UKCA, what now?

[kerry davies]

I have just found out that BSI is to remain a member of and chair committees on CEN and CENELEC and UK HMG will recognise both those bodies. There is no mention of the 2023 deadline for CE markings to become invalid or the implementation of UKCA and UKNI marking which is apparently in huge difficulties.

As I am retired this is just a topic of interest but rather than "taking back control" and having a British regulatory body we might end up with two or more. Does anyone know anything?

[Bryson]

I’m going to need an ADL* for this 

* = Acronym Decoding List

Now kindly supplied by Kerry:

Quote

CEN = European Committee for Standardization

CENELEC = European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

ETSI = European Telecommunications Standards Institute

HMG = Her Majesty's Government

UKCA = The new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking is a certification mark that indicates conformity with the applicable requirements for products sold within Great Britain (which may or may not be different to EU standards.)

UKNI = Ditto for Northern Ireland. NI is in UK but not in GB. 

ECJ/CJEU = Court of Justice of the EU

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Bryson
My wish was granted.

[Brian]

Most standards bodies have nothing to do with the EU. CENELEC has Turkey as a full member and many North African countries as affiliates. So the issue of CE and UKCA marking is not about the standards but about the recognition of those standards.

Beside, the UK was never going to go its own way as it makes absolutely no commercial sense to do so and, luckily, most standards bodies are run by industry and not governments.

[kerry davies]

They aren't EU bodies, Brian but were set up by EU Regulation, the latest being 1025/2012. The original intent was to set the same standards across the Single Market but, as you say they outgrew the EU. The problem from a UK PoV is that EU Regulation 1025/2012 is under the legislature of the ECJ which the UK government will not accept.

Until last week they rejected outright any recognition of CEN, CENELEC or ESTI and were indeed "going it alone" on rejecting CE marks in favour of UKCA. BSI always knew this was impossible, a tiny nation like us cannot dictate to a global market, but this government promised it to the electorate. Now that BSI is able to remain a member of them, will continue to adopt "European" standards and thus recognises the ECJ if only passively where does that leave government?

What happens on 01/01/2023? Is the CE mark still banned from the UK? If we are now recognising CEN etc is there any point in UKCA? 

[Bryson]

If I may interject a potential parallel:  In Canada we share a continent with the 800lb gorilla, the USA.  In theory, most products are supposed to carry certification specific to Canada:  cUL or CSA, but in practice, most AHJs will also accept regular UL marked items.  The one area where that doesn't fly is electrical assemblies, on which they're very strict.  (In fact we sometimes have to schedule an in-Canada special inspection of otherwise entirely legitimate electrical products that merely have the US certs.)  I would imagine you could find yourselves in a similar situation.

 

ADL:

cUL = Canadian Underwriters Laboratories.  (It's a lower case c because we have self-image problems.)
CSA = Canadian Standards Association
AHJ = Authority Having Jurisdiction
UL = Underwriters Laboratories

[kerry davies]

... and as if by magic, George "Useless" Eustice announced on Wednesday that; 

Quote

‘It will take time’ UK to delay changes to post-Brexit chemical safety rules until 2025

BREXIT BRITAIN could be set to delay changes to the UK's post-EU chemical safety rules until October 2025.

This Brexit thing is somewhat beyond the REACH of this government. 

[alistermorton]

I expect we'll see a lot more of this can kicking over the next couple of years.

[kerry davies]

We have 3 weeks before a whole load of customs arrangements which were can-kicked a year ago come round again and rumour has it that some small firms haven't even bothered with it as they hope and expect it to be delayed ad infinitum until we rejoin.

The Daily Express is upset that UK GDP continues to fall as EU GDP returns to 2018 levels. They are going to be despairing once they realise that the EU GDP has returned to a point when the UK and it's 66M people were still in the EU so is in effect a 13% increase since then. 

[kerry davies]

As if by magic they have cancelled New Year's Day.

Quote

UK delays Brexit checks on goods entering from Ireland. Rules due to come into force on 1 January postponed as act of ‘good faith’, says Brexit minister.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by kerry davies

[kerry davies]

Quote

According to updates on the gov.uk website, anyone driving a van, a light commercial vehicle or any car towing a trailer will be required to have a “goods vehicle operator licence” to enter the EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland from May. Drivers will have to fork out £257 in an application fee and a further £401 for the licence. Another £401 “continuation fee” will be payable every five years to retain the licence, according to gov.uk.

Oh and what I wrote on the 10th didn't last a week, DEFRA has announced that they can't be bothered with UK REACH even though they created it and will now water down EU standards on toxic and carcinogenic chemicals.  as well as delay things until 2025. 

Still no sign of an Inland Border Facility at Fishguard

[kerry davies]

More deep joy on this subject seeing as it is December soon. In the middle of Gov.UK pushing for EU law revocation (REUL) and claiming they can get what they "think"* is 4,000 pieces of legislation scrapped by the end of 2023, regardless if it is devolved law or not, the latest pronouncement causes more confusion.

* I say "think" because they set up a dashboard with 2,400 laws then found another 1,400 under the carpet..... SO FAR!!

Quote

 The UK government has extended the deadline for the implementation of the UKCA mark and will continue to recognise the CE marking until the end of 2024. 

Nobody has bothered asking them how this matches up with the 2023 deadline being debated in parliament right now. An interesting aside is that since 2016 a grand total of 33 EU laws have been scrapped and repealed and that, in a good year, Westminster manages to pass about 30-35 simple pieces of legislation.  

 

[GR1]

By 2024 the UK will probably have a Swiss style agreement with the EU in which case recognition of CE will continue and UKCA will wither in the breeze. No business can plan with the clowns we have in Government at the moment.

[themadhippy]

In the name of community sprit,I would like to help the government out,I wont charge a consultancy fee or any other charges,you can have this one for free.

Dear mps and civil servants,this is an elbow

and this is an arse

I hope that helps clears the confusion up,if you need any more help do get in touch

[kerry davies]

Quote

The Government has announced that businesses will be given until 30 June 2025 to apply new product safety marking on construction products.

Right again, Alister, the builders appear to have been having a moan about UKCA.

Just had a look at the REUL dashboard listing all they nasty EU laws they are scrapping. They still list Jacob Rees-Mogg as Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency a post abolished back in September. I don't hold out much hope of them not making a pig's ear of it all.

Edited December 17, 2022 by kerry davies

[kerry davies]

What now? As predicted the UK government announced somewhat quietly at midnight last night that "the UK will retain the EU's CE product safety mark indefinitely."

The obvious caveats apply. The press have got it wrong and this applies to Great Britain and not the UK, HMG insist that British companies are free to use either CE or UKCA but haven't got around to working out if they can use both and they are totally silent on the UKNI mark. (I think that has already died a lingering natural death.)

I have given up trying to navigate the REUL dashboard but in June the HSE announced that 38 H&S laws would automatically revoke on December 31st coming. They conveniently did not list them but told people to go find them on REUL under the DWP department.