It was announced after what was described as "extensive engagement with industry."
Let’s be honest, the idea that Britain could seriously develop its own regime for approving products on matters of safety to rival the CE mark - the trusted global standard - was always bound to end in failure. But let's think about what the statement means in practice.
After Brexit and the TCA, ministers had in mind three different safety approval marks:
UKCA for Great Britain, UKNI for Northern Ireland, and the original CE mark for a temporary period - up to December next year - to give UK industries time to adjust.
The UKCA (and UKNI) mark (for products that can’t be self-certified) has to be issued by a British-based certification body. These are private companies permitted to do this and charge for the work needed to test, evaluate and issue the certificate. UK companies are no longer allowed to issue CE marks.
The first thing that happened was these companies were inundated with firms from here, the EU and elsewhere presumably, needing to get products certified or re-certified by the deadline. There are long delays and a lot of extra costs obviously - as reported by the FT this week.
They were overloaded because there is no 'mutual recognition of conformity assessment' agreement between the UK and EU and therefore EU certifiers couldn’t help. Britain had pressed for such an agreement during negotiations but the EU understandably didn’t want the UK to become an offshore hub approving products for their single market and undermining European companies authorised to issue CE certificates.
More importantly for the whole concept of Brexit, there is now no commercial reason to get either a UKCA or a UKNI mark instead of or in addition to a CE mark. The latter is acceptable everywhere, including GB, NI, EU, and EEA countries, while the first two limit you to just the UK. It makes no sense to pay twice when you can pay once - although that once might now be more expensive, it won’t be twice as much.
Your market size is seven or eight times greater and the mark itself is probably more valuable internationally as well.
The first effect will probably be to see many UK certification bodies go out of business since they will be trading in something for which there is no market if almost nobody wants a UKCA or UKNI mark.
But that isn't the most bizarre thing. Consider this:
While ever the UK accepts the CE mark, British companies will be submitting technical files and evidence of compliance to EU certification bodies in order to get a CE mark proving compliance with harmonised EU laws over which we have zero influence. And they will be doing this not just to export into the EU but before they can legally place the product for sale on the UK market.
The FT reports it this way:
"So, as William Bain at the British Chambers of Commerce observes, the DBT [Business and Trade Dept] decision does not suddenly take the UK back to “pre-TCA” times. It will still see UK companies having to go to Europe to get items tested and certified, adding cost to their processes."
It’s absolutely crazy but this will usually be quicker, cheaper, and therefore the better choice. Considering Brexit was supposed to restore sovereignty, it has achieved precisely the reverse.
Note also that the statement only covers 18 areas for which the department is responsible (toys, pressure vessels, lifts, aerosols, etc) and not medical devices or construction equipment which are handled by other departments and already had later deadlines. At the moment they WILL need a UKCA mark AND a CE mark if the product is to be sold in Europe but I expect a climb down on this shortly.
The Construction Products Association (CPA) is already complaining about being left out HERE.
Essentially, what we are seeing is the slow death of the UKCA and UKNI marks along with the mad idea that Britain could develop its own standards regime and gain a benefit in doing so.
Couched as an "indefinite extension" it is really no such thing. This government will be replaced by Labour next year with a policy of closer alignment to 'make Brexit work' and Starmer isn't going to spend money on all this UKCA malarkey when industry, which he will rely on to get growth in the economy, is adamantly opposed to it. No, what was announced last week was the death of the UKCA mark altogether.
Incidentally, if you look at the schedule of 600 EU laws to be revoked by the end of 2023 you will see nearly all of them contain reasons for them being scrapped like these:
- This regulation relates to a requirement/scheme/agreement which is no longer in operation or is no longer relevant to the UK.
- This legislation is now inoperable because the Joint Undertaking was dissolved in 2001.
- This legislation is unnecessary because it constituted a temporary measure that has now expired.
In short, the great 'bonfire of EU regulations has become nothing more than a simple tidying-up exercise. And it will never be more than that.
