§ 15. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that the regulations governing the safety of toys are adequate to prevent the import of dangerous toys from abroad, in view of recent sales of plastic firing guns from Hong Kong and models of a jack-in-the-box from China, details of which have been sent to him.
§ Mr. EnnalsIn my view, there is no real risk of injury from the toy gun. Arrangements have been made for the jack-in-the-box to be suitably modified. My right hon. Friend proposes to review the scope of the present Regulations when the revised British Standard Code of Practice for Children's Toys is published in a few weeks' time.
§ Mrs. ButlerIs my hon. Friend aware that there is considerable disquiet about these toys and that the jack-in-the-box, about which some hon. Members laughed, had a very dangerous spike in its head? These toys were freely on sale in the shops until the Sun newspaper drew attention to their dangers. Since this kind of thing is frequently happening with imported toys, will my hon. Friend give an assurance that the new regulations will give stricter control over imported toys?
§ Mr. EnnalsI must wait to see the report on the revised Standard Code of Practice. The number of imported toys found to be dangerous is extremely small. We certainly appreciate it when members of the general public inform us about things which look dangerous. I tried the toy gun myself and I think it has no dangers at all.