Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the regulations governing construction products placed on the Great Britain and Northern Ireland markets have changed.
We are currently in a transition period which is due to end on 31 December 2021. During the transition period existing construction products can continue to be CE marked for placement on the UK market. New products must follow the new regime, outlined below.
For applicable products placed on the GB market UKCA marking will replace CE marking.
The rules for products placed on the NI market are different due to the terms of the EU‐UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed in 2020. The NI Protocol ensures ‘unfettered access’ to the EU market and therefore construction products that are CE marked can continue to be placed on the NI market. Where the CE mark is based on an assessment by a body based in the UK (including Northern Ireland) it must be accompanied by a UK(NI) indication (i.e. CE+UK(NI) marking) since the assessment is not accepted outside the UK.
Further headlines are as follows:
- The previous requirements of the EU Construction Products Regulations (CPR) have been brought into UK law via amendments to legislation:
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/465/pdfs/uksi_20190465_en.pdf https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1359/pdfs/uksi_20201359_en.pdf ∙ UK Notified Bodies have become UK Approved Bodies
- Existing EU harmonised standards (the basis for CE marking) have become UK designated standards (and these will be the basis for UKCA marking).
There are numerous outstanding issues surrounding the transition from CE marking to UKCA marking. One of the key issues is whether existing test data carried out by an EU Notified Body can be used for UKCA marking (and vice versa – whether test data from a UK Approved Body can be used for CE marking purposes). A mutual recognition agreement between the UK and EU would solve many of these issues and it is understood that this remains the ambition of the UK government. Without this additional testing/re‐testing of products may be required.
Due to the ongoing uncertainty the best guidance we can give at present is to contact your Notified/Approved Body as soon as possible, and they will be able to give you the latest information and advise on how the changes will affect your products.
Further information on this topic is available from various sources including: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/construction‐products‐regulation‐in‐great‐britain
https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EU‐Exit‐Business‐ Readiness_Standards‐and‐Alignment_‐Conformity‐Marking‐of‐Construction‐Products_V1.pdf
A list of designated standards is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated‐standards‐construction‐products
A list of Approved Bodies covering construction products is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/uk‐market‐conformity‐assessment‐ bodies?uk_market_conformity_assessment_body_type%5B%5D=approved‐ body&uk_market_conformity_assessment_body_legislative_area%5B%5D=construction‐products
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