Sarah and London Lib Dems stand up to intrusive 'mosquito alarms'

9.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 11th Jul 2007

Sarah with Lewisham Cllrs Dan Houghton and Brian Robson

Sarah welcomed Lewisham Liberal Democrat Councillors Dan Houghton and Brian Robson to the European Parliament in Strasbourg where they discussed the European human rights compliance of the high-pitched 'mosquito' alarms employed by stores such as Marks & Spencers in Lewisham to disperse young people, who can hear them while older persons cannot.

Sarah said: "The use of this device raises important civil liberties questions about treatment of young people, and I think some reflection about their compatibility with standards on childrens' rights and fundamental rights would be helpful."

Sarah has also asked questions about the legality of mosquito devices in the European Parliament. Questioning the European Commission on the 3 August, she asked:

"The use of 'mosquito alarms' in the UK, audible only to younger people under the age of 25 and designed to disperse such people from locations such as supermarkets or shopping centres, raises significant health and safety, as well as human rights, concerns."

"What steps is the Commission taking to ensure that such devices are subjected to stringent testing to measure the effects on young people, particularly the very young, and to ensure that they comply with EU health and safety legislation?

"Does the Commission believe that the use of the devices raises an issue of age discrimination or other civil liberties infringement in breach of the EC or EU Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights or the European Convention on Human Rights?"

On the 5th October, the Commission replied:

"The appropriate Community health and safety legislation applying to the device known as 'mosquito alarm' is the Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC(1).

"This directive has the dual objectives of ensuring that electrical equipment within certain voltage limits is safe and that compliant products can be sold anywhere in the Community. In the former respect, safety refers not only to persons but also domestic animals and property.

"Application of the directive is by means of national implementation, and it is the Member States who are directly responsible for ensuring that only compliant and hence safe products are placed onto the national markets. The Commission is involved only where there is substantive evidence to the effect that this role is not being fulfilled, or when a notification is received that a product has been removed from the market. It can, therefore, be said that if the product is compliant with Community law as transposed it will be safe.

"The Commission understands that an independent test report conducted on behalf of the manufacturer by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in December 2005 (Ref. E05110518) identified that the 'Mosquito' had a fundamental output with a mean frequency at 16.8 kHz and maximum frequency at 18.6 kHz, with an A-weighted sound pressure level of 76 dBA at 3m. NPL confirmed that the 'Mosquito' did not present a noise hazard when assessed against the criteria detailed in the current Noise at Work Regulation 1989(2) and those in the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005(3).

"As far as the Commission is aware, noise is the only health hazard that may potentially derive from this product in respect of its intended purpose.

"The Commission is not in a position to ask the United Kingdom authorities to request that the manufacturer provides further evidence to show its product is safe. It does appear that suitable steps have been taken and, unless the Commission has reasonable cause for concern it would set a precedent to make a formal request to a national authority for this information. However, the Commission will duly examine any substantive information to this effect which the Honourable Member might wish to present to it.

"As regards alleged breach of fundamental rights, the Commission can only intervene in those situations that present a link to Community law. At this stage, the Commission would like to underline that Directive 2006/95/EC is an internal market measure; it deals with the safety of the products it covers. If a product is found to comply with the directive's safety requirements it is entitled to the benefit from free circulation within the Community unless it is shown to be unsafe. Accordingly, the Commission is unable to intervene in matters that go beyond the directive's scope.

"The Commission considers that the utilisation of the product must take place in compliance with fundamental rights. However, on matters that fall outside the scope of Community, any possible fundamental rights consideration must be addressed in the context of Member States' legal systems and procedures."

(1) Directive 2006/95/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits, OJ L 374, 27.12.2006.

(2) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1989/Uksi_19891790_en_1.htm

(3) http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051643.htm

A full list of the questions Sarah has tabled in the European Parliament is available here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sidesSearch/search.do?type=QP&term=6&author=4529&language=EN&startValue=0