Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20869 on Consumer Goods: Safety, what steps his Department is taking to support sole traders selling (a) engineering and (b) other products in meeting the requirement for an EU-based responsible person, in the context of the availability of STEM skills in the EU.

I recognise that the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) may require changes for some businesses, including sole traders and those selling engineering products to the EU.

We have published guidance for Northern Ireland, which we regularly review, and continue to support businesses trading with the EU. Since October 2024, the UK Export Academy delivered eight free GPSR training sessions supporting over 5,000 users.

DBT's Export Support Service are now signposting businesses to verified external service providers specialising in GPSR via the Export Support Directory. These are paid for providers, so businesses should perform due diligence before entering commercial relationships.