The Department for Business and Trade has launched a public consultation concerning the government’s Product Safety Review. This consultation forms part of the government’s Smarter Regulation programme of regulatory reform.
The consultation will be open for 12 weeks, closing on 24 October 2023.
The aim is to develop a product safety regime that:
- Ensures business obligations are proportionate to the hazard presented by their products, exploring how to reduce compliance costs for lower risk products and make the conformity assessment process easier where possible.
- Shifts the balance between regulations and industry-led standards to enable a more agile and responsive regulatory framework, allowing business greater scope to innovate when producing safe products.
- Uses digital solutions, such as voluntary e-labelling, to reduce business costs and explore how digital options can be utilised to reduce burdens.
- Addresses concerns regarding the ease with which unsafe products can be sold online, creating a fairer playing field so that shopping online is as safe as on the high street.
- Enhances the leadership and coordination role of the Office for Product Safety and Standards alongside addressing identified enforcement gaps.
The government wants to ensure the new product safety framework works well both for consumers and business and is seeking views from all stakeholders to help develop and design the detail of the new framework.
To take part in the consultation click here.