Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent findings from Which? that nearly 800 products for sale on online marketplaces were similar or identical to items already flagged as unsafe by the Office for Product Safety and Standards in the past year, whether they plan to introduce a duty for online marketplaces to tackle unsafe products sold on their platforms; and if so, when.

UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market. However, it continues to be too easy for non-compliant goods to be made available to UK consumers online. The Government has therefore introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. The Act allows us to introduce clear and proportionate obligations on online marketplaces to improve consumer safety and ensure fair market competition.

We have committed to consult on proposals to modernise these responsibilities in early 2026. This will build upon best practice to create an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.