The government has
laid a statutory instrument to ensure a functioning Construction Products
Regulation (CPR) regime when the UK leaves the European Union.
These changes are
necessary to reflect that the UK will no longer be an EU member state from 29
March 2019.
This statutory
instrument delivers the policy approach set out in the technical notice that
was published on 13 September 2018. These arrangements will apply in the event
that the UK exits the European Union without a deal in March 2019. We do not
want or expect a no deal scenario, however it is the duty of a responsible
government to prepare for every eventuality including the possibility of no
deal.
The UK regime will
maintain the requirement on manufacturers to declare the performance of their
construction product, in accordance with product standards, when the product is
placed on the UK market.
The key elements of
this legislation are as follows:
- Construction products already
placed on the market will be able to continue to circulate in the UK.
- Existing European harmonised
standards will become UK ‘designated standards’. This will mean that
immediately following exit day the UK and EU standards will be the same.
Thereafter, new UK standards will be designated by the Secretary of State.
- Where a UK body has
undertaken the third-party conformity assessment processes required under
the UK ‘designated standard’, the manufacturer must affix a new UK mark.
Further, construction products that meet the harmonised European standard
and are affixed with a ‘CE’ mark, can continue to be placed on the UK
market without the need for re-testing or additional marking. This
approach is intended to minimise disruption in the availability of goods
on the UK market. The intention is that these arrangements will be for a
time-limited period, and businesses will be given sufficient notice in
advance of this period coming to an end.
- Where the product marking is
affixed on the basis of self-declaration, then during the time-limited
period the manufacturer will have the choice to use either the UK or CE
mark (or both).
- For products that are not
fully covered by a designated standard, there will be an optional route
available to enable products to be UK marked.
This approach will
ensure that the Construction Products Regulation regime continues to operate
effectively in the UK after we have left the European Union and will provide
legal certainty in the event of no deal.
