UKCA AND CE MARKING UPDATES

UK Government announces extension of CE mark recognition for businesses

You may be aware that Government today made an announcement about the indefinite extension of recognition of CE marking 
The announcement came from  Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and a copy of it can be found HERE.

Given DBT is responsible for a number of product areas, but notably not construction products, and the prior end date quoted of 31/12/24 is not the previously circulated end date for CE marking of construction products, the Construction Products Association has requested clarification regarding whether the announcement is relevant. The Government department responsible for Construction Products is Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).  
CPA obtained the following clarification on the position in relation to construction products at this stage from DLUHC, which is as follows:
• This announcement applies only to the 18 sectors that fall under DBT. It does not apply to construction products.
• DLUHC have previously stated that recognition of the CE mark for construction products in Great Britain will continue until 30th June 2025.
• The Government is committed to ensuring the testing regime for construction products is effective and inspires public and market confidence.
• DLUHC will set out their proposals for reform of the construction products regime in due course.
 
This means we need to wait for the secondary legislation covering Construction Product Regulations, which is expected later this year – to get clarity on the future Construction Product Regulatory framework.

Further updates for UKCA and CE Markings

This afternoon (9th December) the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities have at last updated the advice regarding the recognition of CE marking when placing construction products on the Great Britain market.

The latest advice indicates that Government will now look to produce legislation to end the recognition of CE marking  on 30th June 2025.

Until that time CE marking can be used to fulfil legal obligations under UK Construction Product Regulations and / or the requirements of Approved Document 7.

Detailed information of the product families affected by this can be found in ASFP’s Advisory Note 30, which can be downloaded from the Publications page on the ASFP website by following the link HERE .

The 2 ½ year extension of the recognition of CE marking for Construction Products is slightly longer that the extension allowed in November for most other product families by the Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills (BEIS), where recognition of CE marking will end at the end of 2024.

The latest Government advice on Construction products can be found by clicking the link HERE .

Updates for UKCA and CE Markings

This article is to update you all on the situation with the Government policy on ending the recognition of CE marking, and replacing with UKCA marking for PFP products placed on the market in Great Britain.

The Government policy since mid last year has been that recognition of CE marking would end on 31/12/22, and where CE marks had been used, UKCA would need to be used from 1/1/23.

However anyone who has seen one of ASFPs regulatory updates would be aware that there was no draft legal instrument to turn that policy into reality.

Yesterday, the Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills (BEIS) published new guidance extending the transition period where CE marking is acceptable to 31/12/24. That guidance can we found on the Government website HERE .

Whilst that initially seems like good news, it appears that this guidance does not apply to construction products. The link above indicates that construction products fall outside the guidance mentioned above.

On the Government website, the following text appears, from the update released by BEIS Minister, Grant Shapps.

“There will be different rules for medical devices, construction products, cableways, transportable pressure equipment, unmanned aircraft systems, rail products, and marine equipment. Government departments responsible for these sectors are making sector specific arrangements.”

The provisions for construction products are set by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The DLUHC pages on transition from CE marking to UKCA marking have not as yet been updated to reflect these changes, and still say that the end of the transition period is 31/12/22. 

HERE is a link to the appropriate web page.

Therefore, at the present time, ASFP are still waiting for clarification from DLUHC regarding a possible extension of the transition period for CE / UKCA marking of Construction Products, and consequently Passive fire protection products.

I will circulate further updates as soon as I have them.