Stepping up construction product safety regulation

The regulation of construction products is undergoing its most significant reset in decades. The government has published its Construction Products Reform White Paper, alongside a consultation on the introduction of a General Safety Requirement (GSR) for construction products. Together, these represent far-reaching reforms in how construction product safety will be regulated, enforced and evidenced in Great Britain.

The consultations are set up to run together. Both opened on 25 February 2026 and will close at 11.59pm on 20 May 2026.

For those engaged in product safety, testing and certification, specification, procurement and enforcement, the reforms are notable as they propose tighter controls and also seek to fundamentally reshape the regulatory regime itself. 

The objective is to ensure all construction products placed on the market are captured by a regulatory framework that prioritises safety, is supported by accurate information and is underpinned by effective enforcement.

At the heart of the reforms is the introduction of a proposed GSR for construction products that are not currently covered by designated standards so that such products are brought within a regulatory framework. 

The GSR will operate alongside the existing construction products regime (the GB-CPR) under which products covered by designated standards will continue to be regulated through a reformed version of the regime. The white paper confirms the GB-CPR will be strengthened and that the government intends to align with aspects of the revised EU approach, which support its objectives and supply chain resilience.

Importantly, the two routes are intended to operate on a distinct basis, with products regulated either through the reformed GB-CPR or through the GSR.

The GSR consultation proposes a new, overarching statutory obligation that in-scope construction products must be safe.

The proposed duty is framed around intended use and reasonably foreseeable use. This represents a conceptual shift, particularly for innovative or bespoke products that do not readily align with harmonised standards.

The consultation also proposes obligations on economic operators across the supply chain, including manufacturers, importers and distributors, as well as specific duties for online marketplaces. This reflects their growing role in the construction products market and the associated challenges for traceability, surveillance and enforcement.

The proposals in the white paper recognise that information failures can translate into safety failures.

The proposals emphasise the need for clear, current, accurate, accessible and reliable product information, particularly in relation to safety-critical claims. The government signals an intention to strengthen regulatory controls over marketing and technical statements and to enhance the regulator’s ability to challenge misleading or inadequately evidenced claims. Together, this should increase the likelihood that product safety issues will be identified early.

For manufacturers and distributors, the proposed reforms indicate that, in the future, safety-related claims must be demonstrably supported by evidence, not only within technical documentation but across wider productrelated and marketing information. 

The white paper recognises the industry interest in digitalisation, including improved traceability and the possible role of digital product records.

While no single digital model is prescribed, the direction of travel is clear. Improved access to reliable product data is seen as critical to enabling safer decisionmaking throughout a product’s lifecycle, from specification and procurement through to installation, maintenance and refurbishment. This reflects wider policy realisation, following on from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, that safety depends not just on regulation at the point of manufacture, but on how information is shared and relied upon in practice.

Another central pillar of reform concerns testing, conformity assessment and certification.

The white paper frames these activities as integral to public confidence in the construction products regime. It signals stronger oversight of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) and certification schemes, to improve consistency, competence and transparency and proposes an enhanced regulatory role for the national construction products regulator in overseeing UKAS’s performance in relation to construction products.

While the details are subject to further consultation, the message is that conformity assessment will be regarded not simply as a commercial service, but as an activity with clear public interest responsibilities.

The consultations envisage a more assertive role for the national construction products regulator.

The proposals include enhanced market surveillance powers, clearer enforcement roles, and a framework for offences, with criminal and civil sanctions, under the GSR. The intention is to create a system capable of intervening earlier,  acting more decisively, and responding more effectively where unsafe products or misleading practices are identified.

For dutyholders, this reinforces the need to treat construction product compliance as a strategic risk.

One aspect of the reform programme that warrants particular attention is its interaction with wider legal risk, beyond simple construction product enforcement.

The white paper makes it clear that construction product regulation is no longer viewed in isolation, but as an integral part of the post-Grenfell building safety reforms, alongside the Building Safety Act 2022, the work of the BSR, and the government’s response to the Inquiry’s Phase 2 recommendations. Taken together, these reforms appear to indicate the emergence of a more integrated regulatory environment, in which product failings may potentially have implications across multiple regulatory regimes. 

In practice, this raises the prospect of overlapping regulatory exposure for manufacturers and others in the supply chain. Unsafe or misleadingly marketed products may engage not only construction product enforcement powers, but also 
wider product safety principles and trading standards activity. 

The GSR consultation recognises the possible overlap of the GSR with the General Product Safety Regulation 2005 in relation to construction products that are also consumer products and clarifies that the GSR will take precedence so such products must comply with the GSR.

Further, the GSR consultation confirms that the new regime will apply across the United Kingdom – see para 1.3 (&1.4) on page 4 of the GSR consultation – and that the government is working with stakeholders to ensure that the GSR regulations comply with both the Windsor Framework and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. 

Further consultation on the details of the reformed GB-CPR framework is anticipated later in 2026, following the conclusion of the white paper consultation, with indications that secondary legislation for the GSR could be introduced towards the end of 2026. The full set of reforms proposed in both consultations are expected to come into force in late 2027, subject to parliamentary time.

Stakeholder engagement at this stage is therefore critical. Responses to the consultations will shape the scope of future regulations, and also the practical expectations placed on all those in the construction product supply chain and enforcement bodies for years to come.

The consultations mark a decisive move towards a more coherent, risk-based and enforceable construction products safety regime.

For all engaged in the construction product supply chain, the key challenge will be adapting to a regime in which safety is assessed not just by reference to compliance with standards, but by reference to evidence, information quality and intended and foreseeable use. Organisations that prepare early, by reviewing governance arrangements, evidence trails and information systems and controls, will be best placed to navigate the transition and operate confidently within the reformed regulatory environment.

Rubina Zaidi is a senior associate at Shoosmiths LLP