Learn Swedish: I fråga om säkerhet finns det stränga regler. - As regards safety, there are strict rules.

I fråga om (as regards / in the matter of) sounds a bit formal and is very common in news, reports, and professional contexts. In everyday conversation, Swedes are more likely to use när det gäller (when it comes to).

Why does the verb finns come before det in this sentence?

This is the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action. Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase I fråga om säkerhet, the verb finns must take the second position in the main clause, pushing the dummy subject det to the third position.

Why do we use finns det here instead of är det for "there are"?

When stating that something exists ("there is" or "there are"), Swedish uses the s-verb finns (literally "is found"). You cannot use är det for existence; det är is reserved for describing conditions or identities, like det är kallt (it is cold).

Could I use hårda instead of stränga to describe the rules?

Yes, hårda regler (tough or hard rules) is a very common alternative and conveys almost the exact same meaning. However, stränga is specifically used for "strict" in the sense of discipline and rigid enforcement.