A new cross-industry body dedicated to tackling the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK will formally launch today (Monday 15th October) in Parliament.
The Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum will work to bring together key policymakers, industry and charities in order to share knowledge, coordinate campaigns and collectively inform policymaking across the carbon monoxide agenda. It will be chaired by former energy minister David Kidney, now Head of Policy at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
The Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum Action Forum will act as a ‘sister group’ to the newly-retitled All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group, co-chaired by Barry Sheerman MP, Jason McCartney MP and Baroness Finlay. The long-standing Parliamentary Group was until recently named the All-Party Parliamentary Gas Safety Group, but has altered its name to reflect its new remit to tackle carbon monoxide poisoning from all sources, such as solid fuel fires, oil and BBQs, and not just gas appliances.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum, chair David Kidney said: “The Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum has a huge role to play in bringing together all the key organisations committed to tackling the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK. By working closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group, we can not only help raise public awareness of the danger of CO, but crucially help to inform and improve policymaking across the sector. If we are going to eradicate CO deaths in the UK, then we need not only greater dialogue between policymakers, industry, the key charities and the media, but we need to coordinate our efforts. The All Fuels Action Forum is the body that can bring about precisely that collaboration.”
The creation of the Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum was one of the key recommendations made in Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, the 2011 Report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Barry Sheerman MP, co-chair of the newly retitled All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group said: “The Parliamentary Group has a new name, and the reason for it is simple: Gas is not the only source of carbon monoxide poisoning. If we are going to stop carbon monoxide deaths in this country, then we need effective policy and safety standards governing every potential source of CO. This Parliamentary Group is extending its remit beyond solely gas because we are determined to put an end to CO incidents in Britain.
“I’m delighted our new sister group, the Carbon Monoxide All Fuels Action Forum, is up and running. Between us, we can bring parliamentarians, industry and charities together to make a coordinated attack on carbon monoxide poisoning.”
