Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to review regulations and enforcement of PPE standards for sale through online marketplaces.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
PPE must meet the essential health and safety requirements as set out in Regulation 2016/425, as assimilated into UK law. The Personal Protective Equipment (Enforcement) Regulations 2018 provide the enforcement framework for that Regulation.
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 allows us to update the product safety framework, including by explicitly recognising online marketplace businesses. We plan to consult on new requirements for online marketplaces to take steps to improve product safety on their sites. Product safety specific sector legislation, including the PPE legislation, will be reviewed in due course.
Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to coordinate the new Fair Work Agency with the Health and Safety Executive to enforce better-fit PPE standards.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are creating the Fair Work Agency to deliver a much-needed upgrade to enforcement of employment rights.
Its core function will be to enforce specific employment legislation, set out in Part 1 of Schedule 7 of the Employment Rights Bill.
We have taken steps to ensure the Fair Work Agency can work closely with the Health and Safety Executive, including sharing information that is relevant to the Health and Safety Executive’s statutory role. This is provided for by Schedule 9 of the Employment Rights Bill.