Our governance
Business engagement and accountability
As the UK’s product regulator, OPSS is committed to carrying out its regulatory activities in a fair, proportionate and professional manner, enabling responsible businesses to thrive. We are accountable to those that we regulate and are committed to a transparent approach.
By engaging with business stakeholders, we are able to improve our understanding of the sectors that we regulate, develop more informed policies and practices, and build professional relationships.
We recognise the important role that trade associations and other organisations play in representing the interests of business and supporting them to meet their obligations. We engage proactively with them and welcome positive dialogue and involvement in creating a positive regulatory environment.
We encourage feedback and involvement from businesses, and others, as a means of ensuring that we are delivering our services to meet the needs of different stakeholders. We provide opportunities for discussion and feedback through individual engagements, as well as our Business Reference Panel and Business Accountability Forum.
Business Reference Panel
Convened every quarter by OPSS, the panel consists of over 270 trade organisations and businesses across multiple sectors that include: product manufacturing, tech, hospitality, law firms, and retail. With input from OPSS as well as other regulators and government officials, the intention is to discuss issues across the regulatory landscape and ensure the voice of business is heard as part of ongoing policy and regulatory developments.
Business Accountability Forum
This bi-annual meeting provides a route for businesses to hear about, inform, and scrutinise OPSS’ approach to our role as a regulator. Attendees are encouraged to provide feedback on our approach to enforcement, with a particular focus on the strategy, policies and procedures that underpin our enforcement operations, and on our work to improve to transparency.
To register your interest in attending either the Business Reference Panel or the Business Accountability Forum, or for the Terms of Reference for these groups please contact OPSS.enquiries@businessandtrade.gov.uk marked for the attention of the Business Accountability Team.
Feedback
We value input from businesses and others to help us ensure our service is meeting your needs. We would like to hear from you whether the experience of us has been good or in need of improvement. This helps us to ensure that we keep doing the right things and make changes where necessary. We survey businesses from time to time and we welcome feedback at any time. Feedback can be provided by contacting us (see Contact the Office for Product Safety and Standards). Any feedback that we receive will be acknowledged, considered and, where appropriate, responded to.
Complaints, challenges and appeals
Businesses need to feel confident that they can challenge or ask for an explanation of OPSS decision making or advice. If a business considers that OPSS’ approach or actions result in disproportionate costs or undesirable outcomes, we have established processes to raise such concerns.
Read information on challenges and appeals to our enforcement actions
OPSS has appointed an ‘External Reviewer’ to provide advice on how we can improve our processes.
External Reviewer
Our recently appointed External Reviewer provides businesses with assurance that our processes for complaints, challenges and appeals are impartial, accessible and implemented in a fair and consistent manner. The external reviewer does not investigate individual complaints or engage directly with individual businesses but reviews how our procedures are working and makes recommendations on where improvements can be made.