Reminder - respond to consultation on light bulb exemption by 4 April
Dear LightAware supporters,
We are writing to remind you of the urgent need to respond to a government consultation by 4th April 2023. This is about ensuring that people who cannot tolerate LED lighting have continued access to traditional light bulbs. The measure could be dropped entirely if there is not a big enough positive response from people with light sensitivity conditions.
This is the background
LightAware campaigned for an exemption to the European eco-design regulations to allow continued access to incandescent and halogen bulbs for those who need them. Eventually permission for such bulbs to be "sold upon presentation of a medical prescription" was incorporated into European legislation, and after Brexit transferred into UK law.
However the exemption has not yet worked in the UK (and we have no evidence of it working anywhere else in Europe), because the Department For Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has not yet liaised with the Department for Health and Social Care.
Now, following further lobbying by LightAware, and thanks to many of you writing tirelessly to your MPs, the Government is proposing a revised exemption, allowing traditional bulbs to be sold via pharmacies and disability equipment suppliers to light-sensitive people, on self declaration as light-sensitive (in the same way as currently happens for VAT exemptions on disability equipment). This has a much better chance of actually working – if the proposal goes through.
But it is still only a proposal, and could still be dropped entirely by the Government If there is not a big enough positive response. It sits in a set of draft regulations about LED efficiency standards which will be widely commented on by environmental groups who do not understand about photosensitivity and see this as a loophole which should be plugged.
What you can do
If this affects you or your family, please respond!
Or you can simply reply by email to: efficientproducts@beis.gov.uk
saying that your are responding to question 24, and putting the question in the email, which is:
"do you agree with the proposed amendments to the exemption for light sources for people with a sensitivity condition? Please provide reasons for your answer, supported by evidence where possible."
Please explain in your own words why continued access to traditional lighting is so important to you, how vital it is to make the exemption work, how LED bulbs affect you and any health conditions you have, how the sensitivity constrains your life and causes social exclusion, any medical advice to avoid LED bulbs and the effect of long-term distress and anxiety about how you will light your home into the future.
It would also be really useful for LightAware to keep a rough tally of how many people respond to the consultation (as the Government may not reveal this). So if you are happy to do this, you could consider dropping an email to say you have replied to info@lightaware.org. We will simply count you and then delete your data.
