§ 11. Mr. Doddsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the concern at the possibility that toys now on sale in the shops may cause brain damage to children because of the lead content of the paints used, what action he proposes to take to ban the sale of these or any other toys that are contemplated of a like nature.
§ 12. Mr. Robert Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the extensive sale of toys painted with a high content of lead, creating dangerous hazards for many children; and whether he will issue regulations, under the Consumer Protection Act, to ban the manufacture and sale of all toys where lead paint has been used in their manufacture.
§ Sir F. SoskiceI understand that the manufacturers and importers concerned have already undertaken that the toys referred to will in future comply with the relevant British Standard, which prescribes a maximum lead content of 1.1 per cent. in the paint used. I am pursuing with the distributors the ques-78W tion of withdrawing existing stocks of the unsafe toys from sale. On the information at present before me I have no reason to doubt that, in general, children's toys satisfy the requirements of the British Standard, but as cases have come to notice where this is not so, I propose to include a requirement on this matter in regulations, dealing with other safety aspects of toys, which are being prepared under the Consumer Protection Act, 1961.