UK Toy Safety Call for Evidence Examines AI Toys

If you have ever bought a toy online and wondered who checks it is actually safe, this new consultation is really about that question. On 6 July 2026, the Department for Business and Trade launched a Call for Evidence on toy safety, saying the rules need to keep pace with chemical risks, new technologies and AI-enabled toys, whether products are bought on the high street or online. (gov.uk) The official line is simple enough: parents should be able to trust the toys they buy. But the subtext is bigger. Toys are no longer only physical objects; some now connect, respond and rely on software, which means safety law has to deal with more than older product risks alone. (gov.uk)

**What this means:** a Call for Evidence is the stage where government asks for examples, concerns and practical suggestions before deciding whether rules need changing. In practice, ministers are saying: show us where the gaps are, especially now that toys and shopping habits are changing so quickly. (gov.uk) You do not need to be a regulator or a toy company to have a view. The Department for Business and Trade says the window stays open until 6 October 2026 and welcomes responses from parents, consumer groups, businesses, enforcement authorities and the wider public. (gov.uk)

In the Government’s wider product safety consultation, published on GOV.UK on 31 March 2026, officials say AI-enabled products can include connected home devices, children’s toys and other physical products that use software. The same document says future rules may need to address harms linked to automated decision-making and adaptive behaviour. (gov.uk) **Why AI toys are different:** a product that can adapt or behave differently over time is harder to assess than one that stays the same from factory to playroom. The consultation text says AI in physical products can raise questions about physical safety, data security and possible psychological harms, which is why ministers are asking for evidence now rather than waiting for a bigger problem later. (gov.uk)

This toy review does not stand alone. On 31 March 2026, the Government opened broader consultations on a new product safety framework, saying the current core system still rests on the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and has been stretched by global supply chains, fast technological change and the rise of online shopping. Parliament had already backed this direction through the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025. (gov.uk) That wider context matters because toy safety is one of the clearest places where several pressures meet at once: children’s products, online marketplaces and software-led design. That is an inference from the Government’s reform programme rather than a separate claim, but it helps explain why toys have been pulled into the centre of this year’s safety debate. (gov.uk)

The online shopping question runs through all of this. In March, ministers said online marketplaces should be held to the same high product safety standards as bricks-and-mortar shops, after warning that too many dangerous products reach UK consumers online. (gov.uk) The same consultation notes that the British Toy and Hobby Association has purchased and assessed 620 toys from online marketplaces since 2018. You should not read that as proof that every toy sold online is unsafe. You can read it as a reminder that when products pass through third-party sellers and digital platforms, responsibility can become harder to follow, which is exactly what regulators are now trying to make clearer. (gov.uk)

Kate Dearden, the Minister for Consumer Protection, has framed the toy review around confidence: parents should feel sure the toys they buy are safe, and responsible businesses should be able to work within clear modern rules. The 6 July announcement also links safer products to consumer confidence more broadly, saying trust helps people feel able to spend. (gov.uk) This is also part of a bigger consumer protection push. The Government says it has already brought in new protections against fake reviews and drip pricing, is acting on subscription traps and plans a wider consumer action plan later in 2026. In a separate Department for Business and Trade announcement on 2 April 2026, ministers said new subscription rules are expected to save consumers around £400 million a year. (gov.uk)

**What happens next:** evidence comes first, then analysis, then decisions on whether guidance, regulations or enforcement need to change. The Government’s March consultation page already shows that kind of process in action, with feedback now being analysed after the response window closed on 23 June 2026. (gov.uk) For you, the useful takeaway is that toy safety now reaches beyond long-standing questions about physical and chemical hazards. It also touches software behaviour, connectivity, online selling and who is responsible when something goes wrong. If you want to help shape that discussion, the toy Call for Evidence is open until 6 October 2026. (gov.uk)