Hot Spot Announcement on Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulation changes

What is it?

The government has announced that it intends to legislate this spring to:

• Allow indefinite recognition of CE marking
• Introduce a new Fast Track provision which allows manufacturers to place products on the GB market where they are appropriately CE marked. UKCA marking will have to be affixed and a UK declaration of conformity drawn up. A mixture of UKCA and CE procedures can be used.

The government proposes an amendment to the PESR to close a loophole that currently does not allow EEA competent body assessment of welders, NDE operators and materials to form part of UKCA conformity assessment between 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2024. This will not be retrospective.

It has also been clarified that the proposal to allow material manufacturer quality assurance systems certified by a signatory of the IAF MLA is not being taken forward.

An additional Statutory Instrument is also to be introduced in the spring to allow for permanent labelling flexibility. This will allow:

• The UKCA marking to be placed on a sticky label or accompanying document.
• Importers can provide their details on the product, an accompanying document, the packaging or an adhesive label.
• There will be an option to apply details digitally – details will be provided in due course.

Guidance on the government websites has been updated:

• Using the UKCA marking
• Placing manufactured goods on the market in Great Britain
• UK conformity assessment and documentation
• Roles and responsibilities

Why is it important?

The Government announced its intention to legislate the changes described last August. The timescale is now clearer.
The legislation promises to end uncertainty and complexity of material, welder and NDE operator certification for UKCA marking and confirm the indefinite recognition of CE marking.

The flexibility on labelling will also be useful.

Continuous Improvement - Did we miss anything?

Hot Spots are intended to alert members and provide a brief overview of new standards, activities or procedures that are being introduced in the industry. If there is key information missing that would be helpful, please let us know so that we can improve our future service.

Please Note: This Hotspot is for information purposes, and we invite comments from BVAA members only. Please also note that at time of publication ballots may be closed. For more information, please contact the Secretariat.

BVAA Members: Did you know we have a hotspot tab on the BVAA website? Head over to www.bvaa.org.uk/login-here.asp and log into the member only area. You then need to select ‘Hotspots’ for the latest. For information on how to access the member only area of the website please contact jane@bvaa.org.uk. 

Published: 26th February 2024