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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Consumer Protection Partnership in protecting the public from unsafe electrical products.

The Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP) was formed in April 2012 to bring together key partners within the consumer landscape to better identify, prioritise and coordinate collective action to tackle the issues causing greatest harm to consumers.

Consumer safety, including risks posed from unsafe electrical products is a priority for the Department and the CPP offers one forum to ensure that stakeholders voices are heard and engaged on this important issue.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards is taking forward work to improve consumer safety by increasing rates of registration for electronic products. We are examining mandatory registration and developing a range of options, underpinned by research and a strong evidence base to understand the obstacles to registration, consumer attitudes and the opportunities of new technology. Research with 4,000 consumers has been undertaken and a field trial to test different approaches is due to start in the Autumn.