Government delays change to post-Brexit safety standards

Brexit

Businesses have been given an extra year to adopt the new post-Brexit product safety marking, which is replacing the currently used European Union's label.

Manufacturers in England, Scotland and Wales initially had until the end of this year to use the new UKCA certification but the change will now only be enforced from the start of 2023, the Business Department has announced.

Companies making medical devices, however, have until July 1, 2023, to make the switch, while goods sold in Northern Ireland can continue to use the CE label.

The Business Department added that the push back of the deadline was in part due to the impact of the pandemic on businesses. It comes after months of consultations with and lobbying by business groups, which warned many products wouldn't be assessed in time. It said the new date was the "final deadline" to comply.

The fresh labelling will come in place of the EU's CE mark, used when the UK was a member of the bloc. Britain officially ended its Brexit transition period at the end of December, marking a final withdrawal from the union.

Manufacturers’ group Make UK welcomed the extension to the deadline as “a huge relief”.

A spokesman said: “Companies were becoming increasingly nervous as the clock ticked down to the end of the year, caught up in the delays and bureaucracy in getting their products tested.

“The extra year will provide both exporters and importers with valuable breathing space to enable a new testing system to bed in place.”

William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said it is a “reprieve” but that there are still problems with the new set-up.

“Complex supply chains such as those in the automotive industry still face having to duplicate markings on certain components and incurring large costs for testing as a result,” he said.

“The Government needs to work now with businesses to ensure full consideration to the impacts are given before any decision to completely pull the plug on CE-marked goods, risking incurring costs to our economy that we may come to regret.”