Construction: Certification Quality Marks

(asked on 13th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prepare for when both the CE and UK Conformity Assessed markings will be accepted for construction materials; how they will ensure there are enough testing facilities for each type of product; and how many new testing facilities they estimate will be required for products that are currently tested in the EU.


Answered by
Lord Greenhalgh Portrait
Lord Greenhalgh
This question was answered on 26th May 2021

Since January 2021, construction products that meet UK requirements and bear the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark can be placed on the market in Great Britain. To provide sufficient time for businesses to transition to the new requirements and to ensure that the supply of construction materials continues to meet demand, construction products can continue for a time-limited period to be placed on the market in Great Britain without any need for reassessment or re-marking if EU requirements are met - this includes products bearing the CE marking.

The Government is working closely with industry to help them manage these changes for all goods sectors, including construction products. There are capacity and capability constraints for UK conformity assessment bodies to assess construction products against some UK designated standards. We are working with industry to identify the right support, and any interventions that may be required, to ensure that products can continue to be placed on the market in Great Britain.

However, businesses must prepare for the end of recognition of the CE mark in Great Britain, and affix the UKCA marking using a UK-recognised approved body. Guidance explaining the necessary actions for businesses to take was published in September, and legislation to enable this came into force on 31 December 2020. We have engaged extensively with stakeholders to assess issues and develop mitigations, including for Assessment and Verification of Constancy of Performance (AVCP) system 3 products. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will soon be updating its guidance to provide further detail on what industry must do to prepare for the end of recognition of the CE mark in Great Britain for construction products.

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