Britain aligns with the EU on the regulation of construction products – why is this important?

In recent years, a combination of organic and innovative advancement in the construction industry, as well as disaster events such as the Grenfell Tower fire, have been the catalyst for a paradigm shift towards more stringent regulation concerning both the manufacturing and use of construction products.

One recent development in construction product regulation in the UK stems from The Construction Products (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1172) (the UK Regulations). These regulations align the law of the UK (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) with the EU Construction Products Regulation 2024 (2024/3110) (the EU Regulation), by providing that any construction products that comply with the EU Regulation shall also be treated as compliant with the UK Regulations.

We set out below the key considerations and implications of the UK Regulations for construction industry stakeholders and their supply chains.

Overview of the UK Regulations and the route to its enactment

The origins of the UK Regulations can be traced back to pre-Brexit Britain, when the EU’s Construction Products Regulation 2011 had direct effect in the UK and worked alongside the Construction Products Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1387). Now, the EU has modernised its pre-Brexit legal construction products framework with the EU Regulations, which focuses on shoring-up the safety, sustainability and environmental characteristics of EU construction products. The UK has followed suit with the UK Regulations to “support businesses by maintaining current policy”.

The central change brought about by the UK Regulations is that any EU-based construction products that bare the Conformité Européenne mark (the CE Mark) and/or the CE Mark accompanied by the UK(NI) indication shall now be indefinitely recognised in the UK to the same manner and extent as any UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) construction products (despite the UKCA not being recognised in the EU).

From a practical standpoint, the UK Regulation’s recognition of the CE Mark means that, where an EU construction product bears the CE Mark, for it to be recognised in the UK market there will be no need to carry out further testing, documentation or reassessment of the relevant product or its certification under the UKCA regime. The certainty that the duplicate UKCA testing is not required for CE Mark construction products should come as a welcome development for UK industry players.

The relevance of the BSI Code of Practice 2000:2026

In a similar vein to the UK Regulations, a new Code of Conduct from the British Standards Institution (the BSI) (sponsored by the Office for Product Safety and Standards), “PAS 2000:2026 Construction Products: Bringing Safe Products to Market” (the PAS), was published on 28 February 2026 (download here).

The PAS promotes safe practice by providing a voluntary but comprehensive, risk‑based framework to help construction product manufacturers demonstrate that they have taken “all reasonable steps” to ensure the safety of products placed within the UK market. It covers the following “five key elements” to ensure safety from the outset of product conception and development:

1. Pre‑market and in-market product risk assessments;
2. Testing, certification and evidence standards and procedures;
3. Factory production control;
4. Transparency and accuracy concerning product information and documentation; and
5. Clear and conscious use of market feedback and incident reporting.

Although compliance with the PAS is voluntary, consultants, product distributors and importers, as well as contractors and subcontractors, should familiarise themselves with it. It is likely that PAS may soon begin appearing in employer requirements, specifications or pre‑qualification / ITT documents, and careful attention to documentation and clear evidence of due diligence will remain vital where PAS requirements are included in contractual specifications.

Key takeaways and actions for those in the construction industry

The UK Regulations bring welcome clarity and reduce the compliance burden by recognising the CE Mark in the UK. The change supports smoother project delivery, reduces costs, and aligns the UK more closely with established EU standards. At the same time, the introduction of the PAS signals a continued shift towards enhanced safety assurance and transparent product governance of construction products.

For consultants, contractors / subcontractors, and suppliers, the message is clear: review your contracts, update your construction products-related documentation and certifications, and engage early with your supply chain. While the UK Regulations are intended to simplify the position by aligning with the EU Regulation, industry players need to be cognisant that the expectations around traceability and safety of construction products have not diminished.

Some of the key actions that we consider contractors, subcontractors and consultants should take now concerning construction products are:

Contractual and specification actions:

• References and labelling in contracts and scope / works information – ensure contracts with suppliers specify whether the CE Mark or the UKCA regime shall apply to certain products to avoid duplication and uncertainty around product compliance; and
• Flow downs – contractors should ensure that any requirements concerning CE Marks or the UKCA regime, as well as any specifications for documenting and testing requirements (such as the PAS), are flowed down into subcontracts and consultant appointments.

Practical and operational actions:

• Recording keeping – despite the UK Regulations touched on in this article, industry players must retain all certificates of compliance with CE Marks or UKCA, any documents or records of their own testing or assessments and any manufacturers testing, assessments and product certification records; and
• Risk registers – when providing design services, ensure that risk registers and product selection processes reflect the updated CE Mark regime, as employers may desire additional assurance where safety‑critical products are used.

Supply chain management / early due diligence for procurement:

• Clarity of which regime applies – certificates of conformity with the relevant CE Mark or UKCA regime should be procured from the construction product supplier at the outset;
• Testing and assessments – request that suppliers provide documentation detailing the testing and assessments of construction products to meet the CE Mark or the UKCA regime; and
• Updating internal procedures and governance – update internal governance procedures and policies so procurement exercises align with UK Regulations.

With updates like the UK Regulations and the UK / EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, industry stakeholders need to ensure their workforces are trained accordingly, while also horizon-scanning for future regulatory reform in this area.

Our lawyers at Beale & Co are alive to the developments pressing upon our clients in the construction realm. If you would like advice on how changes to the UK’s construction product regulatory landscape may impact your projects or procurement strategies, please contact Will Buckby and Conor Duncan