§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Fitch.]
§ 4.18 p.m.
§ Mrs. Joyce Butler (Wood Green)I am very glad to have an opportunity of raising the subject of dangerous toys, which has been in the public eye for several months. A good number of organisations, such as the Consumer Council and the British Safety Council have considered this subject, and newspapers like the Sun and the Daily Mirror, and radio and television, have had programmes and articles illustrating what can happen when toys are not produced to a safety standard.
It is only right that we should have this opportunity of discussing the problem with the Department responsible for British-produced toys—the Home Department. I am very glad that my hon. Friend the Minister of State is to reply, because I know that she has a keen interest in the subject. There is no doubt that the majority of toy manufacturers are responsible people, producing toys as strong and as well-made as they can. However, in every trade and industry there are some who are not so responsible.
There is also the problem of the very large number of imported toys arriving into this country, particularly before Christmas, when the number of toys reaches flood proportions. It is extremely difficult for those who are buying toys to know whether they can rely upon them. This does not only apply to parents, who may perhaps have a little experience in this subject, but also to uncles and aunts, and very often to grandparents, who may have a number of grandchildren and only a limited amount of money to spend. They want something reasonably priced which will appeal to the child.
All too often when they buy the toys they find that they have something which is cheap, nasty and dangerous, and which, instead of giving pleasure to the child, may cause an accident. The majority of such accidents are caused through sharp edges and spikes on toys. Many of these toys are cheap, many of them are imported, and it is impossible to tell before 933 they are bought, and before the child handles them, whether they are dangerous.
I have taken the liberty of bringing with me this afternoon a golliwog which has had wide publicity; indeed, it is now a well-known golliwog. It looks attractive, although it is a bit dilapidated. But when I pull off the head it reveals that it was stuck on by a very sharp spike. I have quite a chamber of horrors of toys of this kind—dolls, animals and many other toys—where all the joints are held together by these sharp spikes.
It is in the very nature of children that, when they are playing with toys, they try to pull them apart. Indeed, there are many educationists who think that it is an essential part of a child's development—I suppose that we all did this—to try to find out how things are made by pulling them apart, and as the child becomes more developed, to put them together again.
It is impossible for those who are shopping for toys for children to know, when they buy, what are the contents of a toy. What are they to do? If there is no indication that the toy is safe and of a high standard, they cannot pull it to pieces in the shop to examine the stuffing and to see whether the edges are sharp. They have to take it on face value. There is a school of thought which believes that consumers should not be coddled, but should be able to judge for themselves, but I am sure that this school of thought does not extend to toys for children and that we all agree that it is the very antithesis of a child's play that he should be faced with danger from the plaything which he is handling.
Part of the difficulty is that we discover that a toy is dangerous only when an accident has already taken place. While I readily accept that the Home Office acts very quickly when a dangerous toy is drawn to its attention, this is often too late to prevent an accident from taking place. It is difficult to keep abreast of this kind of situation, and one of the things that we need is to try to isolate the relevant danger factors in toys. Some of them we know, many more we do not know, because until recently we have made no kind of study of the problem. I feel that something must be 934 done to obtain satisfactory standards for toys, and these can be based only on factual information.
I ask my right hon. Friend whether she can do anything in this respect to obtain this statistical information which would enable satisfactory standards to be provided by the British Standards Institution. I know that she is not responsible for it, but she may be able to have some influence on it, or she may be able to take action in some other way so that we may have indicated on the toys themselves whether they have reached an approved standard.
I very much welcome the new regulations which are to be introduced through the consumer protection legislation dealing with the level of lead in painted surfaces, for example, because it is an appalling fact that about 50 per cent. of the mentally retarded children in hospitals are found to have a high lead content in their blood—higher than normal. It is very worrying to think that some of them may have absorbed this lead into their blood through licking or sucking painted toys, or even plastic toys which have been made with a lead content. Unfortunately, although we have a lead standard, too often imported toys, in particular, have a higher lead content than they should have, and any tightening of this regulation is very welcome. I also welcome the regulations which are to cover the transformers of electric toys and the banning of celluloid toys, but many more regulations are needed.
Consider, for example, the types of stuffing used in stuffed toys, remembering that these toys are handled almost exclusively by very small children who can easily be affected by anything which is not hygienic. Unfortunately, the rag flock specifications which were introduced to cover this difficulty do not cover some of the modern forms of stuffing which are now being used, particularly in imported toys. They do not cover stuffing soft toys with plastic bags. A case reported in the newspapers just before Christmas showed that a child could pull the toy animal open, take out the plastic bags and easily be suffocated by placing them over its head. They do not cover powdered stuffings. Irritant powder stuffings have been found in toys. 935 We do not seem to have regulations to cover the type of spike in the golliwog which I have with me and in similar toys, or to cover the toy eyes of animals which are stuck on spikes and which can easily be pulled out. There are no regulations to cover cheap metal cars which can cut one's finger if one runs it along the edge of the toy. A child can obviously be cut more easily and more severely. We do not have regulations of universal application to cover high flammability in the coverings of toys and in costumes. The type of Batman's cape which flared up and which was then withdrawn was a typical example of this. There should be regulations to prevent such materials from coming into our shops. It is too late once the problem has been discovered.
Since Christmas a case has been reported of a soldier's uniform which was being worn by a girl aged 7 near her brother, who had a toy pistol which gave off a small spark when fired. In that case the spark ignited the uniform, which went up in flames. I am not suggesting that the regulations should state that all coverings should be completely non-flammable, because I realise that to achieve that would be difficult. However, they should state that these materials must not be highly inflammable.
Even if one leaves the more obvious toys and considers the educational toys, trouble arises. Some science kits are tremendously dangerous and the Observer reported a case of a science kit which contained a very badly made Bunsen burner with the instruction that a piece of rubber tubing, supplied with the kit but without any sort of connection, should be attached to the gas supply. Such an instruction is dangerous to a boy in his 'teens, let alone to a younger child. It is horrifying to think what would happen if anybody carried out that instruction.
It would be a great help if we had statistics of accidents which have occurred. When one raises this matter with toy manufacturers they tend to say, "There cannot be anything wrong because we have so far not had any reports of accidents from these toys". One of the problems is that if a child is hurt the mother is so busy binding up 936 the wound or giving other attention that she does not do anything about reporting the matter. Normally, she places the offending toy in the dustbin and forgets all about it. Indeed, often she does not know to whom the matter should be reported. The public should be encouraged to report any accidents of this kind, at least to their local town halls—usually they know where they are—so that the information can be passed on to the appropriate authority and reported to the manufacturer, if he is known.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is trying to collect information about accidents of this kind. If the Minister can help in any way by supplying information which her Department may have it would take us a step further towards making toys safer. If this information were given to the British Association of Toy Manufacturers, in regard to home-produced toys, and the Society of Factors and Importers, in regard to imported toys, they would have to do something about making the toys they make or import more safe.
Another difficulty at Government level is that responsibility is divided among a number of Departments. My right hon. Friend may well say that she has no responsibility for imported toys because imports are primarily the responsibility of the Board of Trade. It may be that she will not say that because she extends her responsibility for toys as far as possible, but there are difficulties here. There is the difficulty about enforcement of regulations by local authorities which come under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. I ask her whether she can facilitate to the furthest possible extent collaboration between Departments so that we can have one approach to the problem of dangerous toys.
The immediate crisis which arose just before Christmas with so many toys on sale is now over, but, according to my calculations, there are still only 265 shopping days to next Christmas and soon the flood of toys coming to the shops will begin again, because Christmas orders start very soon in the spring for the next season. Parents are asking who will protect their children from danger when they go shopping. The consumer bodies have done a great deal, but they have other responsibilities. Educationists can see what is wrong, but they have 937 very little time. Parents too often have very little knowledge. The Home Office and my right hon. Friend herself have other very big responsibilities. Manufacturers are mainly concerned in production and importers are concerned in the same way.
It seems that it would be desirable to have a Toys Council, representing all these interests and doctors also, sitting as a permanent body to look at the points I have mentioned, and at many others which may arise, and to give some kind of guidance on the matter. Obviously, they could not deal with every single toy which is produced, but they would have the sole responsibility of seeing that our toys are made more safe. There is a Toys Council in Canada. There may be similar bodies in other countries. I wonder whether my right hon. Friend could obtain any information which would be useful in this respect to this country.
One of the problems is that the nature of toys is always changing. The other day I saw a small boy with a piece of string tied to a stick whipping at a little wooden top. It was such a strange sight that a crowd of older people had gathered to watch him. This was a very common sight years ago, but now wooden tops, hoops and skipping ropes have disappeared, and there is a whole range of toys on sale based on television topics. Three years ago anyone who predicted that the Daleks then first appearing on television would come into the shops would have been laughed to scorn. I do not think that 12 months ago anyone could have foreseen the great demand for Batman capes by children this Christmas.
We need a body whose sole responsibility it would be to watch all these new developments, to make sure that when manufacturers rush out new toys to meet changing demands they do so with materials which are safe and where they are producing toys composed of many parts, particularly toys for small children, the parts shall be as safe as the whole, free from spikes, cutting edges and substances which could injure the children who play with them. Obviously, we cannot make this a perfectly safe world. It would be undesirable for children if we did so. They have to learn to take knocks and to deal with all kinds of things which 938 are not pleasant, but we should ensure that this kind of danger is removed as far as possible.
I hope very much that my right hon. Friend will be able to give us some assurance on these points.
§ 4.35 p.m.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Miss Alice Bacon)I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wood Green (Mrs. Joyce Butler) for raising this matter and for giving me an opportunity, in the time available, to give an account of what is being done at the Home Office about this very important subject. My hon. Friend came with other of my hon. Friend's on a deputation to me a short time ago about dangerous toys. I am pleased to say that, having spent some time at the Home Office, the deputation expressed appreciation of what was being done about this matter.
In her speech, my hon. Friend recognised that, although this is an important subject, it is not always very easy to deal with. She recognised some of the difficulties—for instance, of dealing with every type of toy when toys are changing all the time, and difficulties of definition. Among the risks most frequently brought to our attention are toys which are inflammable, toys which are electrically unsafe, toys with sharp edges or readily exposed points, soft toys with unhygienic fillings and readily detachable eyes and toys coated with harmful paint.
These and all the other risks were considered very thoroughly by the Molony Committee on Consumer Protection which came to the conclusion that, while regulations were required to give statutory support to some of the recommendations in the British Standard Code, this was neither necessary nor practicable in the case of others.
There are three ways in which we at the Home Office try to make toys safer: first, by legislation, by regulation; secondly, by getting manufacturers and importers to agree to recognise standards; thirdly, by direct action when an unsafe toy is on sale.
Following the Molony Committee's recommendations, regulations are now being prepared which will prohibit the sale of toys manufactured from celluloid; require electrical toys to be operated only at low voltage; and prescribe safety requirements 939 for transformers and control units for use with such toys. The opportunity will also be taken to restrict the amount of lead and certain other toxic substances which may be present in the paint used on toys. The preparation of these regulations has taken much longer than we expected. The original draft was ready for circulation some time ago, but was delayed by our decision to include requirements relating to paint, which produced many technical difficulties. For example, the very low limits proposed for certain of the toxic substances in paint produced serious problems of analysis. These obviously had to be overcome in such a way as to ensure that the limits were practicable for the trade and were capable of being enforced. However, our final proposals have now been circulated to the trade and I hope that the Regulations will be laid very soon.
Although the Regulations have been in the course of preparation for some time, it would be wrong to assume that children have been at risk during this period. The use of celluloid in the manufacture of toys was discontinued voluntarily by manufacturers some time ago.
The Molony Committee came to the conclusion that in some cases regulations would be impracticable for other risks. It would be difficult to define in regulations, for example, how sharp a point or edge should be before it constituted a serious danger. I can visualise the discussions which would take place in the House or in any Committee which considered that. For regulations the definition has to be precise and it is very difficult to define a dangerous toy, but we all know one when we see it. But in other cases the Committee thought that the risk was too small to justify statutory controls. The code is at present being reviewed by the Technical Committee of the British Standards Institution concerned with the safety of toys and we shall certainly consider the possibility of extending the scope of the initial regulations once the revised British standard has been published.
A great deal is done through the British Standards Code of Safety. Safety standards for toys are set out in the British Standard Code of Safety Requirements for Children's Toys, published by the 940 British Standards Institution. We believe that the majority of toy manufacturers and importers recognise this code, and it is an essential part of our policy constantly to remind the trade of the importance of complying with safety requirements.
The numbers and varieties of toys are now so great, and designs can change so rapidly, that we must obviously look to the trade to act responsibly and with good sense in manufacturing and marketing their various products, We know, for example, that many importers now include in their contracts, when placing orders with overseas suppliers, a clause to the effect that the toys supplied must comply with the British Standards code.
Another feature of our policy is to try to deal with any particular toy thought to offer a serious danger, which is brought to our notice. If we find on investigation that a complaint is justified, we invite the manufacturer or importer concerned to put matters right. In general, the trade is very ready to co-operate.
I can assure my hon. Friend that we have already taken action in some of the cases that she has raised today. The golliwog that she produced was of Japanese origin. We have already been in touch with the importers who have been in touch with the makers, and we are assured that none of these are now coming into the country. I would hope that none are on sale at the present time. I do not know when my hon. Friend bought this particular toy, but we are assured that it is being dealt with.
With regard to plastic bags, we saw the account of the filling of toys with plastic bags and we approached the manufacturer. We found that this firm used plastic bags which are shredded but that, owing to a very regrettable mistake on the part of one of the workpeople, they had not been shredded for use in this particular toy and had been put in whole.
We have taken action with regard to inflammable Batman capes, liquid-filled toy feeding bottles and a toy dog, which one firm had on sale, with metal legs which were readily exposed and with eyes which were insecurely fixed. These were withdrawn from sale. There was a golliwog with insecurely-fixed eyes, and again this toy has been withdrawn. There was a toy locomotive, manufactured in Hong Kong, which had sharp edges. We 941 reported this matter to the Hong Kong Government office which immediately took steps to stop further shipments to this country. There are these soft toys with sharp metal points, and here again we have approached the manufacturers in Japan. There was a hanging monkey which was recently being sold, the plastic face of which could easily be pulled off, exposing sharp pins which had been used to secure the face in position. We obtained the withdrawal of this, too, and there are many other cases illustrating where we took action, which I could mention if I had time.
I know that it may be said that this kind of action is locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, but, as my hon. Friend realises, it is not always possible to anticipate the hazards which may arise with new kinds of toys which may be introduced. As my hon. Friend said, we had not heard of Batman until fairly recently, let alone Batman's capes. We have dealt with this, but we will see if more can be done to deal with other outer clothing.
My hon. Friend asked some specific questions about imported toys. We at the Home Office are not responsible for imported toys but when we make regulations they will apply at point of sale and, therefore, will include imported toys as well as those manufactured in this country. We do not have figures for accidents caused by toys for which my hon. Friend asked because, unless accidents are serious, they are not reported to us. All I can say is that we have not had brought to our notice many serious accidents as a result of toys.
My hon. Friend also asked about the setting up of a Toys Council. This is an interesting proposal which is to be discussed at a meeting in March 942 arranged by the Consumer Council. The proposed scope of the Toys Council as explained by the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs would extend beyond safety and would include research into such matters as the kind of toys suitable for children of various ages. This is an interesting proposal and it is being considered.
Our approach to the problem can, therefore, be summarised as follows. Regulations are being prepared following the recommendations of the Molony Committee. Official support is given to the British Standards code. We deal at once with individual cases of dangerous toys which are brought to our notice and we shall consider the need for further regulations when revision of the British Standard code, at present in progress, is being completed.
I hope that I have shown that much is being done in a number of different ways to deal with the problems which we have been discussing today. We are by no means complacent, however, and we shall be reviewing the need for further statutory controls once the revised British Standards code for safety requirements for children's toys is ready.
Whatever action is taken by central and local government, safety associations and the trade, I must, however, emphasise that parents also have a responsibilty to exercise proper care in choosing toys for their children. Excellent advice on this matter is contained in a special pamphlet on buying toys—
§ The Question having been proposed after Four o'clock and the debate having continued for half an hour, Mr. SPEAKER adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
§ Adjourned at Thirteen minutes to Five o'clock.