Last week, the new UK government set out its legislative agenda through the King’s Speech. Of note for the toy industry, was the Product Safety and Metrology Bill, which aims to ‘preserve the UK’s status as a global leader in product regulation’. Under the new Bill, the government intends to address the safety of products being sold via online marketplaces – something we have been calling on the government to do since 2018.
We will be engaging with new government ministers, MPs, and civil servants in the coming months on the draft Bill and share more detailed information with members when it becomes available. The government has still not responded to the Product Safety Review consultation which we responded to last year.
The Bill will apply UK-wide, and is intended to deliver more protection for consumers by:
- Responding to new product risks and opportunities to enable the UK to keep pace with technological advances, such as AI.
- Identifying new and emerging business models in the supply chain, ensuring the responsibilities of those involved in the supply of products, such as online marketplaces, are clear, enabling Government to better protect consumers, so they can have confidence in the products they buy and whom they buy them from.
- Ensuring that the law can be updated to recognise new or updated EU product regulations, including CE marking, where appropriate to prevent additional costs for businesses and provide regulatory stability.
- Enabling improvements to compliance and enforcement reflecting the challenges of modern, digital borders.
- Updating the legal metrology framework, which governs the accuracy of weights and measures for purchased goods.
You can read more on the Bill here. There were 40 Bills outlined in total to be introduced in the next Parliament which is expected to be 18-24 months.
Other relevant Bills included in the King’s Speech that we will be monitoring on behalf of members, include:
- Employment Rights Bill – to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights.
- Digital Information and Smart Data Bill – to update existing data laws that will maintain high standards of protection for people’s data, strengthening the ICO, and promoting standards for digital identities around privacy, security, and inclusion.
- Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill – to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reports for large employers (250+ employees).
