electrical goods and the prevalence of these sales. It will use this information to provide advice to consumers and to sellers of goods about their responsibilities when selling or buying second-hand electrical goods online.