September 2020

AFTER A PROLONGED delay, the Government has published guidance on the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking scheme that will replace the CE mark and will come into force from 1 January 2021. The scheme, which will apply to goods placed on the market in England, Wales and Scotland – but not Northern Ireland where the CE mark will remain valid – will cover most goods that previously required CE marking. Although the UKCA mark can be used from 1 January 2021, most goods will be allowed to continue carrying the CE mark until 1 January 2022, giving businesses time to adjust to the new requirements. However, some goods will require the newmark immediately from the start of next year, and the guidance issued by the Government is encouraging businesses“to be ready to use the UKCA marking as soon as possible before this date”. From 1 January, the technical requirements that business must meet – and the conformity assessment processes and standard that can be used to demonstrate conformity – will be “largely the same as they are now”. The UKCA marking requirements will not apply to existing stock – if, for example, an itemwas manufactured and ready to place on the market before 1 January, 2021. Such items can still be sold in Britain with a CE mark, even if covered by a certificate of conformity issued by a UK body. In most cases the UKCA mark will have to be applied to a product or its packaging, In some cases it will also be needed on manuals or other literature, depending on the regulations. In future, the CE mark will be valid in Great Britain only in areas where the British and EU rules remain the same. If the EU changes its rules, and a product has been CE-marked on the basis of those rules, companies will not be able to use the CE mark to sell the product in England, Scotland or Wales, even before 31 December 2021. From 1 January 2022, the CE mark will no longer be recognised in Great Britain, however CE- marked products can be sold if they are also UKCA-marked and comply with the relevant UK rules. The EU will not recognise the UKCA mark. Products currently requiring CE marking will still need a CE mark for sale in the EU from 1 January 2021. Products covered by the UKCA will include machinery, low-voltage electrical equipment, measuring instruments, lifts, EMC and Atex equipment. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published several documents providing guidance on the new marking scheme. They can be downloaded via https://www.gov.uk/transition p Government offers firms £2,000 to take on apprentices The Government has launched a scheme aimed at encouraging employers to take on apprentices. Companies will receive £2,000 for each 16-24-year-old apprentice that they take on, and £1,500 for each apprentice aged 25 and over. These payments, available until January 2021, are in addition to the existing £1,000 incentive from the government for new 16-18- year-old apprentices. Employers with payrolls of more than £3m can also use the apprenticeship levy to cover training costs, while smaller businesses can access a £1m fund set up in a partnership between MTC Apprenticeships and Lloyds Bank . When he announced the package, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:“We know apprenticeships work – 91% of apprentices stay in work or go on to further training.”Also, under its Kickstart scheme, the Government will fund six-month work placements for young people and pay employers £1,500 to support and train them. p SPS automation show will be a virtual event this year The organiser of the huge German automation show SPS has announced that it will be an online-only event this year“due to the ongoing travel restrictions and other fundamental changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic”. The show had been due to take place in Nuremberg in the last week of November. The organiser, Mesago Messe Frankfurt reports that many participants had expressed“serious concerns”over“the very different surrounding conditions at hand and the well-being of their employees”. The company is organising a virtual version of SPS that will give exhibitors and attendees the opportunity to talk about the latest developments in automation technology online. The SPS Connect virtual platformwill go live on 24 November, the same day that the exhibition was due to start. https://sps.mesago.com/events/en.html n NEWS COVID-19 BRIEFS POWER DISTRIBUTION ENCLOSURES CLIMATE CONTROL Enclosure Climate Control Whatever the scale...... ......we have the solution The UKCA mark will become a familiar sight in the UK from the start of 2021 Government publishes guidance on UKCA marking

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