Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make provision about the marketing or use of products in the United Kingdom; about units of measurement and the quantities in which goods are marketed in the United Kingdom; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 20 |
| Introduced by | Jonathan Reynolds (Commons) Lord Leong (Lords) |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 2025 |
| Commencement | Sections 11(1) and 11(3) as the Secretary of State appoints The rest of the Act comes into force the day it is passed |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Consumer Protection Act 1987 Weights and Measures Act 1985 Gun Barrel Proof Acts 1868 to 1978 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulates units of measurement and quantities of goods marketed.[1]
Among various measures, the act gives regulators the power to investigate compliance measures and allows the secretary of state, by regulations, to set "product requirements" for the marketing or use of products in the UK, which corresponds to, or is similar to a provision of "relevant EU law" for the purpose of reducing or mitigating the environmental impact of products. The UK government says that the Act will help to "address current and future challenges", "identify and regulate new and emerging business models in the supply chain" and "tackle non-compliance with product safety and metrology regulations".[1]
Joël Reland, a senior researcher at the thinktank UK in a Changing Europe stated that it "would give UK ministers the power to unilaterally align with European Union regulations related to the environmental impact of products" even though the UK has left the EU.[2] The Scottish Parliament Information Centre confirmed this by citing further research, and pointed out that "the potential for divergence between Scots law and EU law increases over time".[3] The BBC reported that the bill "could help limit the impact of the Irish Sea border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK", quoting UK Government notes on the bill: "This Bill gives the Government specific powers to make changes to legislation in Great Britain to manage divergence and take a UK-wide approach", as EU rules (even new ones) continue to apply to Northern Ireland after Brexit under the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework.[4]
Reception
The Conservative peer, David Frost, described legislation as a means to "re-import" EU law concepts.[5]
References
- ^ a b Malik, Xameerah; Conway, Lorraine; Webb, Dominic; Duddy, Claire; Woodhouse, John (27 March 2025). "Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL] 2024-25" (PDF). House of Commons Library. No. CBP 10224. Research Briefing. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ Reland, Joël (10 October 2024). "The Brexit bill no one's talking about". UK in a Changing Europe. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ McIver, Iain (5 November 2024). "The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill – a path to EU alignment?". SPICe Spotlight. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2025 – via The Scottish Parliament.
- ^ Campbell, John (11 December 2024). "Could new law tackle 'sea border' issues?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 March 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ Llewelyn, Abbie (23 July 2025). "New product safety Bill will see Labour revive EU alignment, Lord Frost warns". The Standard. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2025.