Businesses have been given an extra year to apply the new UKCA safety marking on their products to enter the UK market, the government announced today [24 August] after the construction sector has voiced concerns about the previous deadline.
Considering the severe impact the pandemic has had on most of the UK’s industry, manufacturers will now have until 1 January, 2023 (rather than 1 January, 2022) to apply the new UKCA safety compliance marking on their products.
The UKCA marking replaces the product safety labelling the UK previously used while a member of the EU, such as the CE mark.
Commenting on the extension, James Talman, chief executive of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), said: “At a time when we are facing some of the worst material availability and inflation in living memory, this announcement will come as a welcome relief for manufacturers and merchants. We have been telling the government that the 1 January, 2022, deadline was not feasible for some time, with many products simply unable to receive certification by the deadline.
“This extra time will provide much-needed breathing space for supplies to undertake the necessary tests and acquire the correct paperwork. The government should now work with industry to ensure the supply chain is fully prepared for the new 2023 deadline, particularly smaller firms, so we do not face similar problems in the future.”
Meanwhile, Jeff May, government relations and business development director of the Construction Products Association (CPA), which had campaigned for the introduction of the UKCA mark to be postponed to January 2024, added: “To the government’s credit, they realised some of the challenges were difficult to meet and couldn’t have happened at a worse time given shortages in imported supplies and tougher building safety regulation.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we can meet the new deadline although there will be a lot of challenges to do this.”
John Newcomb, chief executive of the Builders Merchants Federation, also commented: “The government’s decision to postpone planned changes to product marking rules for 12 months is good news and gives welcome breathing space. It allows more time to rectify complex technical issues so that British and European manufacturers can work towards gaining UKCA marking, but further action is needed.
“There are currently not enough approved companies or qualified people to conduct the huge number of assessments and certifications required, and the extension does nothing to nurture what limited testing capacity and capability there is within Great Britain. We would like to see more support for a home testing market.
“There is a danger that simply extending the time period for CE marked goods to be placed on the GB market is just kicking the can down the road, and not providing a long term solution.”
Meanwhile, Andy Mitchell, co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, said: “Given the widespread pressures on product supply, we welcome this pragmatic decision by the government to extend the deadline for CE-marked products.
“However, even with this extension, it will still be very challenging to ensure that the
whole sector is ready for the new date, given the need to drive major increases in
testing capacity.
“it is vital that industry continues to work with the Government to address these issues,
ensuring that we don’t just postpone the crisis by 12 months, but instead establish a
robust testing and marking regime to ensure the continued safety and performance of
the products that we use.”
>> To read more about UKCA marking in the news, click here.
