Key changes and developments

• An alliance of trade unions and health professional bodies has demanded a higher standard of PPE for health and care workers, regardless of whether they are delivering an aerosol-generating procedure (AGP);

• The Public Accounts Committee found that key workers outside of health and social care, including transport and supermarket workers, security guards and taxi drivers, were not provided with PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic, even though “doing so could have prevented them becoming ill or passing on the virus”;

• There is a new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) product marking for goods placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). However, in August 2021 the government announced that businesses will have an extra year to start using the UKCA marking. It pushed back the final deadline from 1 January 2022 to 1 January 2023;

• The government has launched a call for evidence on updating and modernising the UK product safety framework and “exploring changes” to laws that are over 30 years old; and

• the HSE has consulted on changes to the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPER) 1992 that will mean employers have a duty to provide workers with the same health and safety PPE protections as they currently do for employees.