Brian Betterton
PFD Report
All Responded
Ref: 2017-0224
All 1 response received
· Deadline: 30 Nov 2017
Response Status
Responses
1 of 2
56-Day Deadline
30 Nov 2017
All responses received
About PFD responses
Organisations named in PFD reports must respond within 56 days explaining what actions they are taking.
Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Coroner's Concerns
The Product Recall relates to a product supplied between April 2009 and February 2010 The Product Recall did not come to the attention of the deceased_ 3_ In the majority of cases the end user of the product will not have purchased or fitted the product 4_ The Product Recall therefore is dependent upon identifying the person who actually purchased the product 5 . The purchaser is likely to be a professional electrician, yet is not required to keep a register of such items that helshe purchased and fitted nor is helshe required to inform the supplierlmanufacturer of the details of the end user. 6_ As a consequence it seems that the Product Recall was always likely to be ineffective_ (It would be interesting to know how many products the manufacturer thought were affected and how many responses they had to the Product Recall Notice). 7_ It seems to me that these concerns are not unique to fuse boxes_ but that there are many potentially lethal products which are fitted into domestic properties which are purchased by a third party rather than the occupier.
Responses
Response received
View full response
@ Department for Business, Energy & lndustrial Strategy Margot James MP Department for Business, Energy & lndustr¡al Strategy 1 Victoria Street London SWlH OET 1 +44 (0) 20 7215 5000 E enquiries@beis.oov.uk W www.qov.uk Our ref: BB17 Your ref: 42387-2017 Mr lain Pears Acting Senior Coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton HM Coroner's Office The Court House Woburn Street Ampthill MK45 2HX XD November 2017
*t* (\^^. ?a-øu.Å, Thank you for your Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths dated 11 September 2017 following your investigatíon and inquest into the death of Brian David Betterton, due to accidental death caused by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. I am responding as the Minister responsible for the safety of consumer products. May I first say how sorry I was to hear of this tragic accident. lf you have the opportunity would you please convey my deepest sympathies to Mr. Betterton's family. I recognise that the public needs to be reassured that the system for consumer product safety is working and that where unsafe electrical goods are identified they are dealt with swiftly and effectively. Product safety is a priority of this Government and we already have comprehensive legislative regulation to ensure products are safe before being placed on the market. ln addition, in October 20161 set up the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety to bring together product safety experts, the fire service and trading standards professionals to identify where improvements could be made to the system of product recalls and safety. The Working Group published its recommendation on how to improve recalls and reduce fires in white goods on 19 July. The Government will be responding shortly but we have already taken action to implement many of the Working Group's recommendations. We have supported the development of a new BSI (the British Standards lnstitution) code of practice on corrective action and recalls which was recently the subject of public consultation. We have also commissioned research to understand how to increase the impact and effectiveness of product safety messages, so that more consumers respond to recalls. The Government's recalls website at www nrociuctrecall.camoaion.oov uk has been further upgraded so that consumers can quickly check for the latest recalls and register their appliances to allow them to be contacted directly about any future recalls of their products These changes, while aimed at consumers, will also make it easier for tradespeople to check for any safety recalls of products they are installing. I have fed the important points that you raise into the development of the BSI code of practice and I have also asked my officials to share your concerns with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local
Government who are responsible for Buildings Regulations. As you will be aware a review of Building Regulations has been announced and is being undertaken by
. I hope this helps to assure you that we are more determined to than ever to ensure that consumers can have confidence in the safety of the electrical products in their home. J.*ø +,.^ftd4 MARGOT JAMES MP Minister for Small Business, Consumers & Corporate Responsibility
*t* (\^^. ?a-øu.Å, Thank you for your Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths dated 11 September 2017 following your investigatíon and inquest into the death of Brian David Betterton, due to accidental death caused by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. I am responding as the Minister responsible for the safety of consumer products. May I first say how sorry I was to hear of this tragic accident. lf you have the opportunity would you please convey my deepest sympathies to Mr. Betterton's family. I recognise that the public needs to be reassured that the system for consumer product safety is working and that where unsafe electrical goods are identified they are dealt with swiftly and effectively. Product safety is a priority of this Government and we already have comprehensive legislative regulation to ensure products are safe before being placed on the market. ln addition, in October 20161 set up the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety to bring together product safety experts, the fire service and trading standards professionals to identify where improvements could be made to the system of product recalls and safety. The Working Group published its recommendation on how to improve recalls and reduce fires in white goods on 19 July. The Government will be responding shortly but we have already taken action to implement many of the Working Group's recommendations. We have supported the development of a new BSI (the British Standards lnstitution) code of practice on corrective action and recalls which was recently the subject of public consultation. We have also commissioned research to understand how to increase the impact and effectiveness of product safety messages, so that more consumers respond to recalls. The Government's recalls website at www nrociuctrecall.camoaion.oov uk has been further upgraded so that consumers can quickly check for the latest recalls and register their appliances to allow them to be contacted directly about any future recalls of their products These changes, while aimed at consumers, will also make it easier for tradespeople to check for any safety recalls of products they are installing. I have fed the important points that you raise into the development of the BSI code of practice and I have also asked my officials to share your concerns with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local
Government who are responsible for Buildings Regulations. As you will be aware a review of Building Regulations has been announced and is being undertaken by
. I hope this helps to assure you that we are more determined to than ever to ensure that consumers can have confidence in the safety of the electrical products in their home. J.*ø +,.^ftd4 MARGOT JAMES MP Minister for Small Business, Consumers & Corporate Responsibility
Action Should Be Taken
In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and believe the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has the power to take such action;
Report Sections
Investigation and Inquest
On 24th February 2017 commenced an Investigation into the death of BRIAN
Circumstances of the Death
At an unknown date an unknown person fitted a new fuse box to the property known as Subsequently a Product Recall Notice was issued for Electrium Miniature Circuit Breakers due to potential risk of burning: On the morning of the 20th February 2017 the Electrium Miniature Circuit Senior Coroner, The Court House: Woburn Street; AMPTHILL, Bedfordshire, MK45 ZHX Tel 0300-300-6559 Fax 0300-300-8267 aged
Breaker at the deceased's home began to short and a small smouldering fire occurred resulting in carbon monoxide being released. The Deceased died in his bedroom from carbon monoxide exposure His body was discovered several hours later when a passer-by noticed it was very dark in the deceased's kitchen; in fact this was soot coating the glass_ The fire had extinguished itself causing relatively little damage_
Breaker at the deceased's home began to short and a small smouldering fire occurred resulting in carbon monoxide being released. The Deceased died in his bedroom from carbon monoxide exposure His body was discovered several hours later when a passer-by noticed it was very dark in the deceased's kitchen; in fact this was soot coating the glass_ The fire had extinguished itself causing relatively little damage_
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Data sourced from Courts and Tribunals Judiciary under the Open Government Licence.