Samantha Dixon, the Building Safety Minister, laid new legislation in parliament on 10 November 2025, regarding construction products.
These regulations make minor technical amendments to ensure continuity of the current policy of recognising CE marked construction products as an alternative to the UKCA mark when placing products in scope of harmonised/ designated standards on the market in Great Britain.
Please note: these changes do not create any new requirements for manufacturers or others in the supply chain when placing a product on the market in Great Britain.
Background:
• These amendments are necessary because our current regulations only recognise CE marked products where they comply with the 2011 EU CPR. Any products that in future meet the new (2024) EU CPR and are CE marked (but not UKCA marked) would not comply with the legal requirements for placing that product on the market in GB without this change.
• These regulations therefore amend our legislation (the retained/ assimilated 2011 regs and the 2013 regulations) so that it recognises products that are legitimately CE marked under either the original 2011 EU CPR or the new (2024) EU CPR.
• This maintains the current policy of allowing construction products that meet the requirements under the EU law to be placed on the market in Great Britain without the need for further testing or additional marking.
• All regulated products in the European Union will remain subject to the EU CPR 2011 until a revised product standard is adopted under the EU-CPR 2024 and the previous standard is repealed. Both EU regulations will operate in tandem as coverage gradually transfers to the EU-CPR 2024, with the EU CPR 2011 due to be repealed in full in 2040.
• Whilst it will take many years for products to move from being regulated under the 2011 EU CPR to the 2024 EU CPR, it is important to have the legislation in place in advance of this.
• The Statutory Instrument can be viewed here and the Explanatory Memorandum is here.
The Explanatory Memorandum sets out that the government does not intend for this assimilated EU law to be kept in place indefinitely, with system-wide reform of the construction products regime underway.
The government has committed to publish a White Paper setting out further developed policy and the next steps for long-term reform “before spring 2026”.
European Technical Assessments
There is, however, no similar provision in the 2011 Regulation to recognise EU Technical Assessments (ETAs). These amendments will not change this policy, and it will instead be considered as part of the proposed wider reforms.
So, if I am a manufacturer placing a product on the GB market:
• where a UKTA has been undertaken for my product against a UKAD, or following a pre-exit EAD (at present there is no provision enabling post-exit EADs to be used as the basis for a UKTA), I am obliged under UK law to draw up a Declaration of Performance (Article 4(1)) and affix a product mark (Article 8(1))
• where a UKTA has not been drawn up for my product, my product is outside of the regulations that apply in GB
• where I have undertaken an ETA against a post-exit EAD, my product will be CE marked (NB there is no corresponding obligation in GB, where a UKTA has not been drawn up for this product, and the fact that my product is CE marked is not relevant here in the GB context).
As there is currently no UK equivalent of EOTA, the best way of knowing whether a UKTA has been issued for a manufacturer’s product is to ask the manufacturer.
Note that where a UKAD has been drawn for an individual manufacturer, with a UKTA in place, that manufacturer would then have to develop a Declaration of Performance (DoP) and conformity mark their products that are in scope accordingly. If another manufacturer of the same/similar product wanted to also UKCA mark their product, they would have to go to a UK TAB (Technical Assessment Body) and get a UKTA drawn up for their product.
White labels
The Construction Products Association (CPA) has recently published guidance for manufacturers and others on ‘Understanding your Declaration of Performance Obligations for the GB Market’. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the national regulator for construction products, supported CPA in this work.
The CPA and OPSS intend to build further on this collaboration, specifically in the development of guidance for industry relating to the use of private labels, white labels or own-branding in the construction products sector. This initiative follows recent work by OPSS to assess the prevalence and impact of this practice, prompted by concerns raised by industry stakeholders and the identification of compliance gaps, as there may be a perception that non-compliant practices are tolerated. This undermines compliant businesses and poses risks to building safety, including structural integrity and fire protection.
CAB has joined the Industry Working Group led by CPA/ OPSS to develop new guidance on White/Private Labelling, with the first meeting on 9 December 2025. The goal is to produce a first draft of the guidance by July 2026, subject to progress and any emerging challenges. Meantime, if you have any concerns regarding the marking of white/private label or own-brand products, please email justin.furness@c-a-b.org.uk