Written questions by Poynton.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that imported construction products are subject to the same UKCA marking requirements as those manufactured in the UK.

Construction products supplied to the GB market must be affixed with a UKCA or CE mark where they are covered by a designated standard under the UK Construction Product Regulations or where they conform to a UK technical assessment which has been issued for that product. This reflects the written ministerial statement issued by the Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness on 2 September, which confirmed that CE marking would continue to be recognised when placing construction products on the market to remove unnecessary trade friction, promote growth and protect the UK internal market. Any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum 2-year transitional period. We published a construction products green paper setting out proposals for system wide reform including options for product marking. We will set out next steps in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective enforcement of The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2024 in relation to imported construction products.

The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations provide for continued recognition of certain EU requirements for a range of products, but do not apply to construction products.The Construction Products Regulation 2011 (as amended) governs the placing on the market of construction products. This includes enabling the European ‘CE’ mark to be used as an alternative to the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking when placing a product on the market.The National Regulator for Construction Products (NRCP) and Local Authority Trading Standards (LATS) have regulatory powers to carry out market surveillance and enforcement to remove non-compliant products from the UK market.In September 2024 the government announced its intention to continue to recognise the CE mark for construction products, conditional on system wide reform of the construction products regime. This was followed by the publication of a green paper in February 2025, which set out comprehensive proposals, including a range of measures to improve the enforcement regime.

Communities and Local Government, whether the origination criteria of the British Business Bank’s Enable Build scheme permits lending to all small and medium sized home builders whose operations and development are entirely in and related to Scotland.

The ENABLE Build scheme is open to banks and non-bank lenders for the purpose of lending to small and medium-sized housebuilders across the United Kingdom, including those based in Scotland.ENABLE Build is a ‘portfolio product’ where a guarantee is provided to a lender that covers a portfolio of eligible loans to SME borrowers.The origination criteria under the scheme stipulates that at least 80% of the lender’s guaranteed portfolio should relate to developments in England.This does not apply to the borrower’s portfolio, meaning that home builders based in Scotland can benefit from the scheme even if their operations and development are entirely Scotland-based.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the British Business Bank on eligibility of the Enable Build programme; and whether its origination criteria that a substantial majority of the portfolio must relate to developments in England applies to the (a) lenders or (b) home builders portfolio.

The ENABLE Build scheme is open to banks and non-bank lenders for the purpose of lending to small and medium-sized housebuilders across the United Kingdom, including those based in Scotland.ENABLE Build is a ‘portfolio product’ where a guarantee is provided to a lender that covers a portfolio of eligible loans to SME borrowers.The origination criteria under the scheme stipulates that at least 80% of the lender’s guaranteed portfolio should relate to developments in England.This does not apply to the borrower’s portfolio, meaning that home builders based in Scotland can benefit from the scheme even if their operations and development are entirely Scotland-based.