At the end of January this year, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) announced it is organising the third annual Regulatory Excellence Awards – with “product safety”, and “innovation and technical” as new categories for 2019. The awards are open to anyone involved in the delivery of regulation and compliance, including local authorities, national regulators, businesses and trade associations.
The OPSS was set up in January 2018 as part of the government’s approach to implement recommendations by the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety, and since its launch, has set out a bold programme of action to enhance the UK’s ability to identify risks, protect consumers and co-ordinate large scale product recalls and repairs.
It has been a busy first year for the organisation, which was kicked off with publishing the Code of Practice on Product Safety Recalls (PAS7100) in March 2018, developed by the UK’s National Standards Body (BSI). This is the first ever government-backed code of practice for product safety recalls to be published, and is aimed at helping businesses understand what to do if their product needs to be recalled. Since publication, the OPSS has trained 300 trading standards officers on implementing the code and held regional workshops for businesses. The OPSS has sent a clear message during its opening year, showing its drive to support small business growth at the same time as implementing its industrial strategy vision of simplifying regulation. Further information about the OPSS’ first year can be found here.
The Regulatory Excellence Awards form another part of the OPSS’ increasingly active role in promoting its product safety agenda. As part of the decision making process, the judges will take into consideration a number of factors, including: outstanding partnership or organisation; whether the entrant has gone the extra mile in their field; and who has had the made a difference in protecting their citizens and business communities, using better regulation tools and principles.
Click here for more information on how to enter.
