Are you a quality manager for a small medical device start-up looking to expand into global markets? Or maybe you are a seasoned device manufacturer preparing to once again traverse quality regulations to deliver a new product to the European market?

It might seem like a small detail, but it marks a serious blow to the push for ‘divergence’.

The Bicycle Association (BA) has published a series of guides which offer information on matters of interest to the cycling industry and the public. More detailed guidance is available to BA member companies.

Suppliers said to be unwilling to stock up because of confusion over safety labelling and extra paperwork.

Helmuth Porschen ponders the fate of UKCA and wonders why the government can’t persuade the rest of the world to adopt British standards.

A new survey by the British Chamber of Commerce's Insights Unit of 733 businesses (97% SMEs) shows the difficulties facing British firms in using the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) have not eased.

Hinkley Point C, which is the UK’s first nuclear powerstation to be developed in over twenty years, may not be finished until 2031 and could cost up to £35bn, almost double the initial cost estimate. / According to EDF, the French firm in charge of developing the site, issues on the project had been caused by Brexit, the Pandemic and inflation.

Anthony Robinson presents a panoramic view of the current travails defining a post-Brexit nation.

For new medical devices entering the UK market, they will only need to comply with the old, and for some, less stringent, device standard (MDR, 2002). / ... Coupled with the additional authorisation process required to reach the UK market, this may lead to delays or deter companies from selling their products in the UK altogether.

Continuing the letter to Jacob Rees-Mogg, reminding him – he seems to need reminding – of the many new opportunities created by Brexit.

January deadline is scuppering UK supply chains as they reel from the pandemic.

An interesting story in the weekend press, one that highlights the negative impact of Brexit on innovation and product development here in the UK.

Britain on Tuesday said it would retain the European 'CE' safety mark for products indefinitely rather than scrap it following the country's departure from the European Union, in a move welcomed by businesses as a pragmatic step.

Years after Britain quit the European Union, its businesses are still suffering from lower sales as red tape makes it harder to export to the 27-nation bloc.

“Car crash!” exclaimed managing director Andrew Varga, whose Brexit progress I have been following since the referendum. News of the latest Brexit U-turn landed on him on Tuesday out of the blue. All his years of preparation for a new UK product safety mark, all his thousands of pounds wasted, all the uncountable hours and effort were rendered pointless, at a stroke.

Jacob Rees-Mogg raises business hopes by saying there is ‘no point’ to tests – but is slapped down by No 10

As the years have rolled on, the enormous disadvantages of leaving the European Union have been there for all to see but the supposed benefits touted by those who brought us Brexit have remained entirely conspicuous by their absence.

On 1 August 2023, the UK Government announced an “indefinite” extension to the recognition of CE marking for certain products placed on the market in Great Britain.

Rishi Sunak is facing fresh demands to improve the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU.

From 1st January 2021 the UK is no longer a member of the EU and changes have been made to the regulation and marking of construction products in the UK. The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark is the new GB product marking used for goods being placed on the market in England, Scotland and Wales, which replaces the CE mark. For Northern Ireland the CE or CE and UK(NI) mark will be required.

Government told that lack of capacity to test products will hit supplies and disrupt building projects.

To mark the first anniversary of the trade deal between the UK and the EU, Downing Street issued a press release about how prime minister Boris Johnson plans to "maximise the benefits of Brexit".

He said the move "hugely reduces" the risk of post-Brexit divergence on product standards between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

The timetable for the major new controls that have already been imposed and those that have been delayed

Former NBS boss says ‘not achievable’ to swap CE markings for UK version by end of year.

Current CE mark system due to be replaced at beginning of next year.

All products with a CE mark – including structural steel, insulation, glass and cladding – need retesting to meet new UK standard.

Ministers have met this week with the construction industry to hold talks over controversial post-Brexit safety testing rules that the sector argues could delay the construction of 150,000 new homes next year, E&T can reveal.

PSA Part’s Sales Director, Nick Walsh looks at how Brexit is impacting cross European border trade for the tech channel and how companies can look to address these challenges.

No updates on key issues facing the industry following summer of political turmoil, CPA boss says.

UKCA mark deadline pushed back to 1 January 2023.

The end of the transition period was merely a staging post within a process that will be long with us, says Chris Grey.

Medical devices illustrate the limited scope for post-Brexit UK divergence from EU rules, and the trade-offs the UK must face. / 'Many manufacturers have suggested they will not bother with the additional cost and complexity of putting their devices through the UKCA processes on top of the updated European process.'

Business Minister Paul Scully questioned by MPs on the European Scrutiny Committee on how the Government intends to safeguard the integrity of the UK’s product safety standards, including the new ‘UKCA’ safety marking for products in Great Britain.

Speaking to a variety of sources, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Fire Industry Association (FIA), British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and the European Fire and Security Group (EFSG), Hunter Seymour assesses the impact of the new UKCA marking scheme – replacing CE marking in the UK following Brexit – on the fire and security sectors.

Businesses had protested that the ‘UKCA’ quality mark represented pointless and costly red tape.

Construction Products Association moots extension to transition period on CE markings.

The switch from the old European CE mark to the new UKCA conformity mark on construction products and machinery is not working out, government has been told.

Trade has plummeted and red tape has blocked our borders. Is that what ‘protecting our sovereignty’ meant?

Drawing on my professional experience, here we explore how post Brexit Britain has become a challenge for international businesses, and domestic businesses, importing products for sale in the UK.

The government has quietly admitted Singapore-on-Thames is dead.

Despite claims over taking back control, UK is forced to comply with rules on which it has no say.

With the exception of the very lowest risk devices, manufacturers must apply to a UK approved body. Only after they have UKCA certification can their products be placed on the market in England, Wales and Scotland.

The past 12 months have been littered with grandiose claims about the benefits of Brexit and the ability of the UK to demand what it wants from the EU. But the sad and inescapable conclusion is that none of those benefits exist and that the UK has been forced into a number of embarrassing retreats and compromises.

British Chambers of Commerce presents government with urgent recommendations as members report struggling to sell into EU.

The UK delayed the roll-out of new post-Brexit product safety marking in order to stave off extra costs for companies that are already under pressure due to rising inflation and expected tax rises.

The future of the UK drone industry, one of Britain’s prime opportunities for growth, and many other UK-based manufacturing exporters, will be severely threatened once the UK’s eligibility for the EU’s CE accreditation regime expires at the end of December 2022.

Rishi Sunak’s government said companies can use the European Union’s product safety mark indefinitely, a climbdown on a post-Brexit plan to enforce the UK’s own standard that was criticized by businesses.

Adoption of Britain-only rival to EU’s CE designation postponed ‘indefinitely’, say ministers.

In the latest Brexit step-down, many goods will now have indefinite CE mark recognition – but MHRA keeps 2028 and 2030 cut-offs for medical devices.

Government to allow businesses to continue using European CE certification for another year.

As the Brexit transition period comes to an end, leading compliance authority Bureau Veritas is encouraging manufacturers to get ready to make the switch from CE marking to UKCA in order to continue to sell products in the British market.

CE symbol due to stay after government U-turn.

The UK government has decided to recognise the EU's product safety symbol indefinitely, in a post-Brexit climbdown. / From the end of next year, goods such as light bulbs and toys were meant to carry a new UK-only mark to be sold in Great Britain.

The U.K. government backs down amid pressure from concerned firms. / British businesses will be allowed to continue to use the European Union's safety mark indefinitely, the U.K. government announced Tuesday — in a climbdown from previous post-Brexit plans.

Minister is warned Britain does not have enough testing capacity for the scale of the problem.

I said that I would break the ‘summer recess’ of this blog if a Brexit event of sufficient interest or importance occurred and it has, with the government’s announcement today of an “indefinite extension to the use of CE [Conformité Européenne] marking for British businesses”.

The UK government has announced an indefinite extension to the use of CE marking for British businesses, which shows that products meet EU standards. This is a major U-turn from the previous plan to introduce a UKCA system, which would have created costly duplication and reduced consumer choice. The UKCA system was an absurd consequence of Brexit...

Find out if you will need to use the new UKNI marking and how to use it.

Brexit has "permanently damaged" the UK economy, former Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders warned as London was deposed as Europe's biggest stock market.

Meanwhile former Cabinet minister George Eustice questioned the negotiating strategy that led to the Australia and New Zealand trade deals.

Shortages of cardboard and timber have created extra pressures on the sector.

Government hoped to sell new guidance as ‘Brexit benefit’. / The government expects zero economic benefit from the reintroduction of crown symbols on pint glasses, ministers have admitted.

A brutal Financial Times investigation has unveiled the “all pain no gain” trading conditions many British businesses face post-Brexit.

Former NBS boss says time involved to swap CE marking for UK version has not been thought through.

When the government announced this year it would indefinitely delay plans to force UK companies to adopt a new post-Brexit quality mark, the UKCA, Simon Blackham, of the insulation maker Recticel, was delighted. “Yes! An outbreak of common sense,” he recalls thinking. / His joy was short-lived, however.