Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice has been given by the Office for Product Safety and Standards to online marketplaces following the product recall of Hotpoint and Indesit washing machines in December 2019.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. The Chief Executive of the Office for Product Safety and Standards wrote to online platforms when the recall was announced by Whirlpool requesting them to take steps to ensure affected washing machines and other recalled items were not available on their platforms to protect public safety.
My hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility, has previously written to the UK heads of Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Facebook and Gumtree to ensure they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe goods and is closely monitoring the situation.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) had with Whirlpool in advance of the company issuing a product recall of its Hotpoint and Indesit washing machines in December 2019; and whether Whirlpool issued the product recall at the request of the OPSS.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. Legislation is in place to require that manufacturers only place safe products on the market and take action where they identify a safety issue with products already on the market.
Whirlpool informed OPSS in October 2019 that it was investigating a potential issue with door locks on some models of washing machine. OPSS required the company to provide detailed data on this issue in order to have clarity on the nature and scale of the problem and to identify the appropriate response to protect public safety. Following assessment of the issue, it was agreed that a full recall should be instigated and the recall programme was announced on 17 December 2019.
OPSS is now monitoring the recall closely and will hold the company to account if it does not an effective recall.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to Whirlpool’s washing machine recall, whether the recall was enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards or whether it was undertaken voluntarily by Whirlpool.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
Whirlpool is responsible for the safety of the products it places on the market and for effective action when unsafe products are discovered. OPSS, as the national regulator, has assessed and agreed the company’s proposal for a recall is proportionate to the risk identified, including ensuring timely notification of consumers as to the action they need to take. OPSS is monitoring the recall closely and will hold the company to account if the recall is not effective.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to Whirlpool’s washing machine recall, how the Office for Product Safety and Standards will contact affected Whirlpool customers to ensure that the company is handling its recall effectively.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
It is Whirlpool’s responsibility to contact consumers and undertake an effective recall. The Office for Product Safety and Standards is closely monitoring the progress of the Whirlpool washing machine recall and the actions of the company. We have required Whirlpool to keep us fully updated on the progress of the recall, by providing a range of metrics including consumer engagement. OPSS regularly checks Whirlpool’s customer contact on this issue. OPSS will publish regular updates of data on the recall, including on the time taken for customers to receive a remedy.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the recall of washing machines by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019 is effective.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) assessed Whirlpool’s proposal for a recall of affected washing machines and served statutory notices requiring information from Whirlpool. This will enable OPSS to monitor the progress of the recall and assess whether further action is necessary to protect public safety and to hold the company to account.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what contact her Department has had with online marketplaces on the recall of washing machines issued by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. The Chief Executive of the Office for Product Safety and Standards, wrote to online platforms when the recall was announced by Whirlpool to ensure affected washing machines and other recalled items were not available on their platforms to protect public safety. OPSS is closely monitoring the situation.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the recall of washing machines by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019 is being carried out at the request of the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. Legislation is in place to ensure that manufacturers only place safe products on the market and take action where they identify a safety issue with products already on the market.
Therefore Whirlpool is responsible for the safety of the products it supplies and for taking effective action when unsafe products are discovered. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is the national regulator for product safety. It assessed the company’s proposal for a recall against regulatory standards and best practice to ensure the proposed action was sufficient to address the risk and provided timely notification of consumers as to the action they need to take.
OPSS is now monitoring the recall closely and will hold the company to account if the recall is not effective.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when Whirlpool first notified the Office for Product Safety and Standards of (a) the safety fault with its machines and (b) its intention to recall over 500,000 affected appliances, announced on 17 December 2019; what targets the Office for Product Safety and Standards has set Whirlpool for carrying out the recall of its washing machines; what quality assurance the Office for Product Safety and Standards has carried out on the modification that Whirlpool is proposing to offer to consumers as part the recall; and how long the Office for Product Safety and Standards expects affected Whirlpool customers will have to wait to have their at-risk washing machines repaired or replaced following the recall.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Whirlpool informed the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) in October 2019 that it was investigating a potential issue with door locks on some models of washing machine. OPSS required the company to provide detailed data on this issue in order to have clarity on the nature and scale of the problem and to identify the appropriate response to protect public safety. Following assessment of the issue, it was agreed that a full recall should be instigated and the recall programme was announced on 17 December 2019.
OPSS is acting to ensure the company conducts an effective recall with a process that is as quick and easy for consumers as possible. OPSS is monitoring Whirlpool’s actions closely and will hold the company to account. Data on the recall, including on the time taken for customers to receive a remedy will be published by OPSS.
In order to include a modification as part of an appropriate response, a manufacturer must provide scientific and technical evidence that the modification addresses the problem identified; that those undertaking the modification have received full training on applying the modification; and that there is a robust quality assurance process in place for each modification.