A New Era for Construction Product Testing – What the Morrell Review Set in Motion, and How Ottersbrook Can Help

The UK’s construction sector entered a new regulatory era on 8 January 2026, when a strengthened and far‑reaching compliance framework officially took effect. This shift stems directly from the findings of the Independent Review of the Construction Product Testing Regime, led by Paul Morrell OBE and Anneliese Day KC, originally published by government on 20 April 2023 and updated through 21 May 2025.

The Review exposed critical weaknesses in the way construction products were tested, certified, marketed, and policed, identifying systemic failures that left two‑thirds of products effectively unregulated. The newly implemented 2026 regulations translate those findings into action. Enforcement bodies such as the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) now hold enhanced powers to monitor products entering the supply chain, and the consequences of non‑compliance are severe. Under the new regime, providing misleading technical data or failing to maintain complete documentation is considered a criminal offence, with significant legal and financial exposure for both manufacturers and developers.

For innovative sectors—modular, offsite, mass‑timber, engineered systems—certification is no longer simply desirable but an absolute prerequisite for acceptance by insurers, warranty providers, funders, and public authorities.

How Ottersbrook can help you navigate this new landscape

At Ottersbrook, we understand better than most how fragmented, opaque, and contradictory the UK’s product compliance environment has been—and how challenging the transition to the new 2026 framework will feel for manufacturers and developers.

Our role is to de‑risk every step of this journey:

• End‑to‑end compliance orchestration: We help clients map their products against the new regulatory expectations, including AVCP pathways, system‑level performance requirements, and sector‑specific certification needs.

  
  

• Test strategy and evidence management: Ottersbrook guides you through selecting the correct accredited test bodies, preparing test evidence, and ensuring that all documentation stands up to scrutiny under the new OPSS enforcement powers.

  
  

• Certification and acceptance alignment: We work across the ecosystem—UKAS, warranty providers, investors, and procurement bodies—to ensure your product is positioned for rapid acceptance, not rejection.

  
  

• Risk‑free governance and surveillance: Our management systems ensure traceability, digital validation, and product‑to‑test alignment, helping you avoid the “costly re‑testing trap” while ensuring a clean audit trail for regulators.

  
  

• Strategic navigation: With active involvement across Industrialised Construction (IC) compliance reform, Ottersbrook provides insight into both current obligations and the direction of future regulation.

  
  

In a landscape where compliance failures now carry criminal liability, Ottersbrook’s structured, evidence‑led approach ensures that manufacturers and developers can operate confidently, transparently, and without regulatory risk.

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