Industry chiefs warn plans to drop CE mark in a mess

They warn that global manufacturers are already starting to withdraw products because they regard the UK as too difficult to do business with because transition arrangements are in a mess.

The Construction Leadership Council has written to the new secretaries of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities warning that there is no time to lose.

They explain that presently the transition arrangements are in a mess and the UK testing capacity has not been scaled up to meet the demands.

Construction chiefs are calling for the two-year delay to allow a joint working party to be established between Government and the construction sector to plan a transition to the new arrangements.

In the letter to Grant Shapps and Michael Gove they warn: “Given the current business environment of significant material inflation, increased energy costs and uncertainty, we call for urgent action and intervention to assist the construction sector to remain resilient and deliver upon the current and future needs of the country.

“The CA mark and transition arrangements from CE remains unclear and the UK testing capacity has not been able to scale up to meet the demands.

“As a result, many global manufacturers now regard the UK as just too difficult to do business with, which has resulted in products being withdrawn – impacting on the UK’s ability to deliver completed projects.

“Not all products are affected but many of the most important to construction are, such as glues and sealants, glass, insulation, radiators and passive fire protection to name a few, which are all necessary to deliver the new homes, schools and hospitals the country needs.”

Approximately 28% of construction products are imported and half of that from the EU.

updated: 24/10/2022