Guidance

OPSS community funding for product safety 2024-2025

Information on the contracts awarded in 2024-2025 under the OPSS community funding initiative.

• From: Office for Product Safety and Standards
• Published: 18 May 2026

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) launched its community funding initiative in 2024 to increase the reach of product safety information, so more consumers are empowered to protect themselves and others from product-related harm. Each year, organisations are invited to bid to deliver community-based and / or consumer-focused product safety awareness and education projects.

Contracts are awarded through open competition to the maximum sum of £9,995.

OPSS community funding in 2024-2025

Theme 1: Product Safety Community Awareness

Projects delivered community-based consumer awareness and educational activity which addressed the risks and issues experienced by consumers in relation to product safety (including how they buy and use products).

CETMA (Wales)

• Ran a ‘Community Electrical Safety Campaign’ including a roadshow across West and South Wales, where targeted leaflets and advice were given to the community. It also attended foodbanks and added product safety information to food parcels.

Closha Associated Ltd (with Bolton Deaf Society and Deafway)

• Developed a BSL consumer website to host product safety messages for deaf consumers. Three product safety videos in BSL promoting toy safety, button battery safety and electrical safety were created and hosted on the site along with five previously produced product safety videos in BSL.

Crimestoppers

• Ran a social media campaign targeted at English, Polish and Romanian speakers on Facebook and Instagram, raising awareness about the product safety risk of buying counterfeit products.

Early Years Alliance

• Campaign focused on raising parents’ awareness of product safety by distributing leaflets, SMS safety messaging and product safety home visits in Luton.

Geraldine Cosh Ltd

• Hosted 15 live online webinars on five product safety topics, made clean recordings available and presented in-person sessions in North and South London.

Local Citizens Advice Rushmoor

• Ran a ‘Product Safety Community Awareness’ project. Fourteen workshops targeted at foodbank users, families, pensioners, people with additional literacy needs and community champions were held to raise product safety awareness. OPSS assets were also used to create accessible posters targeted to the needs of the community.

Local Citizens Advice Wiltshire

• Campaign included the creation of a webpage hub and product safety information distributed across 40 locations in Wiltshire including Advice offices, libraries, foodbanks and at community settings.

Milton Keynes City Council Trading Standards

• Produced a ‘Toy Safety Matters’ campaign which involved the creation of a video and targeted toy safety drop-in sessions held at Family Centres.

North Yorkshire Council Trading Standards

• Produced social media assets on safe buying of second-hand goods, held a community event to promote the campaign, and distributed digital assets to 26 community organisations.

Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards

• Raised awareness of toy and child product safety, producing 3,000 multilingual leaflets, 18 roller banners, and 200 posters for use in 17 family hubs across Nottinghamshire.

Theme 2: Risk of fires associated with e-bikes, e-scooters, conversion kits, their batteries and chargers

Projects delivered community-based consumer awareness and educational activity which addressed the fire safety risks experienced by consumers in relation to buying and charging e-bikes, e-scooters, conversion kits, their batteries and chargers.

Consumer Friend

• Ran a social media campaign (“WATT could go wrong”) on safe buying, storage, and charging of e-bikes/e-scooters, including a podcast and online webinar, with resources available on their website.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue

• Partnered with social housing providers to create targeted resources (leaflets, posters, newsletter ads, social media assets), consulted with tenants and providers to identify knowledge gaps, and developed a policy template for housing providers.

East Sussex Trading Standards

• Produced 1,000 leaflets and posters for distribution in leisure centres, bike shops, shopping centres, train stations, and vape shops, held seven in-person events, and collaborated with local councils and fire services.

Local Citizens Advice Mid-Lincolnshire

• Created an awareness-raising video promoted on social media and shown at workshops, shared with partner organisations, and presented at schools, cadet groups, colleges, youth clubs, libraries, family hubs, and a community grocer.

London Trading Standards CIC

• Worked with London Fire Brigade and Electrical Safety First to produce consumer messaging about conversion kits and charging safety, held seven in-person events with advice and bike safety checks.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service

• Produced an ‘E-bike and E-scooter Campaign’ which involved creating targeted, accessible product safety materials for use at 4 face-to-face events attended by 700 people.

Public Protection Partnership (Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire)

• Created safety information packs for HMO tenants and landlords, with Trading Standards officers visiting HMOs to distribute packs and provide advice.

Published 18 May 2026