The third reading of the Offensive Weapons Bill, which had been scheduled for 15 October, has been postponed until further notice. As it stood, the Bill would have made it illegal to sell and deliver certain acids or products containing those acids – such as lead acid batteries – to residential addresses or to under 18s.
Much of the Bill is concerned with regulating the sale and carriage of guns and knives and it is these issues which dominated the debate at committee stage. All of the proposed amendments were also concerned with guns and knives, with the exception of a submission to the committee by the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) relating to the delivery of products containing acids to residential addresses.
A group of more than 30 back benchers tabled a number of amendments aimed at reducing restrictions on the use and sale of guns set out in the Bill, according to the MCIA. Anticipating a potential defeat, the government opted to postpone the third reading until further notice.
This means that for the time being, there are no legislative changes relating to the sale of lead-acid batteries beyond those requirements relating to EPP licences made in the Poisons Act 1972 which came into effect in July (see below).
The MCIA says it is continuing to monitor the progress of the Bill and plans to push for amendments in the Lords if and when the Bill progresses.
NEED FOR A LICENCE
The MCIA’s earlier technical bulletin relating to EPP licences made in the Poisons Act 1972 which came into effect in July read as follows:
“This technical note affects those members who sell batteries and/or acid directly to the general public, though we are advising all members of the new regulations in case businesses feel that they should check if they have liabilities which arise from the new regulations.
“The UK government decided in March 2018 to move sulphuric acid from Part 3 to Part 1 of Schedule 1A of the Poisons Act 1972. The effect of this is that members of the public wishing to purchase sulfuric acid (and retailers wishing to sell it) in concentrations greater than 15% will need to hold a licence known as an Explosive Precursors and Poisons Licence (an EPP licence). This comes into effect on 1 July, 2018.
“Some distributors have indicated that this would include some motorcycle batteries or more specifically the electrolyte pack that accompanies such batteries. Complete/activated batteries (and the vehicles which contain them) would be excluded. In these cases, the product must be labelled to show that the licence is required, and the retailer must check that the purchaser has the licence. The retailer must also report any suspicious activity.
“Government guidance can be found here.
“The EPP licence costs £39.50. The process for gaining a licence can be found here.”