Consumer Goods: Safety

(asked on 11th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take following the closure of the UK product safety review: call for evidence on 17 June; and what are the timelines for those steps.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 25th October 2021

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK and existing laws require that all consumer products, including toys sold online, must be safe before they can be placed on the UK market.

The national product safety regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to take action against manufacturers, importers or distributors who sell unsafe and non-compliant toys, including through online marketplaces. These regulators have access to a national Product Safety Database to share information and to help prioritise and target activity.

The Government recognises the scale of the challenge in regulating online sales and OPSS is taking forward a programme of work to help ensure the safety of products sold online. This includes actively identifying products available online that pose a serious risk and ensuring that non-compliant products being sold by third-party sellers are removed from sale. Since April 2021, OPSS interventions have led to the withdrawal of more than 10,000 unsafe products, including toys, previously listed and available in the UK, via online marketplaces.

The Government’s review of the UK’s product safety framework aims to ensure it remains robust and is future-proofed so that it continues to protect consumers while enabling businesses to safely innovate and grow. This includes reviewing the impact of eCommerce on the product safety framework to ensure appropriate accountability and clear responsibilities throughout the supply chain.

The Government has analysed submissions to the Call for Evidence and is currently finalising its response which will be published in due course. OPSS officials continue to engage with stakeholders as the review progresses and any proposals for legislative change would be subject to public consultation.

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