Halloween is an exciting time for children and families, but it’s essential to keep safety at the forefront of the celebrations. This October, RoSPA has been actively sharing important safety tips to help families enjoy a safer Halloween.

The need for heightened awareness is underscored by recent government findings that show 80% of children’s Halloween costumes do not meet UK product standards. This alarming statistic brings renewed attention to the safety of costumes and has prompted media requests for RoSPA to provide guidance to parents and carers.

Adrian Simpson, RoSPA’s Head of Policy and Press, recently had the opportunity to discuss these critical safety concerns on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio Five Live, and several other media platforms, reaching an audience of millions. Here’s an insight into his experience and RoSPA’s key messages to help families ensure a safer Halloween this year.

The journey to national coverage

Getting asked to be a guest on the BBC Breakfast sofa in your first few months in a new role will always be intimidating, but thanks to the excellent support from RoSPA media and policy colleagues, I felt up to the challenge. Government tests had shown that 80% of children’s Halloween costumes were non-compliant with product standards, and the media were seeking a reaction to this shocking statistic.

The week began with a few media requests and ended up with RoSPA in front of millions of viewers. Ten years ago, TV presenter Claudia Winkelman’s daughter's Halloween costume caught fire, leading to huge media interest in unsafe Halloween costumes. Back then, there were many unsafe, non-compliant children’s Halloween costumes on sale in the UK. Following this incident, the safety standards around Halloween costumes were changed, and the British Retail Consortium, along with RoSPA and leading retailers and manufacturers, put together voluntary guidelines on Halloween costumes, which helped manufacturers and retailers go above and beyond legal requirements. This meant that costumes on sale in the UK are safer than before. However, the availability of cheap, potentially non-compliant costumes still remains.

To begin with, the media and policy team decided on the key messages we wanted to give the public which are:

1. Check the labelling on the product, to make sure that it carries the UKCA or CE-Mark

2. Only buy from reputable retailers

3. Have a fun and safe Halloween

The third message was important, as although safety is at the core of what we do, we don’t want to be seen as the ‘fun police’, and we believe that safer products, sold by legitimate retailers keep Halloween safe and fun.
 

On the air...

After a very early start, making sure that I was clear on my key messages, and that I was up to date on the latest legal regulations, I made my way to the TV studios where I was allowed a little bit of time to relax and prepare before I was taken to the famous sofa. Whilst a film clip showed the shocking effect of fires on Halloween costumes, presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt talked to me about RoSPA, as they were particularly interested in falls. I made a note to get our media team onto the BBC Breakfast team, as there was an opportunity for more coverage. Straight after the film I was introduced, and then shared my reflections on Halloween costumes, and luckily, I managed to cover all my key messages. I was surprised by the last question from Naga, which was “Which Halloween costume would I wear”? (Answer: Scream mask!)

Straight after the interview, I then went onto BBC Radio Five Live, where again I reemphasised the key messages but was also able to share my thoughts on enforcement of the regulations, as RoSPA would like to see an increase the number of trading standards officers available to enforce the regulations.
On the back of these interviews, I then received further interview requests from BBC Radio Stations in Sheffield, Nottingham, Jersey, Shropshire, Cornwall, Oxford and Berkshire. These were ‘quickfire’ interviews, but again gave us the chance to give our key messages. We received further coverage in the Daily Mail, and many regional papers.

Supporting safety year-round

It’s a privilege to be able to be seen as a voice of authority in safety, and we couldn’t be seen as this without the input and support of our members. All of whom are out there every day, working to protect the public from accidents. I can’t wait to work even closer with members so that they can shape our policy and the safety landscape.

 For further advice and information on how to stay safe this Halloween, visit our webpage.
 

Adrian Simpson is Head of Policy and Press at RoSPA. He joined RoSPA in August, from the British Retail Consortium, where he helped UK retailers to sell safe and compliant products. Before this, he held numerous roles within trading standards services. He is a Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner and a Non-Executive Director of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute