黑洞社区

The introduction of a post-Brexit product marking system for the UK has been pushed back again meaning sites will be free to carry on using products with the existing CE mark stamp on them.

The replacement UKCA system had been due to come into force at the start of January, having already been postponed for 12 months with the government telling 黑洞社区 last month it would not be delayed again.

It 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 many have questioned what benefits the UK is getting out of the switch and whether the UK had enough testing capacity for the new mark.

One contracting boss told 黑洞社区 last month the deadline would need to go out again: 鈥淭here is not enough testing capacity here. I struggle to find anyone who thinks this is a great idea. Overseas manufacturers are going to have to make the same product differently because of our plan to have separate British standards. It will just cost more. We鈥檙e lobbying to keep it as it is.鈥�

Another told 黑洞社区: 鈥淟et鈥檚 not change things that don鈥檛 need changing.鈥�

In September, Peter Caplehorn, chief executive of the Construction Products Association, told 黑洞社区 that testing capacity for building products such as glass, sealants and radiators was limited or non-existent.

鈥淲e haven鈥檛 addressed the fundamental problem, the structural problem, which is the capacity of the testing and certification sector,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e still have a problem with several products having nowhere to test in the UK.鈥�

He added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e exactly in the same place as we were when we started this conversation two and half years ago.鈥�

Today, business secretary Grant Shapps bowed to the inevitable and said the government would continue to recognise the CE mark until 31 December 2024.

He said government did not want to 鈥渂urden鈥� businesses at a time of 鈥渄ifficult economic conditions鈥� with Shapps blaming post-pandemic supply shifts and the war in Ukraine for the decision.

While the government relaxed requirements in summer 鈥� allowing existing CE-certified products to switch over to UKCA 鈥� Caplehorn warned the industry would still see a 鈥済radual attrition鈥� across the product sector as materials became unavailable.

鈥淲e understand why the government would like to transition to UKCA and we鈥檙e quite happy to support that but we need a smooth transition, and at the moment it鈥檚 creating a huge amount of uncertainty, cost and disruption,鈥� he said six weeks ago.

The Construction Leadership Council warned earlier this year that a shortage of testing capacity for products including glass and radiators could mean delays to 150,000 new homes due to lack of material availability.

Shapps said the government remained 鈥渄etermined to remove barriers to businesses鈥� and said the delay would give them 鈥渢he breathing space and flexibility they need at this crucial time鈥�.

鈥淭o support manufacturers, the government is also reviewing the wider product safety framework, ensuring we minimise the burdens on business while keeping our system up to date with new innovative methods such as e-labelling,鈥� he added.