The Retailer Summer Edition 2021

Author Biography Adrian Simpson is a Policy Advisor for Retail Products at the British Retail Consortium. He manages the Buying Communitywhich aims to help retailers supply safe and compliant goods. He joined the BRC in April 2021 following a career in trading standards including as a frontline officer, service manager and later managing the Business Education Service at the CharteredTrading Standards Institute (CTSI). He is a Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/govern- ment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/509125/ind-16-4-consumer-product-recall- review.pdf https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2017-news/ one-year-on-from-shepherds-bush-tower-block-fire- government-risks-deadly-delay-on-white-goods- fires/ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ government-launches-new-office-for-product-safe- ty-and-standards https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/ pas7100-supporting-better-product-recalls/ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1803/ made 2. 3. 4. 5. References 1.

In 2018 a PubliclyAvailable Specification (PAS) Code of practice on consumer product safe- ty-related recalls and other corrective actions was published. This is a guide that aims to support manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers to “prepare fully to deal with any product safety issue that might arise with their products”. Retailers are advised to download this document for free from https:/ www.bsigroup. com/en-GB/pas7100-supporting-better-prod- uct-recalls/ It is for businesses of all sizes. Section 4 on putting together a ‘product safety information plan’ is essential reading for retail- ers. This will help retailers put in place a plan in case you ever need to undertake a recall. Has the Office for Product Safety and Standards been a success? Despite the creation of a new Government Office focussing on product safety, safety inci- dents are still occurring. These have included Angle grinder chainsaw disc attachments, magnetic products and gardening equipment6. However, OPSS has been able to let partners such as the BRC know quickly so that we can update our members. At the BRCwe have been able to get answers to technical questions quickly fromOPSS which has been welcomed by BRC retailers. In June a National Audit Office Report 7found that OPSS:

“Has made impactful interventions on national issues, including strengthening high-profile recall processes for household appliances, pro- vided new forms of support for local regulators, and developed new databases to prepare for EU Exit”. The report also found that: “The product safety regime faces major chal- lenges to keep pacewith changes in the market. There are gaps in regulators’ powers over prod- ucts sold online, local and national regulation is not well coordinated despite improvements, and the OPSS does not yet have adequate data and intelligence” OPSS remit continues to grow and this year they also took on responsibility for Construction Products. Product Safety in 2022 With most product safety regulations having come from Europe it remains to be seen how far the UK will ‘diverge’ (i.e. be different from) from European Union Regulations. For retailers who trade in both the UK and Europe, this could become difficult. If divergence does take place then manufacturers, importers and dis- tributors (retailers) may have to undertake two conformity assessment (testing, inspection and certification) processes.

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https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ product-safety-database-unsafe-products https://www.nao.org.uk/report/ protecting-consumers-from-unsafe-products/

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