Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation: State of Play

• Posted on Aug 13, 2019

The transitional period between the PPE Directive and the PPE Regulation has come to an end.  All new PPE placed on the market now must fully comply with the new PPE Regulation.  For more information, please have a look at the PPE Regulation here and the PPE Guidelines here

The FSPA is engaged with FESI and the UK Government for a balanced approach on EU Protective Clothing.  Member States are divided on the correct classification of UV protective clothing.  While the PPE Guidelines consider all garments manufactured to have specific UV-protective properties against natural UV radiation as PPE Category 1, several Member States would like to see those products reclassified as PPE Category 2.

We are working with the UK Government to adopt a more pragmatic and balanced approach to ensure that only garments providing a high level of protection against natural UV radiation should have the CE marking.  We shared FESI’s position paper with the UK Government and we are working closely with them, providing answers to the many questions they have asked.  The FSPA will keep you updated on the outcome and if you would like further information or to be part of the circulation list providing the answers please contact Jane Montgomery – Email: [email protected]

Transparency in Supply Chains Consultation

Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the UK became the first country to require organisations to publicly report on the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.  In July 2018, the Home Secretary commissioned the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act and on 22 May 2019 the final Review report was published.  The transparency recommendations included clarifying the scope of organisations required to report, increasing compliance, further embedding transparency requirements into business culture, improving reporting quality and extending the requirement to publish a modern slavery statement to public sector organisations.

To inform changes to the legislation, this consultation will gather views on measures designed to future-proof the UK’s approach and enhance the impact of transparency.  The consultation is being carried out by the UK Government.

If you are a member which currently publishes a statement, a commercial organisation is required to publish an annual statement if all the criteria below apply:

• it is a ‘body corporate’ or a partnership, wherever incorporated or formed
• it carries on a business, or part of a business, in the UK
• it supplies goods or services
• it has an annual turnover of £36 million or more

Please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transparency-in-supply-chains and complete the questions asked by Government and forward to [email protected] by 30 August 2019 thus allowing the sporting goods industry to respond to the Consultation which closes on 17 September.

Section 1 – Content of Statements

Section 2 – Transparency, Compliance and Enforcement

Mutual Recognition of Goods: what you need to know

To help members better understand what this means for your business, FESI has prepared an infographic.  For any questions please contact Jane Montgomery – Email: [email protected]