33 MPs have sent a letter calling for the UK Government to introduce better protections from harmful chemicals in children’s toys.

The UK’s Toy Safety Regulation is outdated, meaning that harmful chemicals that scientific research now links to serious health effects can still be used legally in children’s toys.

In the letter, addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the MPs show strong support for revising the UK’s Toy Safety Regulation to match the EU’s Regulation, so that children in the UK receive the same level of protection as children in the EU.

The EU recently updated its toy safety rules after finding the previous regulations to be inadequate at protecting children from harmful chemicals. The new EU regulation includes bans on several groups of harmful chemicals, including PFAS, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and 10 harmful bisphenols.

EDCs disrupt the normal functioning of hormones, and exposure to them has been linked to adverse health impacts such as certain cancers and impaired brain development. PFAS are a group of around 10,000 chemicals often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ as they are highly persistent and take generations to break down in the environment. Exposure to some PFAS has been linked to worrying health effects such as reduced vaccination efficiency in children and certain cancers.

The MPs state the importance of the UK swiftly matching the EU measures, highlighting that children are uniquely vulnerable to harmful chemical exposure as they are still developing.

Last month we hosted an event with the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) and Ruth Jones MP in the UK Parliament to bring the issue of harmful chemicals in children’s toys to the attention of MPs. Read more about the event in our news story. Chloe Topping, Senior UK Campaigner at CHEM Trust said:

“It’s fantastic to see so many MPs standing up for children’s health and protection. The UK’s toy safety rules are outdated and inadequate and have fallen behind the rules on toy safety in the EU. They must be strengthened now to further protect children from harmful chemicals in their toys. We welcome the Government’s call for evidence, and that MPs are sending a clear message: nothing less than equal protection for UK children will do.”

You can also show your support for safer toys!

Right now, the UK Government is asking the public, businesses, and scientific experts whether to adopt similar improvements to UK toy safety rules as the EU, via a call for evidence. It is important they hear that there is strong support for matching these measures. You can find out more about the call for evidence, and how to respond, here.

Read more news.