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A defendant will now have to show that he took all reasonable
precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission
of the offence with which he is charged.
Existing regulations cover oil heaters, electric fires, nightdresses,
carry cot stands, and toys. The Electrical Colour Code Regulations
came into full operation in April, making it an offence for a trader
to have in his possession for sale any electrical appliance not
using the international colour code on the wiring, and not having
an explanatory notice attached to the flex. An introductory leaflet
was sent to all known electrical dealers in the Borough, informing
them of this new regulation.
During the year fourteen toys were submitted to the Public
Analyst. Of these four contained excessive quantities of lead in
the paint. A case of particular note involved the British manufactured
"Top Ten Xylophone". Four of the six colours on this
toy contained lead above the legal limit, one colour being sixty
six times the limit. Investigations led to the return of some
40,000 of the xylophones to the manufacturer. The nationwide
publicity surrounding this case has resulted in a neighbouring
London Borough instituting legal proceedings against the manufacturer
who was fined a total of £200 with £15 costs.
Thirty three offences under the Electrical Colour Code Regulations
were investigated, and one offence involving an oil heater
was passed to another London Borough for action.
The new legislation, and public interest in the subject has
necessitated an increase in time allocated to Consumer Protection
The number of inspections made during 1971 was an increase of
67% over the previous year.