It has been confirmed that the final transition to UKCA Marking from CE Marking will be delayed by 12 months allowing time for legislation to pass through Parliament, industry to prepare for change and the newly formed UK Approved Bodies to put in place the necessary processes to support the market.
Pressure has been mounting, not just from the construction sector, but the wider product manufacturing sector, that limitations related to mutuality of recognition have thrown up a number of practical challenges that could have prevented products being available from the 1st January 2022. A delay of the transition deadline to January 2023 has been rumoured, but was confirmed by Government yesterday that CE Marked products would still be able to be placed in the UK market for another 12 months.
Commenting on the delay, FIS CEO Iain McIlwee said:
“When we are already beset by shortages, to remove further uncertainty, at least for the short-term is good news – this announcement will give manufacturers more time to prepare, but also distribution to make decisions about stock. Concerns with the implementation of the UKCA Mark have dominated discussions of the Construction Leadership Council’s Regulatory Alignment Group over the past 12 months and I know the Construction Products Association have been taking these concerns forward to Government on our behalf. This delay is good news as it give us a but more time to prepare, but it doesn’t solve all the issues associated with Mutuality of Recognition and particularly the daft situation that manufacturers and suppliers will still need to re-test or assess products in a different geographical location for no reason other than politics. In the wake of a renewed focus on Building Safety and more rigorous testing regimes, it is potty to waste money and time and tie up vital and valuable testing time to tick political boxes.”
It should be remembered that no such extension is available to products being sent to the EU from the UK, where CE Mark, where necessary issued by an EU Notified Body according to EU Rules. This means UK Test reports will still not be recognised by the EU thus unilaterally invalidating all existing AVCP System 3 testing carried out in the UK and those for the future. These tests will need to be repeated at an EU-27 Notified Body. The announcement does not change the situation in Northern Ireland.
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