Business

UK Product Safety Laws Won’t Prevent Another Grenfell Tragedy

UK product safety laws won’t prevent another Grenfell tragedy, report warns

Regulators lack the resources to certify the safety of goods sold online by third parties

The UK’s product safety regime is not up to the job of preventing a tragedy such as the Grenfell Tower fire as shopping moves online and regulators take on new responsibilities following Brexit, MPs have warned.

A third of products are now bought on the web, yet a gap in the law means that digital giants such as Amazon and eBay are not responsible for the safety of items sold by third parties. The budgets of council-run Trading Standards services have also been cut to the bone, according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Meg Hillier, the PAC chair, said flaws in the current set-up had been horrifically exposed by the Grenfell fire, which was caused by a fridge-freezer. There was also reason for serious concern about “everyday risks” such as toxic children’s toys and the rise of “smart” household gadgets that could “open a door to hackers”.

With “massive” new responsibilities following Brexit as well as oversight of building materials from 2022, Hillier said it added up to a worrying picture.

“We simply cannot be confident that the UK’s product safety regime will prevent the next tragedy or widespread harm or loss of life, or even know where it’s coming from,” she said. “UK consumer protection must be properly funded to get up to a speed and strength fit for the task.”

The nature of the safety risks people faced was “changing significantly and fast” as they bought more online. That websites like Amazon were not held accountable for sales by other brands was a “significant source of potential product safety harm”, the report said.

Responding to the findings Lesley Rudd, the chief executive of the charity Electrical Safety First, said the absence of vital laws governing online marketplaces posed “one of the biggest risks to product safety in the UK”.

“An unregulated marketplace for electrical goods in combination with enforcement body cuts and an increase in online shopping is contributing to the perfect storm, meaning dangerous products are more likely to end up in people’s homes,” said Rudd.

Until three years ago product safety rules were enforced by Trading Standards officers, but issues with household appliances as well as changes resulting from Brexit saw the creation of the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).

The OPSS, which is part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), regulates product safety at a national level and is also tasked with identifying risks and intervening on nationally significant product issues. The organisation, which has a budget of £14m, works alongside local Trading Standards offices which still undertake most enforcement activity.

While the OPSS had reacted well to issues such as faulty Whirlpool appliances and unsafe PPE, a lack of data slowed its response to dangers posed by the small high-powered magnets being swallowed by children that caused 40 paediatric admissions last year.

The PAC committee said the government had not set out how product safety would be regulated after Brexit. From 2023 the UK will no longer recognise the EU’s CE mark signifying compliance with standards and more checks will be required at the border.

Against the backdrop of a growing workload, MPs were concerned that regulators lacked the “capacity and skills to meet the challenges it faces”. It questioned the sustainability of Trading Standards services – in England their budgets have been cut by nearly 40% over the past decade. There was also a need for specialist science and engineering knowledge as technologies changed.

A spokesperson for BEIS said it was committed to ensuring only safe products could be legally placed on the market and that a database was being set up so councils could share critical product safety information. “While we recognise the concerns raised, we are addressing this by building an even more agile and advanced product safety framework,” they said.

Business

FAAN targets full ISO certification for Nigerian airports by December 2025

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has December 2025 to achieve full International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

The is contained in a statement by the authority’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr Henry Agbebire in Lagos.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, made this known at the unveiling of its ISO Policy aimed at institutionalising a culture of service quality, operational safety, and sustainable practice across all FAAN managed airports.

Kuku was represented by the FAAN Director of Human Resources and Administration, Dr Luqman Emiola.

The new policy, she said, integrates two standards, ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) and ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System (EMS), into a single framework.

”FAAN has achieved about 70 per cent completion of the certification process, with external auditors scheduled to arrive in November to assess compliance and close identified gaps.

”We are targetting full ISO certification by December 2025.

”The ISO policy reinforces the operational principle that, if it is not documented, it is considered not done,” she said.

She noted that the policy provided FAAN with a working document to guide internal audits across directorates.

Kuku said that it would ensure that every action reflected it’s commitment to service quality, safety, environmental stewardship, and operational excellence.

She reiterated the authority’s dedication to managing Nigeria’s airports in line with international best practices, ensuring safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally responsible operations.

The authority also reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the environment, supporting host communities, and providing a conducive workplace for staff.

Also speaking at the unveiling, the Director of Special Duties, FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah highlighted the purpose and importance of the ISO Policy.

According to her, the audit process is designed to measure FAAN’s commitment to quality, business conduct, customer satisfaction and environmental responsibility.

Business

TCN announces outages in Enugu, Abuja

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced that there would be electricity outages in parts of Enugu State and Abuja, respectively, due to maintenance of its Kubwa and New Haven Enugu 132/33 kilovolt substations.

The spokesperson of TCN disclosed this in a separate statement released on the agency’s X account on Tuesday.

According to TCN, the scheduled Enugu-New Haven maintenance would take effect from October 22, 2025, to Thursday, October 31, 2025, between 9:00am and 5:00pm daily.

Consequently, TCN stated that there would be disruption of bulk electricity supply to one 33-kilovolt feeder per day on a rotational basis during the period.

“TCN wishes to clarify that this is not a total system shutdown for Enugu State. To minimise disruption, the work has been carefully planned to affect only one 33 kV feeder per day on a rotational basis. Given that Enugu State is supplied by twenty-four (24) 33 kV feeders, this arrangement ensures that most parts of the state will continue to receive a power supply while the maintenance is ongoing.

“The exercise requires the temporary isolation of specific 33 kV feeders to ensure the safety of TCN technical crews and the protection of equipment under maintenance.

“Consequently, customers in areas served by these feeders will experience power interruption only on the day their specific feeder is isolated,” the statement reads.

In Abuja, the disruption, which is expected to take effect on 21st October 2025, would affect areas in Kubwa, including Army Resettlement, Papal Ground, Aso Garden, Nydren Supermarket, Back of AT4, Back of Mobil, Zenith Bank, FO1, Kubwa Extension, Chikakore Community, Dantata Estate, IITA Farms, Royal Champion Church, the Kubwa area and environs.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) notifies the public of scheduled preventive maintenance at the Kubwa 132/33 kV Transmission Substation on October 21, 2025, from 11 am to 3 pm.

“The exercise will involve the replacement of a 33 kV circuit breaker with a new one and will require an interruption of bulk power supply to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) from Kubwa Substation,” the statement reads.

Business

FG, States, LGs Share N2.103trn September 2025 Revenue – FAAC

A total sum of N2.103 trillion, being September 2025 Federation Account Revenue, has been shared to the Federal Government, States and the Local Government Councils.

The revenue was shared at the October 2025 Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja.

The N2.103 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N1.239 trillion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N812.593 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N51.684 billion.

A communiqué issued by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that total gross revenue of N3.054 trillion was available in the month of September 2025. Total deduction for cost of collection was N116.149 billion while total transfers, interventions, refunds and savings was N835.005 billion.

According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N2.128 trillion was received for the month of September 2025. This was lower than the sum of N2.838 trillion received in the month of August 2025 by N710.134 billion.

Gross revenue of N872.630 billion was available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) in September 2025. This was higher than the N722.619 billion available in the month of August 2025 by N150.011 billion.

The communiqué stated that from the N2.103 trillion total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N711.314 billion and the State Governments received a total sum of N727.170 billion.

The Local government Council received N529.954 billion, while the sum of N134.956 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting State as derivation revenue.

On the N1.239 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N581.672 billion and the State Governments received N295.032 billion.

The Local Government Councils received N227.457 billion and the sum of N134.956 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.

From the N812.593 billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N121.889 billion, the State Governments received N406.297 billion and the Local Government Councils received N284.408 billion.

A total sum of N7.753 billion was received by the Federal Government from the N51.684 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), the State Governments received N25.842 billion and the Local Government Councils received N18.089 billion.

In September 2025, Import Duty, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) increased significantly while Companies Income Tax (CIT) and CET Levies decreased considerably. Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) increased Marginally while Oil and Gas Royalty and Excise Duty recorded marginal decreases.