‘Partnership is critical’
The Electrical Safety Council’s recent Product Safety Conference brought together a range of speakers and delegates to discuss the latest developments in market surveillance and electrical product safety.
The event was opened by keynote speaker Edward Davey MP, the Minister for Consumer Policy and Consumer Affairs, who emphasised the increasing importance of co-operation to avoid duplication of effort and better use of intelligence gathering. He stated: “Partnership is critical and business working with enforcement agencies is critical, particularly in these challenging times.”
In a speech that noted the need for greater collaboration at all levels – both within the UK, the EU and globally – he also made it clear that consumer safety remained the priority. “This Government is totally committed to consumer safety. There is no intention of compromising this. But we have to target our resources to the areas of real concern.”
The title of the ESC conference was ‘Market Surveillance – overcoming cut-backs through a combined approach’. The programme covered key issues, including a review of the UK’s surveillance priorities and a look at how collaborative working between manufacturers and government agencies is increasing seizures of unsafe and counterfeit goods. Other presentations covered the creative approaches used by local enforcement agencies to deal with budget cuts, product testing and third party certification.
“This is the second Product Safety Conference we have run,” explained Phil Buckle, Director General of the ESC. “With the success of the first one, we knew there was a demand for an event of this nature. It offers an ideal opportunity to bring together various key stakeholders from across the board – manufacturers, consumers, industry and government bodies – to work together to ensure consumer protection benefits fully from a collaborative approach.”
Read more about this event, as well as exclusive interviews, in a future issue of Electrical Products.
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