King’s Speech Update: The Product Safety and Metrology Bill By Geraint Webb KC and Douglas Maxwell
In this article, Geraint Webb KC and Douglas Maxwell highlight the inclusion of the Product Safety and Metrology Bill in today’s King’s Speech. The article notes the impact the proposed Bill may have on regulatory alignment (or divergence) from existing and proposed EU law and the Government’s stated aim to improve compliance and enforcement in the sphere of product safety.
There is much to digest from today’s (17 July 2024) King’s Speech, which set out the new Government’s legislative priorities. For practitioners and businesses, it is important to highlight that the Speech included a proposed Product Safety and Metrology Bill (the “Bill”).
From the accompanying notes to the King’s Speech there are two points to highlight.
First, there is explicit reference to the fact that the EU is “undertaking a range of updates and reforms to their regulations (for instance to improve safety or respond to technological developments) over the next few years, which the UK does not have sufficient powers to respond to”. However, this is caveated by the statement that the Bill will also ensure that the UK can diverge from EU regulations “where it is in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers.” Accordingly, it seems likely that the new Bill is intended to address the changes that the Government considers should be made having regard to new and proposed EU reforms, including, for example, the new EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (the “new GPSR”), which will apply from 13 December 2024 in the EU and, presumably, to the new proposed revisions to the Product Liability Directive on which the EU Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement in December 2023 and the proposed AI Liability Directive (although despite being proposed in 2022 the future of the AI Liability Directive remains uncertain).
Aspects of the new GPSR and the Product Liability Directive of note include new obligations concerning software (including artificial intelligence), new obligations for providers of online marketplaces, greater disclosure obligations on businesses where claims are brought, including in collective redress proceedings, changes to the burden of proof regarding when a product is defective and causes damage and new product recall requirements including the requirement that a product safety recall “should not place an excessive burden on consumers”.
Second, there will be a move to make improvements to compliance and enforcement. The notes to the King’s Speech state that the Bill will “enable the Government and its regulators to tackle non-compliance, target interventions by allowing greater sharing of data between regulators and market surveillance authorities, and future-proof the nature and capacity of the Regulator, ensuring it can provide national leadership on product safety and metrology issues.” This may include a greater role and enforcement powers for the likes of the Office for Product Safety & Standards (the “OPSS”).
The granular detail of the proposed changes will, no doubt, follow in due course. What is clear is the challenges posed by regulating and enforcing product safety and emerging technologies, balanced with the need to encourage UK exports, means that reforms are on the horizon. When more details are forthcoming, we will provide a more substantive analysis of the proposed reforms.
Geraint Webb KC
Douglas Maxwell
17 July 2024
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