Regulatory Support Package for businesses supplying products to UK consumers through online platforms

Descriptions

The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) is part of the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It was created in January 2018 to deliver consumer protection and to support business confidence, productivity, and growth. We regulate a wide range of products with a focus on their safety and integrity. We work with local, national, and international regulators, consumer representatives and with businesses to deliver effective protections and to support compliance. OPSS is the national regulator for all consumer products (except for vehicles, medicines and food) legal metrology, ensuring weighing and measuring instruments are accurate and reliable. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-product-safety-and-standards The Regulators' Code requires that 'Regulators should ensure clear information, guidance and advice is available to help those they regulate meet their responsibilities to comply' and our stated purpose includes that we ensure businesses can buy and sell products with confidence. As the policy owner of the Regulators' Code, OPSS needs to fulfil its obligations, supporting businesses selling products through online platforms to understand and meet their legal obligations. The Online Platforms Programme has been allocated up to £1 million funding to develop a new business support offer from OPSS. The offer will deliver a Business Support Package to help non-English speaking businesses and their owners selling products to UK consumers through online platforms, to comply with UK product safety regulations, supplemented by support for specific product types. As a guide the Package will: •Support sellers whose first language is not English who sell products via online marketplaces and platforms to consumers in the UK. •Include a training offer which sellers can access free of charge. The training offer should be broken down into different e-learning courses, for example: oA general course on product safety requirements in the UK o Specific courses on different product types. oThe seller should be able to download evidence of taking the courses, which may include a comprehension test at the end. oThe training should be available in different languages and formats, as determined by OPSS. The training should link to - •A 'fill in the blanks' management system for sellers on UK product safety requirements, which is capable of being added to for specific product types, beginning with toys this financial year. The management system should be available in different languages and formats, as determined by OPSS. The supplier will be tasked with determining how the target audience should be engaged with to promote awareness - and use of - the products developed and will take on this task of engagement.