The next item on the agenda, therefore, is the short debate, and I now move to the short debate, and I call on Dawn Bowden to speak on the topic that she has chosen, and I ask everybody else to leave the Chamber quietly.

Os gwnaiff yr holl Aelodau sy'n gadael y Siambr wneud hynny’n dawel—mae gennym fusnes pwysig i’w glywed o hyd. Dawn Bowden.

Diolch, Llywydd. I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to bring forward this debate today, as in recent months I’ve been able to meet with representatives of Electrical Safety First and talk to them about the statistics that they have provided, particularly in relation to fires caused due to the lack of care with electrical appliances and devices. And I’m also pleased to give Mike Hedges a minute of my time for him to contribute to this debate.

It is, perhaps, timely that this opportunity has come up for me to speak now on this subject, when my own mother has recently been the victim of a house fire, which has led to her having to move out of her home, probably for several months. The fire was almost certainly caused by either faulty wiring or electrical equipment. She was out walking her dog at the time the fire started, but fortunately she was only away for about 20 minutes, so, when she came back, she was able to get help quickly and before the fire had taken hold of the whole house. Despite that early action, the fire and smoke damage was significant, and the whole house has to be renovated.

In Wales, statistics show a steady decrease in the number of primary fires between 2010 and 2015, but saw an increase in the year up to 2016. Fires from white goods seem to be at a generally consistent level for the same period, and there has been a noticeable, consistent decline, as we would probably expect, in chimney fires. But we have not seen an overall decrease in accidental fires. The answer to why this might be could lie in the title of this debate: electrical fires in today’s technological age.

The Deputy Presiding Officer took the Chair.

I’m sure that your households, like mine and many others these days, contain a plethora of mobile communication devices. In your homes, you will all have Assembly phones and Assembly iPads, and no doubt many of you will also have personal mobile phones and tablets of some sort. And, as most families no longer rely on one fixed landline phone in the house, it’s quite likely that each member of the family will also have their own mobile phone and portable computer device. And, if you have former smokers in the house, you probably have e-cigarette devices as well. Each of these devices, or each of these units, are reliant upon mobile chargers, which inevitably increase the risk of fires, simply because of the sheer numbers of them that we have, but these devices do also carry their very own specific risks.

By the very nature of the devices, we don’t tend to use them when we are asleep, so most of us charge them up overnight, and this, of course, means that we don’t notice if they start heating up. And how many people leave devices resting on something potentially flammable, like a cushion or a soft chair, when charging them? Indeed, some people are so attached to their mobile phones that they charge them under their pillows. And, because we have so many devices, we also purchase spare chargers. Manufacturers’ replacement chargers are often seen as expensive, and the availability of cheap alternatives purchased off the internet are often a tempting alternative. And I believe this is an issue that Mike Hedges wants to touch on in his contribution later, so I’ll leave it to him to elaborate on the inherent dangers that this presents.

So, what can we do to improve electrical safety? Interestingly, we have regulations that require private landlords to carry out annual safety checks on gas fittings and appliances, but no similar regime exists for electrical equipment. This could be a starting point. In the last Assembly, there was recognition by the Welsh Government that regulation would be beneficial from a fire safety perspective, but to date this remains an outstanding action. Such a precautionary regime would certainly serve to significantly reduce the risk to tenants while at a relatively low cost to landlords—around £100 to £150 for any designated test period—and would also protect their property investment.

It is, of course, an assumption that the increase in the use of mobile devices and chargers accounts for the increasing number of accidental fires, but the records kept by a number of fire authorities, bizarrely, don’t actually categorise this type of cause, whilst most still record fires for chimneys, which are now relatively rare. This is something that the Welsh Government could encourage fire authorities to change so that, at a minimum, we could get a handle on the extent of the problem.

Finally, Llywydd, whilst some form of regulation in the private rented sector will not provide protection to home owners, who, I have no doubt, will also forget the risks that go along with electrical equipment, particularly mobile devices, we can all look to familiarise ourselves with the potential dangers and be more responsible in terms of how we use electrical equipment and, just as importantly, what type of electrical equipment we buy. Since my discussions with Electrical Safety First, I’ve certainly changed my behaviour in relation to how I use electrical equipment and that which I buy.

In conclusion, Llywydd, what I’m hoping for in bringing forward this debate is a discussion on reviewed consideration of introducing a regulatory regime for electrical testing in the private rented sector; further research, including changes to the information recorded by fire authorities into the causes of fires; and a general public awareness-raising campaign supported by the Welsh Government on electrical fire prevention. Let’s act now to reduce unnecessary but everyday fire risks in our homes caused by ignorance around electrical safety. Thank you.

Firstly, I would like to thank Dawn Bowden for giving me a minute in this debate. I want to cover two things: hair straighteners and chargers. Examples of fires from hair straighteners are: a woman had to be rescued from her burning home after a pair of hair straighteners were left switched on on her wooden floor and started a blaze. She had to be rescued by firefighters. Two young boys were rescued from a bedroom in a house in Pinner, north London, by firefighters after a fire was started by hair straighteners. Many people use hair straighteners. I don’t, by the way, but many people do. I don’t think the Cabinet Secretary does either, but I may be wrong. [Laughter.] Many people do. They get up to very high temperatures and they are potentially dangerous. Although neither of those led to death, if we don’t deal with it, they will eventually.

And chargers. The availability of cheap generic options online, according to fire safety experts, is highly dangerous. Chargers on auction sites can cost less than £1 and the proper ones by the manufacturer over £15. Is it any surprise people buy the cheaper ones? But what a charger does, effectively, is bring the amount of electricity—the voltage—down to the voltage needed to charge the batteries. What happens is that, if they’re generic, they may not actually work effectively, and they can lead to heat being generated. The charity Electrical Safety First found that half had been wired in a substandard component, and none met the safety requirements of the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994. Unless something is done, we’re going to have fires and people are going to die.

Thank you very much. I now call on the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, Carl Sargeant.

Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I thank the Member for raising this important issue here today. She is quite right to point out a growing and serious risk. My best wishes to your mum, as well, in terms of her home being refurbished.

Although fires and fire casualties are falling significantly, Llywydd—by around half since responsibility was devolved in 2005—we and the fire service are very proud of that, but there is no room for complacency. We’ve heard details of that today. In particular, dwelling fires from nearly all known causes have reduced, but electrical fires show a steady and sustained rise over the past 15 years or so. They are now the second commonest source of house fire after cookers.

In response, our fire services provide extensive help and advice on preventing electrical fires. For instance, over the past two years, they’ve distributed nearly 6,500 pieces of electrical safety equipment to households in need free of charge and funded by Welsh Government.

However, as we’ve heard, that hasn’t been enough to counter the worrying and sustained increase in electrical fires. Trends on this scale probably reflect underlying social change. It’s vital that we understand those changes if we are to respond effectively. And Dawn is right; the amount of chargers in properties, and gaming machines, et cetera, in these properties, has grown significantly over these years. The reasons may seem obvious, as the Member points out—all the amount of portable devices, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, e-cigarettes, cameras and so on—and recharging these is perfectly safe if it's done properly with a suitable charger. But people may be tempted to cut corners and they might use the same charger for very different devices, or a replacement charger that might be cheap but isn't safe, like Mike Hedges alluded to. Or they might overload their electric circuits by using multi-plug adapters to charge several devices at once.

A lot of the focus, Llywydd, here has been on counterfeit or unbranded electrical goods, and I recognise the safety risks that they can pose. And I welcome the work of groups like Electrical Safety First, whose campaign to raise awareness of those risks is well known. But fake products are not the only problem; they may not even be the main problem. We've heard all about the legitimate, branded products, from tumble dryers to tablets, which have recently had to be recalled because of fire risks also. What's more, fire safety is at least as much about changing behaviour as it is about product design, and I wouldn't recommend anybody going to sleep with a phone charger under their pillow; it can lead to very warm ears at the very least. Almost all products are safe if they're used properly, Llywydd, but none of them, legitimate or counterfeit, is safe if misused, or, if they're not repaired when faulty, it's important not to overlook that message.

So, the answer isn't as straightforward, and it isn't helped by the weakness in the data we have. The UK-wide system that the fire service uses to record fires and causes hasn't been kept up to date with the social and technological changes that we’ve seen, and I will look at that in detail. For instance, we know from the system exactly how many house fires started from trouser presses or welding equipment, but we don't know how many started from phone chargers or e-cigarettes, and that's certainly a sign of the times. We will continue to press for improvements in that system. To cut through this, we have started to commission some in-depth research into the problem, involving both our fire services and Electoral Safety First. It will aim to identify the causes of recent trends and the best way of tackling them, and I will keep Members informed of those details.

In the meantime, there are some simple steps that people can take to stay safe. I'd urge people to seek out and follow the advice that they get from the fire service or Electrical Safety First, and those who are particularly vulnerable or at risk should get a full home safety check from the fire service. This covers a wide range of risks, including electrical fires, and includes free safety equipment for those who need it also. Llywydd, it's a really important debate that Dawn Bowden has raised today, and it could happen to anybody and anywhere. In closing, I'd like to reiterate my thanks to Dawn for raising the issue, and I can assure her and the Assembly that we, and our colleagues in the fire service, are aiming to tackle it as swiftly and as effectively as possible. Thank you.

Thank you very much. That brings today's proceedings to a close.

The meeting ended at 17:24.