§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will take steps to ensure that hazardous household products are fitted with child-resistant closures; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Alan WilliamsPreliminary results from an in-depth study being carried out for my Department show that child-resistant packaging can play an important rôle in reducing the number of children who are treated each year for suspected accidental poisoning involving household products. My Department has therefore asked the British Standards Institution to consider the preparation of a test specification for child-resistant packaging for these products. In addition, we shall be holding discussions with the industry with a view to securing a voluntary change-over to the use of child-resistant packaging over a range of potentially harmful household products. But I must stress that packaging of this sort is a partial line of defence and that the primary precaution is to keep these products out of reach of children.