AQW 3479/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 10/03/2020
Answered On Date: 04/06/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy what steps her Department is taking to protect consumers from unsafe and defective electrical products.

Answer:

My apologies for the delay in answering this question.

I refer to the answer previously provided for AQW 3480/17-22, which confirmed that Product Safety is a reserved matter, on which the Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) liaises directly with Environmental Health Services in local Councils.

My Department’s Trading Standards Service (TSS) is responsible for enforcing the Trade Marks Act 1994, which prohibits the unauthorised use of trademarks as well as the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Intellectual Property (IP) crime is a priority area for TSS and much of this work focuses on counterfeit products that are also unsafe, such as electrical goods.

TSS, along with its enforcement partners, has issued cease and desist notices, seized goods and prosecuted traders for selling counterfeit electrical products.

Furthermore TSS plays a role in national and international operations to tackle the production, importation, sale and distribution of offending electrical goods. Recent TSS enforcement action included the seizure of thousands of fake and unsafe mobile phone chargers and accessories, hair straighteners and other electrical equipment.

TSS also works with the OPSS, in relation to expert testing of fake products seized during counterfeit investigations where appropriate.