Huge thanks to Naila Mansour and her family for this new case study see see https://www.co-gassafety.co.uk/case-studies/non-fatal/ It’s second down as we put case studies in the chronological order they happened.

We are hugely grateful to Naila and her family. Thank you.

Please view this report – we find it appalling.

https://www.fuelbankfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Fuel-Bank-Whitepaper-3.2.2022-fbf013-1.pdf

This is the final week of the APPCOG summer carbon monoxide campaign.

The bank holiday is coming up so we ask you to take special care with regard to BBQs, gas lights (e.g. in tents or boats) and exhaust fumes from cars, lorries etc. and particularly from generators. Don’t ever allow fumes from generators to spill into tents – we’ve recorded a death from that.

Please don’t put a used BBQ in a tent to ‘tidy up’ or prevent tripping. It may look out and be cold to the touch at the top but there may be embers still active inside. We’ve recorded a death and serious injury from that. Try to find some way of disposing of it safely. We suggest putting it in a bowl and damping it down with water to make sure it’s completely out but even then, be careful disposal doesn’t cause any problems. 

Lastly, if you haven’t already done so, please arrange a maintenance visit for your carbon fuelled appliances e.g. gas boiler, cooker, fire etc. With gas the engineer must by law by Gas Safe Registered. Check the engineer on the Gas Safe Register. See https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/

Please have chimneys & flues swept and checked.

Ensure adequate ventilation to make sure that there is enough oxygen at the flame to prevent carbon monoxide in the first place.

Well maintained appliances with clean and clear flues are not only safer but are more energy efficient.

As an extra safeguard, please buy a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarm to EN or BS 50291. Please get it out of the box and read the instructions about how to get it going and where to put it. Battery ones are easy to set up and last about 10 years. We recommend ones with sealed batteries so you are not tempted to take them out and give them to someone who needs a battery and then forget to replace them. 

If your CO alarm alarms with a loud noise similar to a smoke alarm, please DON’T IGNORE IT. CO alarms are set to alarm at a level you should not ignore – please get out of the house and ring the gas emergency number 0800 111999. The gas emergency service doesn’t test the air or appliances for CO as standard (although Cadent has undertaken about 300 investigations into CO for vulnerable customers) but they will turn off the gas, open the windows and doors  (if you haven’t already done so) and make sure you are safe.

We hope you’ve had a great summer but we want you to have a safe and healthy autumn and winter too.

Email from Laura Fatah, Manager of APPCOG on 16.08.22

I am sorry to report that a safety warning was issued yesterday by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) (part of BEIS) on the use of gas grills on certain Belling, Stoves and New World gas range cookers manufactured by Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (GDHA).

If the gas grill is used with the door closed there is a risk that dangerous levels of carbon monoxide can build up, posing a risk of serious injury or death to those within the immediate environment.

Please do share this warning with your networks, more information is available in the full warning statement and there is also a press release.

The APPCOG has posted this tweet.

Thank you for your attention on this urgent matter.

The Focus for Week 6 is accessing support, this is particularly pressing with the cost of living crisis and the energy bills increase that has been in the media these last few weeks. Brief notes below, more to follow on Monday!

Key webpages to link to:

• GDN support for customers: Find My GDN
• Help and Support page on the campaign website: Help & Support — Carbon Monoxide: Alarms Save Lives (coalarmssavelives.com)
• Government support schemes: Cost of Living Support – Get government support to help with the cost of living
• National Energy Action: Warm and Safe Homes Advice – National Energy Action (NEA)

Quick Support Actions:

1. Like and re-tweet Barry’s opening message for week 5
2. Follow UKHSA
3. Print and display the campaign poster (attached) – take a selfie to share! Bonus points if you can put the poster up in a busy area, and even more if you can talk to someone about it.
4. Think of some one you know from a vulnerable group (vulnerable groups: pregnant women, children and babies, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions) and send them a message to tell them about the new alarm laws and make sure they are protected.

Highlights last week

• Eddie Hughes MP shared may of the campaign posts online (1 August, 2 August, 28 July)
• The APPCOG published a summary on the new guidance for alarms in England, please read and share
• Visit England Biz’s tweet received over 40 RTs – an amazing achievement!
• APPCOG tweets are being shared and liked by Landlord Today and Letting Agent Today – two key accounts for private landlords (pls follow them!). Both outlets also published articles on the new alarms guidance this week.

From Monday, Week 5 will focus on vulnerable groups: pregnant women, children and babies, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions. In addition, we have included an asset for homeowners and another video, this time aimed at those living in Scotland. Both these new assets are included in the weekly download: Download Campaign Asset Kit — Carbon Monoxide: Alarms Save Lives (coalarmssavelives.com)

• Please tag @UKHSA in your posts – the tweet shared by UKHSA in CO Awareness Week (last November) generated over a million impressions, it would be amazing if we could support them to recognise the campaign this summer!

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance for landlords and tenants – GOV.UK PUBLISHED on Friday 29 July 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have published their guidance on the new regulations for England – just in time for the theme this week!

• For landlords and tenants: Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance for landlords and tenants – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• For local authorities: Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance for local authorities – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Approved Document J guidance: Approved Document J 2022 amendments: circular 03/2022 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Quick Support actions:

• Share our post about the new alarms guidance!
• Follow the campaign TikTok Account account here.
• Tell one person you know – either a tenant or a landlord – about the new laws so they can get ready

Parliamentarians in the media

• Last Wednesday, Alex Cunningham MP delivered a fantastic interview, live on BBC Radio Tees with Scott Makin! Listen again here, the interview starts at 1:15:30 in online the recording (available for 4 weeks)
• Last Monday, Barry Sheerman MP was featured in Huddersfield Hud on the APPCOG’s campaigning for the incoming regulations – with a quote from Steve Dacre at NGN.

There has also been lots of brilliant radio coverage featuring a range of stakeholders – thanks so much to everyone who has contributed as a spokesperson, this is a great way to get our message out to the public! A full report on all media will be circulate once the campaign has closed.

This week are focusing on the new government guidance for the incoming regulations in England. You can download the Assets for Week 4 now!

Week 3: Carbon Monoxide Alarms Save Lives

For the third week of the campaign, we are going deeper into the alarms messaging, and informing people why they need to buy the right kind of alarm and get to know how to use it. The Alarms 1-page guide reviews key features to consider when choosing an alarm.

Some of the more intricate messages about alarms are detailed and can vary between products, in this instance we have suggested people read the manufacturers guide, which will usually be available online.

In addition to the statement from Baroness Finlay, I have attached a position guide image from HETAS, which may be useful to share if you think this would be relevant to your audience.

Thanks so much to everyone for making a huge noise about carbon monoxide alarms!

Let’s keep it up to make sure everyone hears our message!

The full assets for week 3 are now available for download: Download Campaign Asset Kit — Carbon Monoxide: Alarms Save Lives (coalarmssavelives.com)

Take the quiz about carbon monoxide – https://form.typeform.com/to/Fecpvby8

Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations: Are you ready?

Independent, registered charity CO-Gas Safety supports parliamentary campaign on

carbon monoxide alarms

This year, the laws are changing for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in homes in the UK, meaning that many more domestic properties will be legally required to have such alarms.

To raise awareness of the new rules, CO-Gas Safety is delighted to support the Carbon Monoxide Alarms Save Lives campaign, which will run from 11 July to 28 August this year. The campaign is being supported by Britain’s four gas distribution networks: Wales & West Utilities, SGN, Northern Gas Networks, and Cadent. Each week there will be new digital resources to download via the campaign homepage.

The campaign will explain what carbon monoxide is, how to stay safe, and why households need to install carbon monoxide alarms. Carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled, making alarms vital.  Homes need to have an alarm that can alert occupants to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to protect them from serious harm or even death.

‘CO-Gas Safety has been lobbying for raised awareness and testing of Carbon Monoxide since its launch in 1995. We believed that CO alarms would save lives and managed to join the British Standards committee on CO alarms as soon as we could. We were delighted by the EN standard 50291. CO alarms to EN 50291 bought direct from the manufacturers or from reputable retailers (e.g. DIY stores/supermarkets) do save lives. Please be aware that CO alarms are no substitute for regular servicing by qualified people and chimney/flue cleaning. CO alarms, even to EN 50291 are not health monitors. Please buy one now, get it out of the box and get it working. Your life or that of your loved ones may well depend on it! Thank you.’

The change to the law follows years of campaigning by the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group, and others which CO-Gas Safety is proud to support.

Barry Sheerman MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group says:

“By making carbon monoxide alarms a legal requirement, governments are sending a strong message – carbon monoxide is seriously harmful. If you don’t have an alarm, you need to get one for your home as soon as possible.

“Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill. It can cause harm to our vital organs and is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and children. Please join our campaign to spread the word about carbon monoxide alarms this summer – and make sure your home is protected.”

You can get involved with the campaign too – check out the campaign homepage from 11 July 2022 or email laura.fatah@policyconnect.org.uk to sign up for the weekly campaign emails.

For help understanding these duties and regulations, or to seek legal advice, please contact Citizens Advice, who provide a free advice service for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Notes for editors

What is carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide can form when any carbon-based fuel is burnt. Typical sources include gas appliances, petrol engines, and solid fuel (e.g., fires and stoves). The NHS states that severe carbon monoxide poisoning causes around 60 accidental deaths in England and Wales every year. Exposure to carbon monoxide at sub-lethal levels causes common, non-specific symptoms, (e.g., headaches, nausea, dizziness), and therefore is thought to be under-reported.

The regulations for each nation in detail

Scotland

Since February 1^st, 2022, all Scottish homes are required to have a carbon monoxide alarm in all rooms where there is a fixed combustion appliance (excluding an appliance used solely for cooking) or a flue. In rented properties, landlords are responsible for supplying the alarm. Carbon monoxide alarms must meet the relevant British Standards (EN 50291-1), and must have ‘a sealed battery for the duration of its lifespan’ to prevent tampering or the need for battery changes.

England

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 will come into force on October 1^st, 2022, in England following debate in the Second Committee for Delegated Legislation on June 20^th and approval in the House of Commons on June 21st. These changes will require carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in all rented accommodation and new build properties where there is a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. Carbon monoxide alarms are also required when a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers) is first installed in any home. Both private and social sector landlords will have a duty to repair or replace alarms, once informed that they are faulty.

Wales

The Welsh Government recently announced that it will bring forward changes from December 2022 1^st (delayed from July 15^th, 2022) with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which under the regulations for Fitness for human habitation (FFHH) will require landlords to ensure working carbon monoxide detectors are fitted in their properties where there is any gas appliance, an oil-fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance.

Northern Ireland

Carbon monoxide alarms are a mandatory requirement for all homes where a new fossil fuel appliance is installed in Northern Ireland, after a change to The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 came into operation on 31 October 2012. The Private Tenancies Act, which requires carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in privately rented homes and places a duty on landlords to repair them, received Royal Assent on 27 April 2022.

About the All-Party Group

The All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) is the leading forum for parliamentarians from both the Houses of Commons and Lords to work together to address carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Through its busy programme of events and research, the Group seeks to push the vital issue of carbon monoxide safety up the political agenda, to improve government policy, to support research and to raise public awareness of the threat posed by carbon monoxide. The All-Party Group is supported by the think tank Policy Connect and receives funding from the four Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs) to carry out its work.

For more information, please email the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG), Laura Fatah at laura.fatah@polciyconnect.org.uk