HC Deb 29 April 1994 vol 242 c344W
Mrs. Helen Jackson

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will be discussing with his European partners the implications of the EC proposals to harmonise the plugs and sockets of electrical appliances throughout the EC.

Mr. Heseltine

There is no such proposal. If one were to be put forward we would consider it.

Mrs. Helen Jackson

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the dangers there are for United Kingdom consumers in any transitional period from the harmonisation of electric plugs and sockets; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the safety of consumers in the United Kingdom is not compromised.

Mr. Heseltine

CENELEC—the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation—the relevant standards-making body, has not published a standard for a harmonised European plug and socket system against which an accurate assessment could be made. In considering whether any change to our present standards might be desirable at some future date, full account will be taken of consumer safety issues. There is no EC proposal for harmonisation.