Government must act to ban button batteries
There can be nothing more important for a Member of Parliament than fighting battles on behalf of their constituents. It is why we are sent to Westminster, and it is our only legitimacy.
I was called to action by grieving mother Stacy, following the tragic death of her daughter Harper-Lee Fanthorpe, in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent Central in July 2019. Since then, I have led a campaign on button battery safety, standing down from my government role in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to do so.
The campaign is so important because a button battery is far more dangerous than simply as a choking hazard, and the danger to life or risk of life-changing injuries as a result of ingesting button batteries is something that too many are unaware of.
Young children are the most at risk as they often explore small objects in their mouth, but also the visually impaired or those with learning difficulties might accidently mistake the small round object for a sweet or tablet.
When swallowed, the electric current in the battery reacts with moisture in the throat producing caustic acid which can then burn through the oesophagus and nearby blood vessels.
Last year the Harper-Lee Foundation was established as a charity. It has worked with The British and Irish and the European Portable Battery Associations and the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) to try and reduce the likelihood and frequency of children swallowing button batteries.
Our awareness campaign is designed to provide expert information and guidance to parents and professionals working with children and families on how to handle button batteries safely and the health risks associated with accidentally swallowing them.
The local launch of the Foundation was supported by the Stoke City Football Club Community Foundation and a short video was played at every home game of the season. In September 2022 Stoke City Council was the first council in the country to pass a Motion to be a Button Battery Aware Council.
I hosted the Parliamentary launch of the Foundation with our partners earlier this year. It was attended by many Members of Parliament and key agencies, who signed a pledge to be Button Battery Aware.
Last December we sadly saw another button battery death in Motherwell, Scotland. Hughie McMahon was just 17 months old. He swallowed a button battery from a toy, unlike Harper-Lee, where the battery fell out of a remote control for an LED light. This is the issue that needs addressing.
There are button batteries in so many different products that a child may come into contact with that a standard that just applies to a single type of product, such as toys, is not the answer. We need what is called a horizontal standard – which means it applies to anything containing a button battery.
Government has listened to the Harper-Lee's Law campaign and is actively engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to improve safety standards. There may well be an opportunity to include legislation in a general bill on safety standards. However, this will take time and before then we must look at practical actions to improve button battery safety voluntarily.
I also will be calling on trade bodies, manufacturers and retailers to commit to be button battery aware by applying these standards to their products or requiring it of their members or suppliers, and I hope the media will add its weight to the excellent campaigning of the Stoke Sentinel, whose efforts have been recognised as a finalist in this year’s Regional Press Awards in the category of Campaign of the Year.
The end goal, which is backed by evidence from around the world, is to legislate for minimum standards. The US are looking at the issue and legislation in Australia has taken effect this year, after an eight-year campaign following the deaths of three young children. It imposes significant fines for businesses and individuals that breach this safety law.
There is still much to do to ensure button battery safety throughout the lifecycle of the product, from point of sale to safe disposal, and more data to be gathered to better understand and quantify the incidents of ingestion. On a positive note, since the campaign started, an innovative product, the Battguard, has been developed for the safe storage and disposal of button and coin batteries and is being launched soon.
For more information about the campaign to introduce Harper-Lee’s Law and to show your support, please sign the petition on the Harper-Lee Foundation website: https://harperleefoundation.org.uk
Jo Gideon is the former Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central.
