Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress he has made in negotiations with the European Commission on a derogation from the ban on the import or manufacture of incandescent bulbs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker

Responsibility for energy-using products policy, including negotiations for product-specific regulations under the Ecodesign for Energy-related Products Directive, was transferred from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 3rd March 2014.

There are no provisions allowing the European Commission or individual Member States to create exemptions from Regulation 244/2009, which phases out of incandescent bulbs.

The UK has been proactive in pressing to ensure EU policy and legislation takes full account of the potential health implications of artificial lighting, and has raised the issue in two recent meetings in Brussels. EC regulation 244/2009 will be reviewed later this year and we will continue to press for potential health implications to be considered.