New Government Review of Third-Party Certification for Construction Products
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
MHCLG’s February 2026 review of third-party certification schemes identifies significant inconsistency across 55 voluntary third-party certification schemes in the UK construction products sector, particularly in transparency, surveillance disclosure and digital accessibility.
The future of credible certification lies in clearly defined scope, structured surveillance, accessible supporting evidence and durable digital records. UKTC Ensure has been designed to respond directly to these structural gaps, including through the UKTC Ensure Vault - a lifecycle-based digital evidence repository linked to every certificate.
Raising the Benchmark for Voluntary Third-Party Certification
The MHCLG review provides a detailed assessment of voluntary third-party certification in the UK construction products market. While certification remains an important assurance mechanism, the report highlights substantial variation in scheme structure, certificate clarity, surveillance transparency and access to supporting evidence.
Fifty-five schemes were identified within scope
Across these, differences were observed in:
How product scope is defined.
Whether surveillance activity is clearly disclosed.
How testing data is presented.
How easily certification status can be verified.
The direction is clear: certification must demonstrate rigour, transparency and traceability.
Clarity of Scope and Regulatory Contribution
No product can demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations in isolation. Certification supports regulatory contribution, but performance depends on system design, installation and context.
UKTC Ensure certification therefore defines:
Certified product or system scope.
Inclusion and exclusion boundaries.
Applicable British or European Standards.
Tested characteristics and performance outcomes.
Contributory regulatory statements where relevant.
The emphasis is on precision rather than broad performance & marketing claims.
Structured Surveillance and Defined Validity
The review notes inconsistency in how schemes describe ongoing oversight.
UKTC Ensure follows ISO/IEC 17065 requirements and ISO/IEC 17067 Type 5 principles, incorporating:
Determination of characteristics (testing, inspection or appraisal).
Independent review and certification decision.
Factory Production Control review.
Periodic audit inspection.
Time-bound validity with structured revalidation.
Certification status, expiry and any suspension are publicly verifiable through a digital register.
The UKTC Ensure Vault: Lifecycle Transparency
A key finding in the MHCLG review is limited access to the supporting evidence behind certificates. Many schemes reference standards, but few provide structured, durable digital access to underlying documentation. Construction products often remain in place for decades. Over time, documentation can become fragmented or inaccessible.
The UKTC Ensure Vault addresses this by hosting supporting evidence alongside each certificate within a controlled digital repository. The Vault includes:
Referenced and version-controlled test report identifiers.
Scope documentation and certified variants.
Surveillance summaries and revision history.
Certificate status, including suspensions or withdrawals.
Access is linked directly to the product via secure digital identifiers, enabling verification at any point in its lifecycle, installation, inspection, refurbishment or investigation. The aim is to preserve a durable, traceable source of truth.
From Transparency to Commercial Advantage
The MHCLG review signals that transparency and digital accessibility are becoming baseline expectations. As procurement frameworks and dutyholders respond, the threshold for credible third-party assurance will continue to rise.
A number of manufacturers of fire resistance building products have already moved ahead of this shift by adopting structured, transparent certification models supported by digital evidence retention. By joining UKTC Ensure, these organisations demonstrate:
Clearly defined scope and tested performance.
Structured surveillance and lifecycle traceability.
Publicly verifiable certification status.
Accessible supporting evidence through the UKTC Ensure Vault.
In safety-critical markets, transparency reduces friction in specification and supports due diligence requirements. Early adopters are finding that being digitally evidence-ready strengthens their position in competitive tenders and regulatory scrutiny.
The direction is clear. Certification frameworks that combine technical rigour with durable digital transparency will define the next benchmark for credibility.
Manufacturers of fire resistance and other safety-critical products should ask:
Is your certification model ready for the next decade of scrutiny? If not, the time to strengthen it is now.
To learn more about UKTC ensure and how it answers the calls for transparency, accountability and clearer labelling, download our white paper by clicking below.
[Source: Third-party certification schemes for construction products in the United Kingdom - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/699d9098532c9ad91ebbcbc2/Third-party_certification_schemes_for_construction_products_in_the_United_Kingdom_-_February_2026.pdf]
