The All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Summer Campaign has devoted its fifth week, running from 8 to 14 August, to harm from carbon monoxide among vulnerable people and in high-risk places. The week's material, published by the campaign and set out by CO-Gas Safety, focuses on pregnant women, children and babies, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions1.
The campaign states that some groups are more sensitive to carbon monoxide, and that the gas is "a poison that is toxic to the body, not only a killer"1. Its call to action for the week is to "Take extra precautions for high-risk people"1. The week's asset kit contains 14 items, including social media posts on pregnant women, babies and young children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems, alongside material for landlords, homeowners and a video for Scotland stating that all homes need alarms1.
The campaign also covers duties on housing. Its material states that landlords have a responsibility to make sure tenants are carbon monoxide safe, and that homeowners should have carbon monoxide alarms too1. The group published a summary of new guidance on alarms in England, and the campaign notes that landlords face a £5,000 fine for missing alarms from 1 October, the date given in the title of that summary1. The campaign's supporting accounts for the week include the UK Health Security Agency, Age UK, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and Headway1. It notes that a tweet shared by the UK Health Security Agency during Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week last November generated over a million impressions1.
"From Monday, Week 5 will focus on vulnerable groups: pregnant women, children and babies, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions."
Why it matters for households
The week's material identifies pregnant women, babies and young children, older people and those with respiratory conditions as more sensitive to carbon monoxide, and asks supporters to take extra precautions for high-risk people1. It also sets out that landlords are responsible for making sure tenants are carbon monoxide safe, and that homeowners should have alarms as well1. The campaign links the new guidance for alarms in England to a £5,000 fine for landlords who are missing alarms from 1 October1. The campaign's own material does not set out the technical detail of the guidance; that is covered in the group's published summary1. Households wanting to understand what the alarms do, where they are fitted and what their warnings mean can refer to the guide to carbon monoxide alarms, the guide to where to put a carbon monoxide alarm and the guide to carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms. The site's wider home emergencies hub covers other household incidents.
What happens next
The campaign week runs to 14 August1. The account of the week was posted on 16 August 20221. The £5,000 fine for landlords missing alarms in England is given as taking effect from 1 October1. No further campaign weeks are described in the material available.
