New UK-Consumer Safety Strategy launched

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

In August 2018, the UK Minister for Business reconfirmed that the exit from the European Union does not weaken the commitment to strong protections. The proposed free trade area for goods would include a common rulebook, ongoing participation in the European product standards regime, and high levels of information exchange and market surveillance, as well as a frictionless goods border.

In a three year action plan, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), created by the Minister in January 2018, launched a strategy to further enhance the UK’s world-leading product safety regime: “Strengthening National Capacity for Product Safety”. The Plan is part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, building confidence in the system delivering the highest level of protection for consumers and helping British businesses to thrive.

Included in the plan are ambitious new measures such as:

  • A new national incident management team for product safety incidents capable of coordinating large scale product recall and repair programmes;
  • Establishing a new website to support consumers with reliable information and advice about recalled products;
  • Increased support for local authority enforcement teams at ports, borders and points of entry to ensure the safety of goods that are entering the UK;
  • Close working with manufacturers to ensure they are compliant with safety regulations from an earlier stage of the production process;
  • Developing tools and guidance to assist local authorities in improving risk assessments, identifying mistakes before they happen.

A delivery plan 2020, published alongside the strategy, also sets out a number of additional commitments for the OPSS including:

  • Working with white goods manufacturers, gaining assurance that their compliance systems are robust and that they are implementing the Product Recalls Code of Practice;
  • Publishing a Strategic Research Programme, setting out priorities for scientific research into potential product safety risks;
  • Preparing the first national Strategic Assessment to prioritise product safety actions, based on scientific evidence;
  • Working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and public health bodies to further improve injury data collection;
  • Working with the government’s Behavioural Insights Unit to understand how to most effectively reach consumers in product recall scenarios and with wider product safety messages;
  • Encouraging greater diversity in standards committee membership;
  • Supporting consumer awareness campaigns about specific hazards.

Since its formation in January, the OPSS has been working closely with regulatory bodies such as National Trading Standards, other government departments and manufacturers to upgrade the product safety system.

More information: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733148/safety-and-standards-product-safety-strategy.pdf