The arrangements will apply in the event that the UK exits the European Union without a deal in March 2019.

The regime will require manufacturers to declare the performance of their construction product in accordance with product standards, once the product is ready for the UK market.

The key elements of the legislation include:

• Construction products already placed on the market will be able to continue to circulate in the UK.
• Existing European harmonised standards will become UK ‘designated standards’. This will mean that immediately following exit day the UK and EU standards will be the same. Thereafter, new UK standards will be designated by the Secretary of State.
• Where a UK body has undertaken the third-party conformity assessment processes required under the UK ‘designated standard’, the manufacturer must affix a new UK mark. Further, construction products that meet the harmonised European standard and are affixed with a ‘CE’ mark, can continue to be placed on the UK market without the need for re-testing or additional marking. This approach is intended to minimise disruption in the availability of goods on the UK market. The intention is that these arrangements will be for a time-limited period, and businesses will be given sufficient notice in advance of this period coming to an end.
• Where the product marking is affixed on the basis of self-declaration, then during the time-limited period the manufacturer will have the choice to use either the UK or CE mark (or both).
• For products that are not fully covered by a designated standard, there will be an optional route available to enable products to be UK marked.

These measures have been taken to ensure that the Construction Products Regulation regime continues to operate effectively in the UK, once it has left the European Union.