In January this year the British Department for Business and Trade published an update of its designated standards for The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 - the equivalent of the Machinery Directive in the United Kingdom.
From a comparison with the list of European harmonized standards it appears that the designated standards are currently equal to the standards valid for the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.
This level of equality is likely to decrease as more legislative updates are introduced in the coming years by the relevant legislative bodies (for instance, the transition from Machinery Directive to Regulation will be a watershed moment as far as the British legislation is concerned.)
To provide certainty and flexibility for British businesses and overcome a market impasse, the British government intends to follow the path previously announced on 1 August 2023 when it declared its intention to indefinitely extend its recognition of EU requirements - including the CE marking.
In addition to the regulations listed in a previous newsletter (see link), 2 additional regulations will also be included regarding eco-design, civil explosives and, in most cases, restriction of hazardous substances (in electrical equipment).
Extended recognition will not apply to regulations regarding:
medical devices,
construction products,
marine equipment,
railway products,
cableways,
transportable pressure equipment
unmanned aircraft systems
The government is also introducing a provision named Fast-Track UKCA process. This is not a mandatory provision, but will create more flexibility in the use of the UKCA marking by manufacturers when they place their products on the UK market. Fast Track UKCA will mean that manufacturers will be able to use the UKCA marking to show that they meet either UK or EU recognized essential requirements and to show compliance with conformity assessment procedures for each regulation applicable to a product.
This also means that for products that comply with multiple regulations, a combination of both UK and EU conformity assessment procedures can be used to show compliance with UK requirements, and the UKCA marking may be affixed.
For any further information, please refer to the Department for Business and Trade Document following the link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65b7b5058c576200126478da/industry-explainer-placing-products-on-the-market-in-great-britain-using-uk-or-eu-product-markings.pdf