I would like to ask members a question on applicability of the UKCA mark to wooden outdoor play houses. 

My understanding is that play houses are covered by the Toy Regulation EN71. Therefore now that the UK is outside of the EU the CE marking must be replaced by UKCA marking.

We have a vendor – well known in the industry – that does not believe this to be the case.

I wished to check how other retailers are seeing this issue and what communications to vendors are being used. 

The vendor in question has independent testing to EN71 between 2 – 4 years old, dependant on individual design.

Members Response

A play house meets all parts of the above definition
It is a product designed and intended for children under 14
It is intended for use in play. (I cannot see any other purpose)

So as it fully meets the definition of a toy then it must have a UKCA mark.

If the retailer is struggling they could ask the supplier to get assured advice in writing from their primary authority that the play house is not a toy.

Just note that assured advice can be overturned but that does not happen very often.

Even if it is not a toy the supplier will need to demonstrate compliance with GPSR  so what other certification / testing are they going to carry out to show compliance after a thorough risk assessment.

2.   In my opinion there is no exemption for any lines which were previously CE marked. I think suppliers are thinking that they have to spend money to have the product retested to get the UKCA mark - but as the testing is the same they just need to amend the DoC referring to the BS standard number and mark the product with the UKCA mark.

3.   It depends on the actual product.  If the play house is a full size garden shed with some pretty windows then it could be argued that they are out of scope but It would be very difficult to justify. However,  if they are being marketed as a playhouse,  are CE marked and are of a size that makes them suitable for children under 14 years as opposed to a full size garden shed,  then I can’t think of any reason they would not fall under the UKCA marking requirements.

From a due diligence point of view,  if a vendor tried to claim out of scope I would look for independent verification from a recognised test lab in the toy area (BBV, Intertek, SGS etc) and even then would probably be swayed to UKCA and Toy Safety Regs as the right thing to do.

Garden outdoor play equipment- slides, climbing frames, swings etc - are very firmly in scope of toy safety regs and covered by EN71-8.

4.   In response to this query, it’s difficult to give a view without seeing images of the play houses. If it’s simply a child-sized wooden shed, such as the one shown below, then it may not fit the definition of a ‘toy’ and therefore wouldn’t require a CE/UKCA mark. (Images were kindly supplied but unfortunately our system is unable to accept them, see attached document).

If play has intentionally been introduced, for example a slide, toy flower pots, chalk boards, shop front or any other interactive feature, then it’s more likely to be a toy and require a CE/UKCA mark.

If the retailer or their supplier is a BTHA member, they can ask them to consider adding play houses to their ‘grey guide’ which may help to provide further guidance.

We would agree that the EU CE mark is being replaced in GB by the UKCA mark.

Effectively if the manufacture is declaring compliance with the EU Toy Safety Directive then compliance with the equivalent in GB would require the UKCA mark.

As such we would expect suppliers to CE and UKCA mark products.

There have been situations in the past where products have been tested to EN 1176 which is the playground safety standard

These products are normally larger and suitable for public spaces.

Historically there was an issue complying with EN71 and EN 1176 as there were requirements which were mutually exclusive, so there was a manufacturers decision to comply with one or the other, but they could not comply with both standards without modification. Technically products complying with EN 1176 could be considered to require a Notified Body Assessment before application of the CE/UKCA mark. I know that the standards have been updated since I last looked at them so this may no longer be the case.

6.   If the vendor has tested it to EN71, and previously labelled it to EN71, then they must believe it to be a toy. In which case going forward it must be UKCA marked for the GB market and CE marked for RoI/NI.

BTHA

Depending on the playhouse it will come under EN71-1 or EN71-8 plus all the others and will need a CE mark for the EU and a UKCA mark for the UK (bearing in mind the various transition times here). 

I would not advise replacement of the CE probably addition of the UKCA instead.

BEIS

Colleagues have come back to advise that they believe, if the manufacturer tests it as an activity toy under EN71, it does require a UKCA mark. 

Without knowing the specific circumstances, or the manufacturer’s rationale it is not is possible for us to provide a definitive.

Post Query Note:

The member reports “The vendor is now seeing sense”. They plan to use EN71 test data generated  between 2 and 4 years ago to apply for UKCA – nothing in the legislation to state that they need to repeat the testing. 

BRC comment …… unless the standards have changed

A BRC Member has contacted me with the below:

In a relation to your recent query on UKCA Marking of Play houses - we will be following the Toy Safety Directive and Toy Safety Regulations, and applying both the UKCA and CE Mark to this product type to allow sale in GB and NI.