Electrical Safety First is the charity committed to reducing the number of deaths, injuries and accidents caused by electricity. We believe the Economy Committee should consider safety issues around electrical products which cause the majority of house fires in Scotland, accounting for around 80% each year. While user misuse is a key factor, there are an increasing number of issues which could be tackled with early policy intervention. Product recalls are an ongoing concern, with our research showing most achieving just a 10-20% success rate - only a third of Scottish consumers register their electrical appliances. There are also increasing concerns with white goods, which caused a house fire almost every day in Scotland during 2019. The sale of counterfeit and sub-standard electrical items online is a growing issue, with one in five Scottish consumers having purchased a fake electrical product that was advertised as genuine within the last twelve months.
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