The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) has published a summary of responses to its draft inclusion framework and pre-action model for the digital justice system. A total of 47 responses were received, showing broad support for the OPRC’s objectives to enhance access to justice and promote digital inclusion. However, views differed on how best to achieve these aims. The OPRC intends to discuss the feedback at its open meeting scheduled for 20 October 2025, with next steps expected to be announced in early 2026.

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have launched a consultation on revised hourly fee rates for specialist and non-specialist staff in respect of offshore environmental and decommissioning functions under Part IV of the Petroleum Act 1998 (PA 1998). The revised rates will be used to calculate costs recovered in connection with the Secretary of State’s statutory environmental and decommissioning functions. The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 13 March 2026.

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) has published guidance on charges for offshore oil and gas decommissioning functions under Part IV of the Petroleum Act 1998 (PA 1998), as amended by the Energy Act 2023. The Offshore (Oil and Gas) Installation and Pipeline Abandonment Charges Regulations 2026, SI 2026/853, which came into effect on 30 September 2026, replace the 2012 fees regime and provide for quarterly charging based on actual costs. Cost recovery extends to previously non-chargeable functions, including financial assessments, post-approval monitoring and preparation of notices under PA 1998, s 29. Persons served with notices under PA 1998, s 29 are liable for charges, jointly and severally where multiple persons are served. These are generally the current operators. Charges reflect OPRED staff time and relevant expenses, with hourly rates of £256 for specialist environmental officers, £132 for non-specialist decommissioning officers and £130 for non-specialist administration officers. Payment is due within 30 days of the date of the charging notice. The guidance also explains transitional arrangements for existing and split decommissioning programmes.

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for the Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) will consult on updated environmental guidance for offshore oil and gas projects in response to a Supreme Court ruling. It sets out the elements that must be considered by operators when assessing emissions from the burning of the oil and gas they produce. The ruling in the Finch v Surrey County Council on 20 June 2024 requires greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of oil and gas to be assessed as part of Environmental Impact Assessments for oil and gas extraction projects.

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) has updated its comprehensive guidance on offshore environmental legislation, covering 22 regulatory frameworks affecting oil and gas operations. The update includes new supplementary guidance for assessing scope 3 emissions effects on climate from offshore projects, published following public consultation between October 2024 and January 2025. The guidance encompasses regulations from conservation of marine habitats to pollution control, emissions trading schemes and environmental impact assessments.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued guidance on changes to general product safety rules in Northern Ireland (NI), effective from 13 December 2024. EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR) will supersede The General Product Safety Regulations (EU) 2005/1803 (GPSR) in NI. The guidance outlines obligations for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and online marketplace providers, emphasising that all consumer products within scope must be safe, whether new, used, repaired, or reconditioned. Safety assessments will consider various product aspects, including design, composition, and instructions.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has announced that the British Standards Institution (BSI) published new guidance to help manufacturers and designers assess a product’s environmental impact across its entire life cycle, including raw material extraction and processing, design, production, packaging, transportation, use, and end of life. The guidance, titled 'PAS 7770:2024', is sponsored by OPSS and written as a framework to help organisations and product owners responsible for designing and manufacturing electrical products navigate existing sustainability standards. It can also benefit product consumers, policy makers, recyclers, repurposers, repairers, and retailers.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the UK’s national product regulator within the Department for Business and Trade, has initiated research to address evidence gaps on digitisation, digitalisation and digital transformation across the construction products (CP) industry. The project aims to prepare the UK for future trade in light of upcoming changes to EU regulation in this area, including the introduction of digital construction product passports, intended to reduce the risks associated with untraceable and non-compliant products entering the UK market.

The Office for Product Safety Standards (OPSS) has published its annual report for its Product Safety Database (PSD) for 2023-2024. The PSD is a core dataset for OPSS, providing insight into the market surveillance activity of regulatory officers across the UK.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has published its annual delivery report for the 2024–25 financial year. This 80-page report, which includes a statistical annex, details OPSS’s achievements in safeguarding consumers through product regulation. The report maps OPSS’s outcomes against its five core objectives and highlights its collaborative work with local authorities, public sector organisations, businesses, and consumer bodies. It demonstrates how OPSS effectively fulfils its role as the UK's product regulator by ensuring clear and proportionate product regulation that both facilitates trade and protects consumers from product-related harm.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has published a research report on consumer product compliance to build an understanding of the market, alongside its first Science and Analysis in OPSS report. Its aims in the product compliance report were to develop and test a methodology to generate baseline compliance data across a ‘basket of goods’ comprising popular consumer products bought in-store and online, develop a system of testing these products in a laboratory setting against the appropriate standards and regulations, and assess baseline product safety compliance for the OPSS ‘basket of goods’. While OPSS makes it clear that the results cannot be used to estimate compliance at a wider or national level, due to the sampling methodology used, the findings have been used as an intelligence source to inform OPSS’s regulatory interventions. As for its Science and Analysis in OPSS report, an overview of its use of its evidence, OPSS aims to demonstrate both how it integrates evidence into its day-to-day work, and how it plans for research to define its future trajectory.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has published its delivery report for 2022–2023. The report highlights OPSS's key achievements against its strategic objectives of delivering protection through responsive policy and active enforcement, applying policies and practices that reflect the needs of citizens, enabling responsible business to thrive, co-ordinating local and national regulation and inspiring confidence as a trusted regulator. OPSS noted that the report demonstrates how it is protecting people and places, supporting sustainable growth and making a positive difference.