HARPER-LEE’S LAW MOVES STEP NEARER
Button battery bill goes to Commons
HARPER-LEE’S Law is a step closer to becoming a reality – following the presentation of a bill in Parliament.
Stoke-on-trent Central MP Jo Gideon presented her Button Batteries (Safety) Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday, with 11 other members co-signing it.
Mrs Gideon has proposed the legislation in response to the tragic death of two-year-old Harperlee Fanthorpe, who died after swallowing a button battery from a remote control.
Harper-lee’s mum Stacy-marie Nicklin, from Abbey Hulton, has teamed up with The Sentinel and Stokeon Trent Live to campaign for a new law that would improve safety around the use of button batteries – to prevent a similar tragedy happening again.
Button batteries, which can be found in a wide range of household items such as toys, watches and remote controls, can be very dangerous as they will burn through tissue if ingested.
Mrs Gideon’s bill would give the Government the power to introduce regulations, via statutory instrument, ‘for the purpose of reducing the risks of button batteries to the safety of children’.
Regulations could relate to the design of the batteries themselves – some campaigners have proposed non-toxic coating as a potential solution – or could force manufacturers to ensure that batteries cannot easily fall out of their products. There could also be regulations relating to safety warnings and how the batteries are displayed in supermarkets.
Private members’ bills rarely become law due to a lack of parliamentary time. But Mrs Gideon hopes presenting the bill will help raise awareness of the issue among MPS, and make legislation more likely in future.
She is also planning to arrange a series of parliamentary debates on the subject in the coming months.
Mrs Gideon said: “This is the official launch of my Westminster campaign for Harper-lee’s Law with the introduction of a Presentation Bill, the Button Batteries (Safety) Bill. Over the coming months, I plan to secure a Back Bench Debate and a Westminster Hall Debate and encourage MPS from across the House to support the campaign and sign up for action on this important issue.
“I promised Harper-lee’s family I would do everything in my power to raise awareness. I intend to keep that promise.”
Co-signatories to the bill included Crewe & Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan and former ministers Andrea Leadsom, John Hayes and Robert Halfon.
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-trent City Council leader Abi Brown has also given her backing to the Harperlee’s Law campaign.
She said the campaign was ‘really important’, adding: “We’ve seen the devastating effects that swallowing button batteries can have, especially on young children.
“Certainly at the city council we support the campaign around making these batteries safer.
“What happened to Harper-lee was awful, and her family have been very brave coming forward to tell their story and raise awareness of this issue.”