Published on: 03 February 2022
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is a governmental department that has been created to deliver consumer protection and to support business confidence, productivity and growth. The OPSS regulates a wide range of products with a focus on safety and integrity. It also works with local, national and international regulators, with consumer representatives and with businesses to deliver effective protections and to support compliance.
The aim of the OPSS is to be a trusted product regulator for the UK, protecting people and places, enabling business to thrive and empowering consumers to make good choices. The OPSS, however, does not regulate vehicles, medicines or food.
The OPSS is committed to a transparent approach to delivering regulation. It publishes a wide range of information on the GOV.uk website and it includes two documents that set out what businesses and others that they regulate, can expect from the OPSS in terms of its approach to delivering regulation, and its behaviours:
- ‘What you can expect of OPSS: Information for those we regulate’ (referred to as our ‘service standards’)
- OPSS Enforcement Policy
The first of these documents was recently updated and the OPSS would like to thank those who took the time to share their views on the draft updated document that the OPSS circulated in September. An amended version has now been published and is available here. The service standards document explains the efficient and professional service you can expect from the OPSS in relation to regulations for which it is the responsible market surveillance or enforcement authority. The OPSS is committed to treating those it regulates in a fair, unbiased and objective manner, and having regard to relevant legal requirements and codes of practice when exercising its powers.
The Enforcement Policy sets out the approach of the OPSS to deal with non-compliance by those it regulates and resolve potential products safety issues. Across the areas that the OPSS delivers regulation, its aim is to support and enable those it regulates in meeting its obligations. The intention is to give compliant businesses the confidence to innovate, invest and grow, while ensuring the necessary protections are in place.
British Marine suggests that you take the time to look over the documents that the OPSS has written and updated to make sure you are aware of the services the OPSS provides to help businesses.