As well as derailing government house-building targets, the construction industry has warned that the rules could impact the UK’s decarbonisation efforts and exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis.
Under the UK’s new regulatory goods regime, manufacturers currently have until 1 January 2023 to obtain a UKCA marking on a huge range of products which will replace the EU CE marking. The government says the move is an opportunity “to make our regulations work in the best interests of UK consumers and businesses”.
However, the construction industry says the deadline represents “a fast-approaching cliff edge” as there is not enough testing capacity in the UK to ensure certain crucial building products are certified.
The CE mark demonstrates that products comply with health and safety and environmental protection legislation. It has been a minimum requirement for manufacturers to place on their products in the EU market since 1993.
CE testing is currently undertaken...