§ Lord Balfour of Inchrye asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ What, if any, guidelines exist to encourage standardisation of the installation of hot and cold water taps for use by the general public to protect the safety of children and visually impaired people, and what information they have about accidents arising from any lack of standardisation.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers)There are no specific guidelines to encourage standardisation of the installation of hot and cold water taps for use of the general public to protect the safety of children and the visually impaired.
No specific data are available on scalds from water taps, but data from the Department of Trade and Industry home accidents surveillance system database shows that there are approximately 530 accidents per year involving burns and scalds to children of 15 and under in bathrooms. The data do not indicate how many of these, if any, result from a lack of standardisation of taps. No data are available for such accidents involving the visually impaired.