UKAS and BEIS webinar: Applying to become a UK Approved Body Q&As

On Monday 7th June, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), with participation from key UK Competent Authorities including the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Transport (DfT) held a webinar for organisations interested in being appointed as Approved Bodies for the purposes of UKCA marking, particularly those who are new to the accreditation and approval process and require further guidance.

You can view a recording of the webinar here, and the slides from the presentation are available here.

A number of questions were raised by participants of the webinar, the answers to which are provided below (please note that these answers have been provided by the appropriate body participating in the webinar, i.e. BEIS, MHCLG, DfT as well as UKAS.  UKAS is not responsible for the content of the responses):

• The situation for the industry is not comfortable at all: it seems impossible that all the products which are now on the UK market with the CE marking will be UKCA marked by 2022/01/01: too many products/manufacturers, and too few UK approved bodies which can manage the transition from CE to UKCA in such a short while: Is it conceivable to consider a delay in time or another measure to avoid creating problems for trade? – ANSWER:  We appreciate that there will be some challenges as industry adapts to the new regulatory regime, and we are committed to supporting industry through this change. For instance, we introduced a 1 year grace period to smooth the transition from the CE to the UKCA marking, recognising in particular the challenges businesses were facing from COVID-19. We are encouraging businesses to act early to obtain UKCA certification. Additionally, under the terms of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement (Article 46), the UK and EU agreed measures to minimise the burdens on businesses. In particular, a CAB located in the UK or EU should share information they hold in relation to conformity assessments they carried out before the end of the Transition Period upon request by a manufacturer. This is intended to help facilitate new certificates being issued more easily.  We would be happy to engage with you directly to hear more about any issues in your sector. Please contact: [email protected]
• A UK approved body shall be a UK based institute: can the assessors make their work even from a different country? in other words: since the CE and UKCA are 99% the same: can the assessment be made at once by a certification institute with venues in both the UK and EU being both a UK approved body and an EU notified body? – ANSWER: Approved Bodies for UKCA purposes must be established under UK law and have legal personality (with the exception of pyrotechnics) or be recognised under a mutual recognition agreement.  Established means that there must be an active UK registered office for which the key technical policies and decisions are made. It is not necessarily expected that the technical management is physically based at the UK office, but it must be part of the UK structure for decision-making purposes. It is recognised that the actual conformity assessment activities can take place outside of the UK, but they shall be under the direct managerial and technical control of the registered UK office.
• Having achieved UKAS accreditation, how long should it then take to gain approval from BEIS? – ANSWER:  There is no set time as each application has to be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure that the requirements and regulations are met. BEIS will endeavour to process each application as quickly as possible 
• I am part of a team considering setting up a UK Approved Body.  Although our focus is becoming a UK Approved Body, our prospective clients have an interest in the EU market and NI, how do we manage the differences in the regulatory framework the UK and the EU markets.  ANSWER:  For the GB market a CAB shall need to be appointed as a UK Approved Body, such UK bodies can also be appointed by UK Competent Authorities as UK Notified Bodies allowing them to undertake conformity assessment of goods destined for NI (under the CE+UKNI marking scheme – although this is not recognised within the EU).  For goods destined for the EU single market then the assessment must be undertaken by an EU Notified Body which is listed on NANDO. The CE marking provided by these ‘EU’ Notified Bodies shall also be accepted in NI.
• Products that are currently in manufacturing during 2021, but which will not arrive in the UK until 2022, at which time they will have to be UKCA-marked to the PE(S)R. However, it is not possible to obtain a UKCA mark for all sub-components and materials: many vendors are not yet able to UKCA-mark their products. Will it be acceptable to include CE-marked components and materials, purchased in 2021, in an assembly that is finally placed on the UK market and UKCA-marked in 2022? – ANSWER:  As long as the CE marked components have been placed on the GB market before 1 January 2022, they can continue to be incorporated and assembled into finished products which are sold after 1 January 2022. This is an area where we plan to update our guidance to make this clearer. 
• For projects executed this year (2021), CE mark will apply in compliance with PED, as this is acceptable in the UK until 31 December 2021. However, there are some items of equipment (pressure vessels) which are already being issued with UKCA marking, and it is not clear whether we can incorporate UKCA-marked pressure vessels into a CE-marked assembly. Is it acceptable to use a UKCA-marked pressure vessel in a CE-marked assembly, placed on the UK market in 2021? –  ANSWER:  During 2021, both the CE marking and the UKCA marking are accepted in GB. An assembly which contains both UKCA and CE marked components, during 2021, can be placed on the GB market. 
• Should CAB’s also notify BEIS etc when they submit an application to UKAS ? (or wait until they are accredited) – ANSWER:  Applicants should notify the relevant UK Competent Authority at the time they apply to UKAS for accreditation. For CPR approved bodies activity, please submit the notification to MHCLG: [email protected] For BEIS regulations please submit the notification to: [email protected]  Please Note: Advance notification to both UKAS and BEIS that you are intending to apply for UKAS accreditation to be an Approved Body would be helpful.
• What about periodic inspection of transportable pressure equipment (Like a gas cylinder) – ANSWER:  DfT would be happy to hear more about this issue. Please liaise with [email protected]
• We are a CAB in the EU under CPR for EN 12101-2 (NSHEVs). We also have a test department which can do all tests of EN 12101-2 beside test for part G, which is carried out by another accredited test body. Did I understand right, that you can apply for UK CAB only, when you can do all tests in-house? – ANSWER:  If you are preparing to become a UK approved body then you will need to discuss this issue with UKAS. As UK CABs can subcontract certain aspects of testing there is no requirement for a UK CAB to do all testing in-house. The UK CAB will have to demonstrate to UKAS that it has the technical knowledge to be able to access any testing done outside of its scope as ultimately the UK CAB is legally responsible for all test results. 
• So when you want to become a UK Approved Body you don’t need an office in the UK? – ANSWER:  Approved Bodies for UKCA purposes must be established under UK law and have legal personality (with the exception of pyrotechnics) or be recognised under a mutual recognition agreement.
  Established means that there must be an active UK registered office for which the key technical policies and decisions are made. It is not necessarily expected that the technical management is physically based at the UK office, but it must be part of the UK structure for decision-making purposes. It is recognised that the actual conformity assessment activities can take place outside of the UK, but they shall be under the direct managerial and technical control of the registered UK office.
  
• Has any progress been made establishing a UKCA approved body to test against EN 14592:2008 AVCP system 3? – ANSWER: MHCLG is actively looking at possible solutions for construction products which cannot currently be UK-tested. They will be publishing mitigations in due course.
• On which standard is accreditation based for becoming a UK approved Body for Pressure Equipment? Does UK accept ISO 17020 for example? – ANSWER: The required conformity assessment standards for accreditation are as stated within UKAS publication GEN 5. The selection of standards depends on the legislation and the attestation modules concerned.
• For certifying a product (PED, TPED, ATEX, MED) we often use the results of inspections done by a third party accredited against ISO 17020 or a Lab accredited against ISO 17025. For a UK accredited body, will it be allowed to use those results in its certifying scheme providing there is a contract between the two entities? The third parties referred to in the question are not necessarily accredited by UKAS but potentially by an accreditation body within a European (i.e. EU) country. – ANSWER: Yes, provided that the UK CAB is accredited by UKAS and it takes the key technical policy decisions. It is recognised that the actual conformity assessment activities can take place outside of the UK, but they shall be under the direct managerial and technical control of the registered UK office.
• Is there a list available of UK Approved Bodies Coordination Groups? – ANSWER: BEIS’s Secretary of State is reserving judgement on requiring CAB coordination until the Product Safety Review is complete. We would encourage CABs to participate in any industry-led coordination groups that they feel are valuable.
  
• If an importer of marine products has CE marked products in a UK warehouse post 1st January 2022 will they be able to sell the CE marked product, as they were effectively on the market when he purchased them in 2021, or will they then require UKCA mark – ANSWER: Please refer to marine information notice 590 amendment 4. If you still have questions please send an email to: [email protected]
• What would be the time between UKAS assessment and recommendation and BEIS UK-AB accreditation? – ANSWER: There is no set time as each application has to be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure that the requirements and regulations are met. BEIS will endeavour to process each application as quickly as possible
• Is there an overview of all additional UKAS accreditation requirements next to the international requirements (such as establish an impartiality committee in addition to the ISO 17065 requirement of an impartiality mechanism)? – ANSWER: The accreditation would be based on the relevant Conformity Assessment Standard (e.g. ISO/IEC 17065 or ISO/IEC 17020) as required by the Regulation and Modules concerned, together with any specific requirements of the legislation. Any additional UKAS requirements specific to Approved Bodies are included within UKAS publication GEN 5 (available from the UKAS website: www.ukas.com) although other generic requirements will also apply such as use of accreditation symbols, reference to accreditation, etc: Please refer to the Publications page on the UKAS website for details.
• Does a CAB (CPR AVCP system 1) also need the capacities/accreditation as a testing laboratory and accreditation as a test lab following ISO 17025 or does the accreditation as CAB following ISO 17065 is enough? – ANSWER: You have to be accredited against both ISO 17065 and ISO 17025 to be a product certification body and a test laboratory.
• For pyrotechnic articles there are no UK Approved bodies yet. We as an EU Notified Body applied at UKAS in February, but still we are just in the phase of documentation review. The deadline for UK CA mark is especially critical for the automotive sector. Will there be any measures taken to either quicken the process of pyrotechnic UK Approved Body accreditation or to postpone the deadline of UK CA marking for pyrotechnic articles? – ANSWER: BEIS and UKAS are working together to ensure a UK approved body for pyrotechnic articles is accredited as soon as possible. We know that pyrotechnics bodies are currently engaging with UKAS and are in the process of getting accredited. 
• If I have accreditation acc to ISO 17065, ISO 17021-1, ISO 17025, notification to 2014/34/UE, 2014/30/UE, 2006/42/EC, are these competence accepted by UKAS? – ANSWER: The required conformity assessment standards for accreditation are as stated within UKAS publication GEN 5. The selection of standards depends on the legislation and the attestation modules concerned. Whilst UKAS shall take into account activities conducted under accreditation provided by a signatory to the EA, IAF or ILAC multilateral agreements, UKAS shall be assessing and accrediting the UK entity, not the foreign parent and hence assessment shall still be required.
• What is the usual timeline for issuing the accreditation certificate by UKAS after cleared non-conformities and/or positive assessment? – ANSWER: The final step, once all findings are closed, is an independent review by a UKAS decision-maker, the target time from receipt of the final report package by the decision-maker to completion is 5 working days, although this may be affected by any complexities and issues raised during the decision process. 
• After obtaining the accreditation certificate from UKAS, what is the procedure of applying to become a UK Approved Body for pyrotechnic articles and what is the expected timeline to become approved and listed on the official website as a UK Approved Body? – ANSWER: There is no set time as each application has to be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure that the requirements and regulations are met. BEIS will endeavour to process each application as quickly as possible. 
• After obtaining the accreditation certificate from UKAS, what is the procedure of applying to become a UK Approved Body for pyrotechnic articles and what is the expected timeline to become approved and listed on the official website as a UK Approved Body? – ANSWER:  There is no set time as each application has to be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure that the requirements and regulations are met. BEIS will endeavour to process each application as quickly as possible. 
• We are running a small Notified Body for specialised PPE (diving apparatus) in Germany within our large and international operating technical assessment company. Our company holds further CAB also accredited in the Uk and we are thinking about of extending their scope to include our services. Our body is not accredited but notified and listed in the NANDO database. What will be the route to apply for the described extension and how are the assessment requirements in general and related to our small office in Germany? – ANSWER: If your UK CAB already holds UKAS accreditation it can apply for an extension to scope through UKAS following the normal route. ​Approved Bodies for UKCA purposes must be established under UK law and have legal personality (with the exception of pyrotechnics) or be recognised under a mutual recognition agreement.  Established means that there must be an active UK registered office for which the key technical policies and decisions are made. It is not necessarily expected that the technical management is physically based at the UK office, but it must be part of the UK structure for decision-making purposes. It is recognised that the actual conformity assessment activities can take place outside of the UK, but they shall be under the direct managerial and technical control of the registered UK office.
• We are an existing UKAS certification body based in NI and a potential applicant for accreditation under ISO17065 for Construction Products.  During this webinar information was presented by BEIS that suggests our previous understanding that we required two accreditations ie. For GB market as a UKAS accredited Approved Body and for the NI /Ireland market an EU-27 accredited Notified Body as incorrect.  The information today suggests that accreditation as a UKAS / MHCLG Approved Body would enable us to provide FPC certification for Clients to self-certify and affix UKCA & UK CE NI marks, serving both GB & NI markets.  Can you clarify if this is the case? ANSWER: Under the UK CPR regulations, at the end of 2020 those UK Notified Bodies already designated under the CPR were automatically redesignated as UK approved bodies and UK notified bodies allowing them to test products for UKCA marking and CE UKNI marking. In other words, a UK body can provide certification for both the GB and NI markets: If you are looking to do this then please make this clear to UKAS at the time of application.  However, an EU notified body will need to be used for certification to the CE marking, in order to place goods on the EU market as the EU will not recognise the CE+UKNI mark. An EU notified body can also be used for placing goods on the NI market (in this case, only the CE marking will be required). 
• For EU Fertilising products and for Unmanned Aircraft systems, there are 2 EU regulations issued in 2019. Will there be any regulations in UK for these products and if so, will it be similar to the EU regulation? – ANSWER: Happy to follow up on the unmanned aircraft query, please email: [email protected] For fertilisers, NI will implement EU regulations. The situation for GB is currently under review. Please contact: [email protected] for further advice on fertilisers.
• if there is in place an MRA, a CAB can have a legal entity out of UK , is it correct? – ANSWER:  Yes, CAB’s established in a country the UK has agreed an MRA with are eligible to become UK approved bodies (if covered by the MRA).  NOTE: This only relates to intergovernmental MRA’s, not those between accreditation bodies operated by EA, ILAC or IAF.
• Please summarize for me: Being an accredited notified body within the European market, what steps would we need to take in order to get UKAS accreditation.  What advantage is there in the fact that we already are accredited and would UKAS start the initial accreditation process including site visits inside the EU? – ANSWER: The overall requirements for becoming a UKCA Approved Body can be found in UKAS publication GEN 5. In particular please note that UKAS can only accredit a UK legal entity (with the exception of pyrotechnic articles) and therefore this will need to be fully established and be the body that submits the application to UKAS. To apply to UKAS you should use the relevant online application form available from the Applications section of the UKAS website https://www.ukas.com/accreditation/about/apply-for-accreditation/, and at the same time inform the UK Competent Authority that you are doing so (contact details available in Appendix 1 of GEN 5).  The selection of conformity assessment standard depends on the Regulation(s) and Modules you are applying for as defined in the tables within GEN 5 (which reflect those also included in EA-2/17).  Once the application is accepted by UKAS an Assessment Manager will be appointed to take responsibility for progressing the application and the assessment: They shall become your UKAS point of contact.  Existing accredited / Notified body status will be taken into account when UKAS develops the assessment programme, but we will need to see how the conformity assessment body’s procedures, competences, policies etc. have been implemented within the UK legal entity. We would normally not need to assess the European head office unless activities are undertaken there that are relevant to the operations of the UK entity however, if we are able to rely on the assessment of an accreditation body that is a signatory to the appropriate EA MLA then we would look to work with the local AB.
• With regards to AVCP 3 testing, when will MHCLG provide a solution for this? It is now June and as a CAB we are having to field questions on this daily using time and resources. – ANSWER: We understand industry is waiting on the department to provide a solution and we are actively looking at possible solutions. MHCLG will look to discuss any solution with CABs as soon as possible.
• Can a UK accredited CAB use EU accredited test labs for conformity assessment? – ANSWER: Yes, if subcontracting agreements are in place. However, approved bodies can only subcontract a task for which it has the technical competence itself. UK approved bodies at all times will be responsible for ensuring that the conformity assessment is carried out in accordance with the requirements of relevant regulations. Approved bodies for UKCA purposes must be established under UK law and have legal personality (with the exception of pyrotechnics) or be recognised under a mutual recognition agreement. Established means that there must be an active UK registered office for which the key technical policies and decisions are made. It is not necessarily expected that the technical management is physically based at the UK office, but it must be part of the UK structure for decision-making purposes. It is recognised that the actual conformity assessment activities can take place outside of the UK, but they shall be under the direct managerial and technical control of the registered UK office.
• What is a realistic time frame to go through the accreditation process (from application to accreditation)? – ANSWER: This very much depends on a number of factors such as the complexity of the scope, the readiness of the Conformity Assessment Body and the conclusions of the accreditation assessment. But in general terms, an applicant should be able to go through the process within 6 to 9 months. This timeframe may be reduced if UKAS is able to rely on assessments undertaken by other accreditation bodies that are signatories to relevant multilateral agreements (i.e. EA, IAF or ILAC) as part of the process.
• Did I understand correctly that there is no end date for CE Marking of construction products? The Govt. guidance for construction products states “our intention is to end recognition of the CE Mark by 1 January 2022. Please clarify. – ANSWER: MHCLG’s aim was to end standstill (i.e. the transition period whereby GB still accepts CE marked goods) at the end of 2021. The current CPR legislation does not set an end date for CE marking of construction products. We therefore have to take powers from the Building Safety Bill when it receives the Royal Assent in order to lay the necessary legislation. The Building Safety Bill has now been laid in Parliament (05 July 2021). As soon as we have powers, we will lay legislation to end standstill. We will provide further information soon.
• I have understood that UKAS final accreditation is based on one full year assessment. When will a CAB be able to start issuing UKCA certificate? Will experience as an EU notified body be taken into account to acknowledge competencies and experience on the products subject to accreditation? – ANSWER: UKAS grants accreditation once all nonconformities raised during the initial (or extension-to-scope) assessment have been satisfactorily addressed and this has been confirmed through the final-decision process. Once accredited the CAB should apply to the relevant UK Competent Authority (See UKAS publication GEN 5) to become appointed as an Approved Body. No UKCA certification can be issued until the Competent Authority has confirmed its appointment as an Approved Body and this status is recorded in the UK Market Conformity Assessment Bodies (UKMCAB) database.  Whilst UKAS shall take into account activities conducted under accreditation provided by a signatory to the EA, IAF or ILAC multilateral agreements, UKAS shall be assessing and accrediting the UK entity, not the foreign parent and hence assessment shall still be required.
• Subcontracting of technical testing is allowed, presumably also to labs outside of the UK. How does UKAS intend to carry out surveillance in these cases? – ANSWER: UKCA Approved Bodies are able to subcontract activities to other conformity assessment bodies (depending on the specific requirements of the regulation concerned), in this case it is expected that the UKCA Approved Body takes full responsibility for any subcontracted activity, ensuring that it meets the requirements of the conformity assessment activities concerned. UKAS will seek evidence that the suitability of subcontracted activity is thoroughly validated by the UKCA CAB.
• Is it likely that the NSSS-7 will become a UK Designated standard for structural steelwork? – ANSWER: Structural Steel is already covered by EN 1090-1. 
• The accreditation is often related to families of products: some of the products may not be covered by a harmonized/designated standard (i.e . innovative products): how to deal with such products and what about the acceptance/use of test reports issued by the internal lab of an EU NB which could have already CE certified them? – ANSWER:  Typically, where designated standards are not in place, an alternative technical solution may be used to check a product meets the essential requirements of the legislation.  BEIS would be happy to discuss and hear more about this particular issue. Contact: [email protected]
• We are an inspection body for US and Canada according to ISO/IEC 17020. To extend our accreditation in UK there’s a quicker way? Like an MRA for ILAC laboratories. – ANSWER: Although there is now an agreement in place between the UK and Canada the detailed processes around that agreement are still being developed and therefore, until the final arrangements have been put in place, the only mechanism available is through a UK legal entity.