Grace Roseman

REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS

THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO:

Bednest Ltd

Unit A, Drayton Manor Office Buildings
Drayton Manor Drive

Stratford upon Avon,

CV37 9RQ

CORONER

| am Penelope Schofield, Senior Coroner, for the area of West Sussex.

CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS

| make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and regulations
28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013.

INVESTIGATION and INQUEST

On 10" April 2015 | commenced an investigation into the death of Grace Joy Roseman. The
investigation concluded after a three day Inquest held between the 14" to 16" December 2016. The
conclusion of the Inquest was Accidental Death.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH

1.

2.

Grace Joy Roseman was born on 18" February 2015 at 41 weeks and 4 days.

A few months before she was born (in late November/Early December 2015) her parents were
given a secondhand NCT Bednest crib. The crib did not come with any written instructions and
there were no instructions on the crib itself. :

The crib was manufactured by Bednest but was cobranded with NCT and bore the label NCT
Bednest, Before being marketed it had been passed as compliant by the FIFA test house in
relation to BS EN 1130 standard.

Having been given the crib I decided that she wanted her own mattress and
purchased the “Little Green Sheep” mattress, which met the size specifications stipulated by
Bednest, through the NCT website.

When Grace was born it became clear that she disliked sleeping on her back so
had to resort to placing Grace in the prone position when she started sleeping in the crib. As a
safety measure her husband placed a breathing pad under the mattress.

6. rama always used the crib with one of the sides of the crib (the side closest to the bed)
I

n its half lowered position. At no time did she realise that it would be unsafe to do so.

On 9" April 2015 Grace was put to sleep in her NCT Bednest crib following an early mornin
feed. Her mother again placed her in the prone position. Sometime after 6.30 am _—
went downstairs with her other daughter At around 8.30 she came back upstairs but
Grace was still asleep. Not wanting to disturb her Mrs Roseman went back downstairs.

5981872.1

8. At around 10.00, after having a bath, [J went into the room where Grace was
sleeping. There she found Grace lying sideways with her head over the half lowered side wall of
the Cot. The right side of her head and neck was purple.

9. SE mediately took Grace to the hospital (which was very close by) but sadly
the Doctors were unable to revive her.

10. Following her death a Post Mortem examination was undertaken \ RT and the
medical cause of death given was postural asphyxia. Following evidence at the Inquest the
cause of death was amended to pressure on the carotid sinus leading to positional asphyxia.

11. During the Inquest four experts were called to give evidence and they were all satisfied that,
despite her age, it would have been possible for Grace to have got her head over the half
lowered side of the crib. They also agreed that once in this position she would not have been
able to remove herself from it.

12. Despite the certification that had been provided by FIRA the experts instructed by Trading
Standards, who gave evidence at the hearing, took the view that the product was unsafe when
being used with the half folded down side, whether or not the infant was being supervised.

13. Since Grace’s death Bednest have modified the crib so that the sides can no longer be lowered
to a half way position. They have tried to contact as many of their customers as they can and
where requested they have sent out modification kits to these customers

CORONER’S CONCERNS

During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there
is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken. In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to
report to you.

The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows.

(a) Whilst it is accepted that following Grace death (and the issue of an earlier Prevention of Future
death report) that Bednest have now modified their crib there has throughout my investigation
been reluctance by the Company to fully accept that there was any real risk of death of infants
when using the crib with the half lowered side.

No new cribs are being issued without this modification however | am concerned that out in the
marketplace there are a large number of these cribs without the modification. In particular:-

(i) Where Bednest Cribs are still in the hands of customers who are unaware of the need to
modify the crib
(ii) Where customers have the modification kit but who still think that it is an optional feature

(iii) Those cribs being passed on or are being sold in the secondhand market.

| consider that the issues raised in this case should be addressed so that future deaths do not occur in
similar circumstances and that action should be taken to reduce the risk of deaths of other infants..

ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and | believe you have the power to take
such action by addressing these issues.

1 5981872.1

YOUR RESPONSE

You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report, namely by 13"
February 2017. I, the coroner, may extend the period.

Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out the timetable for
action. Otherwise you must explain why no action is proposed.

COPIES and PUBLICATION

| have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested Persons:

1
2. NCT
3. West Sussex Trading Standards

| am also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your response.

The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted or summary form. He may senda
copy of this report to any person who he believes may find it useful or of interest. You may make

representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your response, about the se or the publication of
your response by the Chief Coroner.

DATE: 19" December 2016 SIGNED: Penelope Schofield, Senior Coroner, West Sussex

2 . 5981872.1

Penelope Schofield

Senior Coroner- West Sussex
Record Office

3 Orchard Street

Chichester

West Sussex

PO19 1DD

13th February 2017
Dear Ms Schofield,
Regulation 28 Reports dated 21 April 2015 and 19 December 2016

We write in response to the two Regulation 28 Reports that you have issued for the Company's
attention.

Bednest first learnt of the tragic death of Grace Roseman on receipt of your Regulation 28 Report of
21 April 2015. Everyone at Bednest was deeply shocked, saddened and greatly distressed to learn
of this tragic incident. Bednest repeats its sincere condolences to the Roseman family.

We respond below to the points raised in relation to each report in turn.
Regulation 28 Reports
In your report dated 21 April 2015 (‘your first report’) you identified 6 areas of concern as follows:
1. The manufacturer's website clearly shows pictures of babies in these cots
with the sides in the incompletely lowered position.
2. The manufacturer's instructions with this cot indicate that a baby should not
be left unattended other than when both sides of the bednest are up and
secure. In addition any tilt applied to the cot should be restricted to less than 5
cm. However this is of little assistance to anyone who has been given a secondhand
cot without these instructions being readily available. There are no

wamings on the cot itself.

3. Should another baby be placed in the prone position and left with the side
incompletely lowered again in one of these cots, another death could occur.

4. If the cot side is not safe to be incompletely lowered or for the cot to be tilted
more than 5cm then it should be questioned as to whether these should be
options available at all.

5. These cots are currently available to be purchased through the

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058
Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ
Telephone: 01926 350197

manufacturer, NCT and other leading stores

6. There are a large number of second-hand cots being marketed for sale.

In the Regulation 28 Report dated 19 December (‘your second report’), you identified 3 areas of
concern:

e Where Bednest Cribs are still in the hands of customers who are unaware of the need to
modify the crib.

e Where customers have the modification kit but still think that it is an optional feature

e The risk of unmodified cribs being passed on or being sold in the second hand market

Actions Taken

We were completely shocked and greatly distressed to learn of this tragic incident from your first
report. As a company our ethos is centred entirely on the wellbeing of children and providing a safe
environment for infants to sleep.

At the time of receipt of your report we had very limited information about what had happened to
Grace Roseman. We responded swiftly to obtain as much information as possible to inform our
decision making; we liaised closely with the regulatory authorities, took expert advice, and
implemented appropriate corrective action in conjunction with the regulatory authorities in light of the
evolving information and expert evidence.

We set out below a summary of the action that we have taken:

1. Wedo not have, and have never had, any photographs of the Bednest being used with a baby
as a free-standing crib with the side in the half-down position. There was one photograph on
the website of a mother in bed beside her baby with the side in the half-folded position and
with the mother’s eyes closed. We removed this photograph from the website soon after
receiving your report. No such photos in the control of the Company have appeared in any
Bednest publicity material since then. Following product modifications detailed below, the half
fold side feature has been removed; all photographs within our control of the Bednest with the
half fold side have been removed as the product no longer has this feature.

2. The instructions for the Bednest have always been available free of charge from the company
to anyone who requested them. An up-to-date instruction booklet is of course sent out every
time a Bednest is rented, and with every new or ex-rental Bednest sold. A copy of the
instructions, in their current form, are also now available by direct download on the Bednest
website.

3. In addition, we have added new warning labels on the Bednest itself and its stand. These
include:

a. A warning not to use the Bednest without reading the “user guide”;

b. An instruction on the side panels of the crib that “both sides must be fully up and
secured when baby is unattended or at any time when the crib is free-standing”, and
c. A warning on the stand to “never raise one end of this stand by more than 5cm/2

inches higher than the other end” together with instructions on how to measure this.

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058
Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ
Telephone: 01926 350197

4. In light of evolving expert evidence and following consultation with the relevant regulatory
authorities, we modified the Bednest Crib in November 2015 so as to remove the “half-down”
functionality with the result that the side next to the parental bed can only be fully up or fully
down. It is therefore no longer possible for any crib supplied after November 2015, to be left
with the side half down. This modification was made on the basis of the “precautionary
principle” in light of different opinions expressed by leading paediatricians as to the possibility
of a baby being able to manoeuvre itself into the type of position in which Grace Roseman
was reportedly found. As a company, we took the decision to modify our product on a
voluntary basis so as to eliminate any possible risk arising from the half-folding side,
notwithstanding the differences of opinion between experts and the absence of any reports of
incidents of a similar nature in either the UK or US in relation to the millions of bedside sleepers
sold with sides of a similar height.

5. The bulk of our business in the UK in recent years has been rental, and we have modified our
entire rental stock.

6. In relation to cribs already in the market, we worked in collaboration with Trading Standards,
NCT, product recall consultants and product designers, to design a simple self-fit modification
kit that safely removes the half-fold capability, along with simple instructions and an online
video demonstration that only requires 77 seconds to view. We also take the opportunity to
include updated labels in the kit to bring the Bednest up to the latest specification. The kit, and
its suitability for home fit by our purchasers, was tested and approved by the leading testing
house, FIRA.

7. In consultation with Trading Standards, product recall consultants and working with NCT we
have endeavoured to directly contact all our customers and all NCT customers, to alert them
to the hazard and motivate them to modify their Bednest, and to pass this information to
anyone they had passed the Bednest to. This direct contact has consisted of a campaign of
repeated emails, and letters for the small number for whom no email address was available.
We included anybody on relevant databases who had purchased even just a replacement
mattress or other accessory. NCT conducted a similar campaign to their known customers, as
well as to 100,000 members, and passed details to us for follow up.

8. A RAPEX safety notification (being the appropriate form of regulatory response) was sent out
29" July 2016 alerting all EU member states of the risk posed by the half folding site and the
modification kit. The RAPEX notice was published on the internet including on Trading
Standards own sites.

9. As you are aware, the fact of inquest was very widely reported, before, during and after the
inquest. Prior to the inquest, IR cis featured in a number of media outlets,
including BBC programme Watchdog, to talk about the tragic death of Grace. We were
contacted by these media organisations and alerted them to the modification and how this
should be obtained. Watchdog has an average audience of 4-5million viewers. We also
provided details of our modification kit and how this could be obtained for publishing on the
Watchdog website. The story was also in The Sunday Times, The Mail on Sunday, The Mirror
and The Telegraph amongst other regional news outlets as well as featuring on the BBC
website and news App both as a report on the tragic incident and also as a dedicated ‘Bednest
and safety: what you need to know’ article. In each story details of how the modification kit
can be obtained has been publicised.

10. In addition, immediately following the Inquest, there was a high volume of press enquiries. | |
appeared on ITV’s This Morning, Channel 4 evening news, Radio 5 Live,
BBC local and national news and ITV news. On each occasion that we were contacted by the
press we provided full details of the modification in order to publicise the modification to as
wide an audience as possible. In addition to the television and radio interviews, the
modification was publicised in the print edition of The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail,

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058
Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ
Telephone: 01926 350197

The Mirror, The Sun, The Independent, The Guardian and a number of local newspapers as
well as appearing in the online versions of those newspapers. Overall the details of the
availability of the modification kit has had an audience that we estimate to be tens of millions.

11. We have been working with our safety notification expert consultants to identify how best to
harness publicity for the benefit of our corrective action campaign in order to maximize the
prospects of reaching individuals who might be in possession of an unmodified Bednest crib.
In particular, our campaign has used social media sites, including Facebook, to publicise the
warning and modification. Since 28" December this campaign rapidly reached over 225,000
people on Facebook and remains active on the Bednest Facebook page.

12.On 21 December 2016 a further email campaign was launched, following consultation with
RQA, Warwickshire and West Sussex Trading Standards, to the entire Bednest database,
including all Bednest purchasers and those who had purchased any accessories. In this email
we warned consumers as to the immediate risk of death if the Bednest was used with the side
partially lowered and stated that the Bednest must not be used without the modification kit.
The email was sent to people who already had the modification kit and urged them to fit the
modification kit if they had not already done so. We have followed up with a campaign of
repeat sending. We attach a copy of this email (Attachment 1).

13.In our communications, customers are offered the option of fitting the modification kit
themselves or having the Bednest collected, modified by us and returned, if they do not wish
to apply the modification kit themselves.

14. We have consulted with NCT to ensure that its database was also being contacted and that
there would be a consistency of message. We understand that NCT sent a message to all of
its database immediately following the Inquest, and they have regularly provided us with
details of customers to send kits to.

15. Our communications to Bednest and NCT customers regarding the modification kits have also
asked them to pass on details of how to obtain the modification kit to anyone to whom they
may have given or sold their Bednest.

16. The first phase of corrective action, in accordance with the advice we received from recall
experts, was to supply modification kits to customers who had responded directly to our
communications. The advice we received from recall experts and Trading Standards was that
the uptake we received from this first phase was strong by industry standards. Secondly,
following the inquest, we instigated a further email campaign, warning consumers as to the
immediate risk of death.

17. Our third phase of corrective action is to send a modification kit to all known purchasers who
had not previously requested one. This is a joint action with NCT. We have hired extra staff to
enable us to carry this out and we anticipate that we will have completed this third phase, by
the end of March 2017. We attach a copy of the letter which accompanies the modification kit
sent from Bednest (Attachment 2).

18. We have a dedicated 24 hour hotline to assist with the supply of modification kits and to deal
with any enquiries from consumers about the modification.

19. All rental Bednest cribs have been examined and modified, either by the customer or at source
by Bednest staff.

20. Purchasers of new replacement mattresses or refurbishments kits receive updated safety
warnings about the product, and we believe we are the sole supplier of replacement
mattresses. The only previous supplier we are aware of are Little Green Sheep who we believe
no longer supply mattresses described as for the Bednest. We are working with Trading
Standards to request Little Green Sheep to supply their past customers with the safety notice
and appropriate instructions in relation to the modification.

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058
Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ
Telephone: 01926 350197

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

In addition, prominent information is displayed on our website, including the home page, with
easy click- ordering of modification kits. We have worked with Trading Standards, both before
and since the inquest, to ensure that safety notices are in an appropriate form and have been
appropriately updated in light of emerging information. We attach a screenshot showing the
current homepage of the Bednest website (Attachment 3). As you will see, the safety warning
is highly prominent, uses bold and red font and is the first thing anybody would see when
visiting the website. The safety warning advises consumers that they must not use the Bednest
Crib unless it is modified. It also advises of the risk of rapid injury or death of using the
unmodified Bednest with the side in the half fold position. The Bednest blog and FAQ have
similarly been updated as appropriate in light of emerging information and similarly advises
that the unmodified Bednest cribs must not be used. We attach a screenshot of our most
recent blog post (Attachment 4).

We continue to work with Trading Standards in the daily monitoring of second hand reseller
sites on the internet including Ebay, Gumtree and Shpock. Trading Standards have contacted
these sites directly advising them not to sell unmodified Bednest cribs. Ebay have agreed not
to list any unmodified Bednest cribs. At present Shpock have also advised that they have
stopped the sale of any unmodified Bednest cribs and deleted all historic adverts which relate
to unmodified Bednest cribs. We contact sellers where the listing is ambiguous to inform that
the modification kit must be fitted. Despite assurances above we still keep a regular check on
these websites in case some adverts are missed by their monitoring process.

We have also liaised with the Charity Retailers Association to inform them of the risk of the
half fold side and the modification kit. They have included information as to the modification
kit in their newsletter and put the information on their website.

Our work with Trading Standards has led us to work with TE head of the
Institute of Health Visiting about the ways in which Health Visitors, who routinely go directly in
to the homes of new parents to advise on safe sleep and where appropriate inform them about
the modification and the safety risk associated with the half fold side. The Institute have 6000
health visitors as members but we understand that when they publicise on Facebook they
reach up to around 9000 of the nearly 12000 population of health visitors. Further we have
been advised that their posts can reach upwards of 50,000 or more interested parties. We
attach a copy of their communication to members (Attachment 5).

We note that you raised the “tilt” option of the crib in your first report. The tilt function was
designed to help babies who suffer from reflux. We have introduced a new label on the crib
which emphasises the maximum tilt and explains how to measure the maximum tilt level in a
clear and simple manner. The NHS Choices website recommends some crude ways of tilting
a baby’s sleep surface to help with reflux. We believe that the Bednest's bespoke tilt design
is safer and more suitable than the uncontrolled and ad hoc alternatives, such as the use of
books placed under crib legs or a pillow placed under the mattress as advised by NHS
Choices. Our design team also informed us that it would be impossible to remove the tilt
function from the stand whilst preserving the ability to adjust the Bednest accurately to the
same level as the parental mattress — which is an important factor in making the Bednest as
safe as possible and fit for purpose.

Following your first report, NCT suspended all sales of Bednest and it has not been sold by
NCT since. The NCT has also closed down its trading arm and no longer markets any baby
products at all. Bednest no longer sell to any other retail channels in the UK. The Bednest
product remains available for renting and purchase from Bednest Ltd in its modified form with
additional labelling.

Conclusion

We have worked at all times in consultation with Trading Standards and product safety and recall
experts. By modifying the product and sending a modification kit to all known purchasers of the

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058

Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ

Telephone: 01926 350197

Bednest crib, we believe that we have taken the most appropriate and effective corrective action
possible. We believe that the corrective action taken also addresses the various issues raised in your
Regulation 28 Reports and has achieved the best practical results possible in the field.

Our corrective action efforts continue, including on-going monitoring and identification of second-hand
users through our replacement mattress sales and the monitoring of on-line private sales. We
currently maintain prominent information about the modification kit on our website.

Our efforts are ongoing and we are committed to a long term programme of identifying any unmodified
Bednest cribs and modifying them as they emerge for reuse in the future. Trading Standards are
satisfied with our actions and continued cooperation. As a company we are hugely committed to
ensuring that effective corrective action continues.

Bednest Limited believes that it has fully addressed the issues which you have raised in your
Regulation 28 Reports.

Yours sincerely,

Bednest Limited

Bednest Limited
Company Number: 05322058
Registered Office: Unit A Drayton Manor Office Buildings, Drayton Manor Drive, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 9RQ
Telephone: 01926 350197

a

Department for
Business, Energy
& Industrial Strategy

Margot James MP

Department for Business, Energy &
Industrial Strategy

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H OET

+44 (0) 20 7215 5000

T
E  enquiries@beis.gov.uk
W www.gov.uk

Ms Penelope Schofield

HM Senior Coroner for West Sussex Po
Coroner’s Office

West Sussex Record Office

Orchard Street

Chichester

West Sussex PO19 1DD 13 February 2017

Dear Penelope,

Thank you for your Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths dated 19 December 2016
following your investigation and inquest into the death of Grace Joy Roseman, aged 7 weeks,
due to accidental death caused by the drop down side of a second-hand NCT bedside sleeper.
lam responding as the Minister responsible for product safety.

May | first say how sorry | was to hear of this unfortunate accident - if you have the opportunity
would you please convey my deepest sympathies to her —— fl
ee their family? My Department takes the safety of all consumers very seriously.

As you know, bedside sleepers fall within scope of the General Product Safety Directive
(GPSD), which is implemented in the UK through the General Product Safety Regulations
2005 (GPSR). These require that all products placed on the market, including second hand
products, must be safe under normal and reasonably foreseeable conditions of use. In
assessing the safety of a product, account is taken of a number of factors including labelling,
instructions for use and adherence to standards. In your report you have expressed four main
concerns:

e whether the current standard for Cribs and Cradles for Domestic Use BS EN 1130 -
1:1997 and 2:1996 adequately addresses the safety concerns related to this type of
product;

e the number of other products of a similar nature being marketed that pose a similar risk;

e the response from industry about the possible risk of death from partially lowered sides;
and finally

e the need for standards which relate to the safety of products for children to be drafted or
revised with the contribution of experts in paediatric medicine and child development to
ensure that the standard properly reflects current scientific knowledge.

1) The current standard for Cribs and Cradles for Domestic Use BS EN 1130 — 1:1997
and 2:1996

Standards are reviewed every 5 years following their initial publication and in June 2013 the
decision was made to amend EN 1130 in line with the most updated hazard based approach,
taking into account latest products including bedside sleepers. The draft is currently with
national standardisation bodies to comment and in the UK this is the British Standards Institute
(BSI). BSI has already contributed substantial comments specifically as a result of the death

of Grace. A BSI committee meeting took place on the 24th January 2017 and the ‘bedside
sleeper baby death case’ was included on the agenda. West Sussex Trading Standards
attended the meeting to provide their account of the incident and to express your concerns.

Work is progressing and draft EN 1130 now has a proposed section (Section 8.10 Hazards
due to bed side sleeping) for bedside sleepers identifying their dangers. Clause 8.10.1
Hazards due to the drop side concerning alignment between the drop side of the bedside
sleeper and the bed requires the bed mattress to be aligned or higher than the drop edge of
the bedside sleeper so that there is no residual height difference between the bedside sleeper
and the bed.

Again, as a direct consequence to the tragedy, the proposed warnings in clause 9.3.4
Information for bedside sleeper will be required including — “WARNING: to avoid hazards
from the infant’s neck being caught on the top rail on the side that is next to the adult
bed, the top rail must be no higher than the adult bed mattress.” There are also a number
of other requirements to address other hazards that could be present.

The Chair and members of the BSI committee will represent the UK interests ata CEN
(European Committee for Standardisation) Working Group on Childcare Articles on 21/22
February. CEN has invited West Sussex Trading Standards to the meeting to give a
presentation regarding the incident involving the bedside sleeper with a view to providing
further insight into the nature and severity of potential hazards.

Following that meeting we should have a better understanding of the likely timeframe for the
proposed changes to EN 1130.

2) The number of other products of a similar nature being marketed that pose a similar
risk

All products supplied or placed on the UK market are required to be safe under the General
Product Safety Regulations. This includes similar products to bedside sleepers; competent
authorities can use the GPSR to remove products they consider unsafe. The Government
recognises the seriousness of this issue, and my officials at BEIS will work with stakeholders
to review the guidance currently available to retailers and manufacturers to determine if it is fit
for purpose, which will help to ensure they fully understand their responsibilities and how to
comply with them.

3) The response from the industry to the possible risk of death from partially lowered
sides

| believe that the majority of manufacturers take the safety of their products and the intended
end users very seriously. | have recently tasked the Working Group on Product Recalls and
Safety to explore how to increase both business and consumer awareness on the issues of
product safety. My officials at BEIS will work with industry stakeholders such as the British
Retail Consortium and the Baby Products Association to ensure their members are aware of
their obligations under product safety legislation not only to produce only safe products but
also their obligation to notify and remove unsafe products as quickly as possible.

4) The need for standards which relate to the safety of products for children to be
drafted or revised with the contribution of experts in paediatric medicine and child
development to ensure that the standard properly reflects current scientific
knowledge

The Chair of BSI Childcare Committee (CW/1) is Robert Anslow, Managing Director of the
Baby Products Association. This is the UK trade body for the childcare industry and organises
the annual UK Nursery Fair. Mr Anslow is an active member of several CEN working groups

as well as a convenor of the CEN TC252 WG 4, early learning and protection working group
and has been involved in standardisation for more than 20 years. Other members of the
Committee include a broad cross-section of industry such as Mamas and Papas, Mothercare,
Furniture Industry Research Association, Bureau Veritas, and The Lullaby Trust amongst
others. The committee members are experts with considerable skill and experience in their
fields. My officials at BEIS will discuss with BSI how to ensure that paediatric advice is fed into
the revision of the standard.

In addition, all draft EN standards are presented for public comment prior to publication and
anyone from members of the public to paediatric experts have the opportunity to comment.
They are also able to put themselves forward to become members of a committee.

In addition to the work being undertaken to revise the standard, my department will continue to
engage with stakeholders and delivery partners to gather further intelligence on products such
as these. This evidence will be fed into any discussions regarding the development of the
standard and others in the area of childcare products. In addition, we will be engaging with
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) on whether there is a need to
improve general guidance and raise consumer awareness surrounding the sleep environment.

| hope that | have adequately conveyed that following the unfortunate death of Grace Joy
Roseman, and as a direct result of her death, action is being taken by industry and
standardisation bodies to effect a number of changes to improve the standard and to better
ensure all cots, sleepers and cribs are safe.

Thank you for bringing this important issue to my attention, and | hope | have reassured you
that the Government is working with stakeholders to avoid further tragedies like this in future.

Kom wi SLA

MARGOT JAMES MP
Minister for Small Business, Consumers & Corporate Responsibility