The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL] contains measures concerning the UK’s product safety, regulation and metrology framework. The government states the bill’s purpose is to enable the “UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws”. The bill would make provision about the marketing and use of products in the UK and about units of measurement and the quantities in which goods are marketed in the UK. In summary, the bill would:
- Give the secretary of state the power to make product regulations for the purpose of reducing or mitigating the risks presented by products used or marketed in the UK; ensure those products operate effectively; and ensure they give accurate measurement readings. Regulations would be able to set ‘product requirements’, including in relation to the marketing of products through an online marketplace.
- Power to make metrology regulations about the units of measurement that must be used to express quantities. Regulations would be able to make provision about how units are to be calculated and how they should be referred to.
- Allow regulations to give relevant authorities powers relating to monitoring and investigating compliance, securing compliance and mitigating the effect of non-compliance with product and metrology regulations.
- Provide for the creation of new criminal offences and impose civil sanctions for non-compliance with product and metrology regulations.
The government states the current regulatory regime needs to be modernised because it is inflexible and limited in its ability to respond to new product risks and opportunities, advancements in modern supply chains and technology, and changes in EU law. The government says that, under the current framework, the UK lacks powers to end recognition of EU product regulations in Great Britain or to recognise new and updated ones, which could lead to additional costs and uncertainty for businesses. It says this bill will allow the government to make “the sovereign choice to mirror or diverge” from the EU.
