黑洞社区

The government department in charge of construction products will decide shortly whether a decision by Grant Shapps to carry on using the CE mark for another two years will apply to the sector as well.

Yesterday the business secretary said the existing CE mark, which was due to be replaced by the new UKCA mark from next January, will still be in use until the beginning of 2025.

The new regime, which had already been postponed for 12 months, will eventually require all new or updated construction products to be tested in UK facilities in order to be legally sold on the UK market and will replace the current CE mark, introduced in 1985.

But it has been dogged by worries that the UK does not have enough capacity for certain products to be tested and yesterday鈥檚 announcement by Shapps brought an initial wave of relief among businesses.

After the announcement, one chief executive of a major contractor told 黑洞社区: 鈥淐ommon sense has prevailed. The focus must be on where value can be added through a change, rather than a focus on a wholesale change.鈥�

But the final say on whether the CE mark can still be used on construction products now rests with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

A spokesperson confirmed to 黑洞社区: 鈥淒LUHC is considering its approach in relation to CE marking of construction products.鈥�

No timetable has been given for when it will announce its decision but it will have to be before 1 January next year 鈥� given that is the deadline for the new UKCA mark to come into force.

Very sensible decision from . There is no reason at all, & never has been, why we should not continue to accept EU-approved goods in most areas for a long time to come. 1/2

鈥� David Frost (@DavidGHFrost)

Construction Products Association chief executive Peter Caplehorn told 黑洞社区 鈥渋t would be good鈥� if it DLUHC鈥檚 decision followed that of the business department.

He added the issue of testing capacity around products such as glass, sealants and radiators had not gone away.

鈥淣ot all products can be tested in the UK [鈥�] none of that has been addressed,鈥� said Caplehorn. 鈥淲e have been working on this now for two and a half years [and] it has been immensely frustrating.鈥�

BEIS鈥� announcement, which covers a range of product sectors including electronics and lift manufacturers, was welcomed by many including the government鈥檚 chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost, who called Shapps鈥� intervention 鈥渧ery sensible鈥� and said the UK should 鈥渁ccept EU-approved goods in most areas for a long time to come鈥�.

Others have used the decision to call for the entire UKCA initiative to be ditched altogether. One boss told 黑洞社区: 鈥淚f a company is making products for the UK and exporting them here, then it is doubling their bureaucracy because they鈥檙e making products for the CE mark market and exactly the same product for a UKCA market. It鈥檚 madness. I鈥檓 struggling to see what the benefit is for the UK. Prices will just go up.鈥�