The Office for Product Safety and Standards has published its response to the 2025 Call for Evidence on machinery safety legislation, and the direction of travel is now clear. GB is set to continue recognising CE marked machinery, and the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 will be updated to bring in measures similar to those in the EU’s new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, which come into force within the EU in January 2027.
For manufacturers, distributors and duty holders who have been waiting to see whether GB would diverge from Europe on machinery safety, this response answers the big question. It will not diverge, at least not in any significant way. What it means in practical terms is what this article sets out.
Why This Matters: The Background
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 implemented the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC in the UK. Since the UK left the EU, the Regulations have been preserved under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018, and businesses that comply with the Directive and CE mark their machinery have continued to be able to place it on the GB market under “CE recognition.”
Meanwhile, the EU has moved on. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on Machinery replaces the old Directive, with notable changes applying from January 2027. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland already follows the new EU Regulation, giving it dual access to both the UK internal market and the EU Single Market. GB, however, has been left to decide its own path.
That decision was the subject of the July 2025 Call for Evidence on machinery safety legislation, which asked two things: should GB continue to recognise CE marked machinery under the new EU Regulation, and should GB introduce similar requirements into its own domestic legislation?
How Industry Responded
The Call for Evidence closed on 20 October 2025 with 48 written responses from UK, EU and global manufacturers and distributors, UK Approved Bodies, trade associations, professional bodies and enforcement authorities. Government officials also gathered verbal feedback from over 190 stakeholders across the UK and internationally, alongside other government bodies.
The results were decisive:
- The small number of respondents opposed to alignment were not arguing for weaker rules — they wanted GB to go further than the EU and set higher safety standards.
- 45 of 48 respondents supported continued recognition of EU/CE machinery requirements. Only 1 was against, 1 gave mixed views, and 1 did not answer.
- 43 of 48 supported GB taking a similar approach to the EU (and therefore NI) on machinery safety legislation more broadly. 2 were opposed, 2 gave mixed views, and 1 did not answer.
Key Themes From the Call for Evidence and Roundtables
Support for continued CE recognition and similar GB measures
Respondents were consistent in citing efficiency, reduced administrative burden, and continued access to EU and NI markets as the main reasons to stay aligned. This was seen as particularly important for SMEs and sectors with limited compliance resources. Businesses also warned that ending CE recognition could raise costs, reduce product availability, and risk lower-specification products entering the GB market.
Digitalisation
There was broad support for digital tools such as QR codes and digital product passports to help streamline compliance — a theme that echoes similar moves already underway in the EU Machinery Regulation itself.
Conformity assessment
Views were more mixed here. Some respondents backed mandatory third-party conformity assessment for higher-risk machinery, while others raised concerns about capacity and cost, particularly for smaller Approved/Conformity Assessment Bodies. Mutual recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies between the UK and EU was repeatedly raised as a way to ease the burden.
Wider issues
Respondents also flagged the need for clearer guidance on how CE and UKCA marking will coexist, and raised emerging challenges such as cybersecurity and AI integration in machinery — both of which feature prominently in the new EU Machinery Regulation. Enforcement capacity and market surveillance were identified as areas needing further attention to make any new regime work in practice.
What Happens Next
The Government has set out a clear, if not yet fully scheduled, path forward:
- Northern Ireland: legislation implementing the EU Machinery Regulation must be laid in Parliament by October 2026, in line with the EU’s own enforcement deadline under the Windsor Framework.
- Great Britain — CE recognition: the Government intends to lay legislation continuing CE recognition for machinery products in GB “when Parliamentary time allows” — a positive signal, but with no fixed date yet.
- Great Britain — domestic rules: the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 will be updated to introduce measures similar to the EU Machinery Regulation (and therefore to NI’s rules) into GB law.
Importantly, the Government has been clear that this will not be a straight copy-and-paste of the EU text. Any GB legislation must be tailored to national requirements: omitting references to EU reporting obligations, institutions and language, and providing for conformity assessment by UK-recognised Conformity Assessment Bodies and the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking, rather than the EU’s own regime.
What This Means for Manufacturers and Suppliers
If you place machinery on the GB market, the practical takeaway is that the destination is now known, even though the timetable is not. CE marking is set to remain valid in GB for the foreseeable future, and the underlying technical requirements businesses will eventually need to meet in GB are expected to track closely with the new EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, adapted for UK institutions and UKCA marking.
That gives manufacturers, distributors and importers a sensible basis for forward planning now: reviewing product ranges against the Essential Health and Safety Requirements in the new EU Regulation, considering how cybersecurity and AI-related provisions may apply to relevant products, and keeping an eye on how conformity assessment and Approved/Conformity Assessment Body arrangements develop on both sides of the Channel.
Businesses that start reviewing their technical files and risk assessments against the new EU Regulation now will be well placed once GB’s own rules mimic that of the EU.
How Knox Thomas Can Help
Machinery safety legislation is changing on both sides of the UK/EU border, and it is easy for a business to lose track of which requirements apply where, and when. At Knox Thomas, we help manufacturers, distributors and duty holders make sense of exactly this kind of regulatory change, including:
- assessing what the new EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 means for your existing product range
- reviewing technical files and Declarations of Conformity against the Essential Health and Safety Requirements
- advising on the practical differences between CE marking, UKCA marking and the emerging GB regime
- supporting risk assessments that account for new areas such as cybersecurity and AI integration in machinery
- helping you plan a compliance timeline that keeps you ahead of both the GB and EU legislative changes
If you would like help understanding how the Government’s proposed changes to GB machinery legislation will affect your business, get in touch with Knox Thomas. We can help you assess your current compliance position and plan for what comes next with confidence.
