Welcome to the 2025 Guide to The British Safety Industry

This is the 10^th year in which I have had the privilege to write this introduction and while our industry is always forward-facing in providing solutions it is also somewhat timely that we take a retrospective.

In the last 10 years our industry, and society in general, has been greatly affected by macro events. Between 2016 and 2018 we had the evolution of the original PPE Directive becoming PPE Regulation 2016/425 which saw new responsibilities for suppliers embedded in law. The PPE Regulation was a very positive development setting out to ensure that those specifying PPE could rely on the products and the suppliers. Unfortunately, enforcement of the legislation has been wanting and BSIF through the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme has had to take up a great deal of the very necessary market surveillance. 

So, in April 2016 we had the new EU Regulation (coming into effect in 2018) only to have the UK/EU referendum in June 2016, when the UK voted to leave. With no direction to the contrary BSIF members all began to update their product offerings in line with the new EU Regulation.

In early 2020 we had the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global shortage of PPE. This as we know brought utter chaos with the rupturing of international supply chains coupled with the explosion in demand for (initially) respiratory and eye and face protective equipment. The shortages of PPE supply had the government asking UK industry to switch production away from their normal product to PPE, a safety critical and highly regulated product category. During this time there were a series of “regulatory easements” published, some 14 of them, in an attempt to bring products to market quickly. Frankly, despite best of intentions this was not, and was never going to be a successful endeavour. In parallel of course we had the influx a great deal of PPE that was not fit for purpose.

While all the upheaval in PPE supply was going on, the Government put their hands up and admitted they had failed to agree an EU exit agreement which would cover PPE regulation, and in September 2020 the Department for Business and Trade (BEIS at the time) announced that in January 2021 we would begin the move away from CE to a new UKCA regime. How then would this work and under what conditions and timelines. We mustn’t forget that from the start we had a baked in complication in that there had to be a separate structure for Northern Ireland (as in UKNI) in order to protect the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement.  

The last three years has seen guidance after guidance, amendments to conditions and timelines to apply UKCA, with in May 2024 a Statutory Instrument confirmed that instead of moving away from CE the UK would continue, without limit of time, to recognise CE for PPE and many other product categories. So, with millions spent by PPE manufacturers on compliance it was now clear that what they had, had originally would suffice into the future and that the money spent was needless. A pretty sorry tale!

It should be noted that the UK Test and Certification industry who currently cannot give CE approvals are suddenly without demand for UKCA and their existence is at risk.

If we stay on the theme of looking back over the last 10 years we see that in that time we have had six Prime Ministers and 10 Secretaries of State for Business, all from the same party, hardly a blueprint for regulatory efficiency or stability.
So that was yesterday, what about today and tomorrow in our industry. We now have a new government who, while cautious on being explicit, certainly give out a more positive vibe on European collaboration and cooperation. Some readers of this column may wonder why the Labour party were so quiet during the run up to the referendum in 2016! 

Notwithstanding, the history they do appreciate that what we have in our product safety and regulatory regime would benefit from new legislation. Perhaps the most obvious need is for the legal structures to recognise the changing dynamic of the digital commercial landscape, and ensure that the legal framework can accommodate “Online Marketplaces” and stop them from selling non-compliant and potentially unsafe product, including PPE and Safety Equipment in the UK. I’m pleased to say that the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, designed to have that effect, was in the King’s Speech and is currently making progress in parliament. 

The Bill will be very important in establishing the legal principles however, legislation is one thing but enforcement is quite another. The two agencies responsible, the HSE and Trading Standards departments countrywide are already stretched so it will be difficult to see them able to get on the front foot on this.

This then reinforces the value of the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme which has grown in importance over the last decade. The scheme plays a vital role in calling out non-compliant/unsafe PPE and Safety products and signposting duty holders to capable competent suppliers. Please see the separate article on the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme for more information. BSIF will continue to protect the integrity of PPE and PPE Suppliers and in 2025 we will give further profile to the cause under the upcoming “PPE Saves Lives” campaign, do look out for it and get behind it.

2024 saw BSIF launch a pilot scheme to embrace duty holders and employers and that has now got traction and is growing well. Amongst other benefits members can access a free to use helpline ppehelpline@bsif.co.uk to find answers to a range of queries on PPE.

BSIF has for the last 30 years supported occupational safety and health in the UK and beyond and I’m pleased to tell you that the Fit2Fit Face Fitting Competency Accreditation Scheme has now been adopted and run in 7 European countries seeking to improve respiratory health across the continent.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy the Guide and find it both interesting and informative.

Alan Murray, CEO of BSIF