OPSS Product Safety Information: Consumer awareness and education resource development and delivery activity

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), 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, with consumer representatives and with businesses to deliver effective protections and to support compliance.

Our mission is to be a trusted product regulator for the UK. This means protecting people and places, enabling business to thrive and empowering consumers to make good choices. We will be a leader of good regulatory practice and a champion of local regulation.

OPSS is:

• the national regulator for all consumer products, except for vehicles, medicines, and food.
• the national regulator for legal metrology, ensuring weighing and measuring instruments are accurate and reliable.

Suppliers are strongly encouraged to read the text at the following link to gain a full understanding of the role of the enforcement services with Government:

www.gov.uk/guidance/national-re… ↗

Aims and Objectives of the Proposed Work

OPSS is looking to offer a series of contracts for product safety focussed resource development and delivery and dissemination activity to support consumer awareness and education. Through this work we seek to expand the impact and reach of our consumer awareness and education activity ensuring that it provides tested, tailored and well-timed messages which can be delivered to the diverse spectrum of consumers.

The proposed contracts would look to:

• To identify and reach diverse and hard to reach groups of consumers who may be vulnerable to specific product safety risks and issues,
• Design and develop appropriate mechanisms to reach and raise awareness of product safety issues within these groups
• Conduct testing of messaging on consumer product safety issue
• Evaluate the impact of the activity

During 22/23, through the delivery of product safety information OPSS consumer awareness and education activity will address issues including the potential risks involved in purchasing items online, purchasing toys at Christmas and the purchase, storage and use of fireworks.

There are numerous known product safety issues and therefore a risk and evidence-based approach must be taken to determine on which issues to focus. There may be scope to address other product safety issues where sufficient evidence available.