• 2024-Aug-23

TALKING POINT on IBI

At the beginning of August 2023, the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced that the deadline for the parallel recognition of the CE marking and UKCA marking in Great Britain would be extended “indefinitely”. The deadline had already been postponed several times to the end of December 2024.

Since then, there has been a certain amount of confusion in our industry because:

• the UK Recreational Craft Regulations 2017 (as amended) have been in force since August 3, 2017 and the law has not yet been repealed
• the meaning of “for an indefinite period” creates little legal certainty
• the Ministry has only ever made declarations of intent
• there is no law that makes the Ministry’s latest declaration of intent binding.

Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour Party won the UK election on July 4. Will this new government bring legal certainty regarding UKCA/CE?

Sir Keir Starmer apparently intends to bring the United Kingdom closer to the EU again, as he recently announced on his first visits abroad. However, he maintains this shall not involve a reversal of Brexit.

It can therefore at least be assumed that the CE mark could establish itself as an alternative to the UKCA mark following relevant legislation. The question remains as to whether, in this case, the technically parallel UKCA mark has any future at all.

Another question is when the relevant change in the law will come, if at all. Sir Keir Starmer already has his hands full as it looks to change the political agenda with a raft of new initiatives from new housebuilding plans and green energy schemes as well as tackling illegal immigration and problems with the National Health Service… and of course the ongoing issues of conflict in the Ukraine and the Middle East. Given the scale of issues the new government will face – and how to pay for them – will, one suspects, keep the issues surrounding UKCA/CE on the backburner for the short term at least.

So, in short, I continue to recommend that all affected manufacturers in our industry carry out UKCA certification in addition to CE certification. It is worth investing the very low additional costs for more legal certainty and against any unpleasant surprises.

Whether the CE assessment will continue to be merely tolerated or even become law in the UK in the future is still at least questionable. Furthermore, the timings may be unclear.