European CE mark extension gives UK manufacturers the chance to remain competitive

In one of the very first ministerial statements to be made by the new government on parliament’s return after the summer recess, confirmation came that the European CE mark will continue to be available for construction products and accepted in the UK beyond 30 June 2025.

This is very good news, as it marks an end to years of industry uncertainty following the introduction of the replacement UKCA mark.

The announcement demonstrates the importance that the government places on the construction products sector and the wider industry. And, coupled with Labour’s pledge to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationships with the EU, we now have an important opportunity to build and align a system that enables smoother long-term trade with our European and non-European neighbours.

One of our concerns was the speed at which UK standards were moving away from those European standards

CE marking has been a fact of life for product manufacturers for decades, but it should be noted that the CE mark applies only to products covered by harmonised European standards. These standards are developed by European technical committees which, before Brexit, included many British experts.

The standards provide a common technical language and assessment method for construction products and a single European scheme for declaring product performance. The standards help to remove barriers to trade between participating countries.

One of our concerns was the speed at which UK standards were moving away from those European standards, inevitably causing duplication of effort and increased costs to trade with our European neighbours.

To qualify for the UKCA mark, every product also had to be separately tested and certified by a UK-based organisation. However, as acknowledged in the government statement, the UK currently does not have the capacity or the capability to test the volume and breadth of qualifying products.

The radiator industry estimated it would have taken 76 years to test and certify every product to the new UKCA mark

Although the CE mark only applies to harmonised and designated standards covering around 400 product types, they include some of the biggest product sectors in our industry. For example, the radiator industry estimated that it would have taken 76 years to test and certify every product to the new UKCA mark.

The Construction Products Association (CPA) has long argued that the risk of creating a product testing and certification regime that increasingly diverges from European systems puts the British construction products industry at a competitive disadvantage. It should be remembered that large construction product manufacturers are often pan-European organisations, with supply chains stretching across Europe and to the Middle East, China and beyond. For British companies to remain competitive, routes of supply need to be opened up.

Indeed, in the years of uncertainty since Brexit, we have seen a significant decrease in reserach and development in the construction products sector, with investors reluctant to commit to a market experiencing increasing barriers to trade.

Meanwhile, the new UK government has announced a renewed commitment to building projects; reinstating housing targets, relaxing planning laws and committing to building more infrastructure. Construction products are the foundation of the construction industry and, to meet these government targets, we need a healthy and robust construction products market.

So, by continuing with the CE mark for harmonised products and removing the uncertainty around the UKCA mark, we now have an opportunity for the UK to align with Europe.

As the first phase of the revised European construction products regulation is applied over the coming months, the UK will now be better able to compete on a European and international level.

Of course, coming just days before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report, the minister’s statement also asserted that the extension to CE marking is conditional on the government committing to system-wide reform of the construction products regulatory regime. This means more important changes still to come.

But this is an opportunity to look forward. By working together to implement the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, and building on industry programmes to improve trust, competence, procurement and regulation, we can create a stronger industry that is able to compete in key markets while delivering safer, better quality buildings that perform as expected.

Peter Caplehorn is chief executive of the Construction Products Association