Machinery & Manufacturing
CE or UKCA ?
Your questions answered
BY STRAFFORD COOKE , TECHNICAL DIRECTOR , MILA
If you read the BBC and other media reports on what they called ‘ the government ’ s post-Brexit climbdown ’ on CE / UKCA marking , you might have thought it meant we could all relax and continue using the EU ’ s CE product safety symbol indefinitely .
Unfortunately , that ’ s not the case . While CE marking will still be allowed on most manufactured goods including machinery , PPE and low voltage electricals moving forward , it will not be allowed for construction products after 30 June 2025 . So , the switch to UKCA marking is currently very much still on for companies in this sector .
I ’ ve already had a few customers calling me to check this , so here ’ s my round up of the FAQs which hopefully will help :
WHY ARE CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS NOT INCLUDED IN THE CLIMBDOWN ?
Partly , it ’ s because Construction Product Regulations are the responsibility of Michael Gove ’ s Department for Levelling Up , Housing and Communities ( DLUHC ) rather than the Department for Business and Trade ( DBT ) which covers the 18 product areas included in the latest announcement .
The official reason given by the DLUHC why construction products were not included is that they want to ensure that ‘ the testing regime for construction products in Great Britain is effective and inspires public and market confidence ’.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF TIMINGS ?
Unless we get further information from the DLUHC , timings are unchanged for construction products , so we can all still use CE marking until 30 June 2025 . But , from that point onwards , products will need be tested , certified and labelled to UKCA .
WHAT ACTION DO UK BUSINESSES NEED TO TAKE ?
We ’ ve known about the impending UKCA requirements since about 2020 so I would expect most businesses to be well on the way to completing the switch by now . Certainly , Mila now has UKCA marking on all our previously CE marked products , and we have retained the CE mark as well because we also sell many of these products into Europe and the UKCA mark is not recognised there .
What ’ s required is a Certificate of Conformance from a UK ‘ Approved Body ’ for UKCA ( or an EU ‘ Notified Body ’ for CE ). The likes of Element and BSI are established as both types of Bodies which makes life easier , and you simply choose which Certificate ( or both ) you require depending on where your products will be sold .
UKCA essentially follows the same EU Harmonised Standards rules and regulations as CE marking ( although , they ’ re now known as UK Designated Standards ). However , because there is currently no mutual recognition agreement between the UK and the EU , from a fabricator ’ s perspective , any AVCP3 characteristic previously tested by an EU Notified Body still needs to be retested by a UK Approved Body for it to be UKCA marked .
ARE THE RULES STILL DIFFERENT IN NORTHERN IRELAND ?
Yes . The CE mark was always due to remain in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Brexit agreement and that will continue to be the case , as well as the addition of a new UKNI mark ( equivalent to UKCA ). Businesses there must use the UKNI symbol for products coming into Great Britain ( when using a UK Approved Body ) or the CE mark on its own to access NI , GB an EU markets when using an EU Notified Body .
IS THERE LIKELY TO BE ANOTHER U-TURN ?
All we ’ ve heard from the DLUHC so far is that it will set out its proposal for reform of the construction products regime ‘ in due course ’. The construction industry is lobbying hard for a U-turn on CE marking , but while the DLUHC is still grappling with the Hackitt report and the Building Safety Act , it seems low down on their list of priorities .
As things stand , we all have to push ahead with the switch to UKCA marking as planned . However , it is perhaps worth nothing what the Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said in the DBT press release announcing the U-turn : “ Industry has long been concerned that the full introduction of UKCA labelling would be damaging by erecting a barrier to trade and adding administrative burdens and cost .”
www . mila . co . uk
94 OCTOBER 2023 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM