The Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness Rushanara Ali has announced that the government will extend the period of recognition of CE marking for construction products with it continuing to be recognised on construction products on the market across the UK past 30 June 2025.
The decision comes after findings from the Independent Review of the Construction Products Testing Regime found that there is currently insufficient testing and certification capacity in the UK alone to provide the volume of conformity assessment that would be required were CE recognition to end.
The government body also acknowledged that CE marking without reforming the domestic regime would create trade barriers and negatively affect the supply of products that meet recognised standards.
In a statement, the Labour MP said: “I am also determined to address the inadequacies across the wider construction products regime. Residents and communities need to be confident that their homes will be safe and well-built now and in the future. To ensure this, the government will want to take into account any recommendations from the forthcoming Grenfell Inquiry report to inform proposals for reform.
“Therefore, I am making this extension, and the longer-term future of CE/UKCA marking, conditional on this government committing to system wide reform of the construction products regulatory regime.”
As part of the reforms, the government will work with UK Conformity Assessment Bodies, the UK Accreditation Service, and the wider industry to strengthen the conformity assessment market.
The statement later confirmed that any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum two-year transitional period.
