Draft Radio Equipment (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025
(1 day, 15 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Radio Equipment (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard, for my first time leading a debate on a statutory instrument. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 13 October 2025, and I will begin by setting out their background. They concern radio equipment, which today includes a wide range of products, including smartphones and many other smart and connected devices.
The radio equipment directive 2014/53/EU continues to apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework, ensuring that Northern Ireland maintains dual market access to both the UK internal market and the EU single market. In 2021, the European Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, which supplements the radio equipment directive and applies additional essential requirements to certain categories of radio equipment; that came into force on 1 August this year.
The additional essential requirements apply to certain internet-connected radio equipment, such as connectable consumer electronics and smart devices. Radio equipment must be constructed in a way that protects networks, safeguards users’ personal data and privacy, and prevents fraud. In addition, whether internet connected or not, radio equipment that is covered by the EU toys directive, or that is either a childcare device or a device designed to be worn on the body, must also be constructed so that it protects users’ personal data and privacy.
The radio equipment directive was implemented in UK law by the Radio Equipment Regulations 2017. Those regulations apply to the whole of the UK, but some provisions apply differently to Northern Ireland. The draft regulations amend the 2017 regulations as they apply to Northern Ireland to ensure effective implementation of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 in Northern Ireland, and to enable its enforcement.
Let me explain in more detail how the draft regulations meet their purpose. The 2017 regulations set out essential requirements for radio equipment before it can be placed on the market. The draft regulations add the additional essential requirements mandated in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 to the 2017 regulations as they apply to Northern Ireland, thereby enabling the relevant authorities to take steps to enforce the delegated regulation.
Manufacturers will need to carry out the appropriate conformity assessment process. The EU recognises three technical standards that address cyber-security requirements for radio equipment that manufacturers may use to demonstrate compliance, but using those specific standards remains voluntary. The 2017 regulations make it an offence to fail to comply with the essential requirements when supplying radio equipment or placing it on the market.
As the draft regulations add to the essential requirements of the 2017 regulations as they apply to Northern Ireland, they extend the scope of an existing offence. The Northern Ireland Department of Justice has confirmed that it considers such an amendment to the scope of existing offences proportionate, and it does not believe that it will have a detrimental effect on the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.
I assure members of the Committee that enforcement authorities will continue to take a proportionate approach to compliance and enforcement activities, in accordance with the regulators’ code. In almost all cases, we expect that, by working with and supporting business, compliance will be achieved without legal recourse to the use of criminal penalties.
Many UK businesses supply the EU market as well as the UK market, so they have already taken steps to comply with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30. In discussions with industry stakeholders, including trade associations, my officials have not identified any significant impacts from the draft regulations, as manufacturers and importers in scope of these requirements are generally trading across the UK and the EU, so they will be coming into compliance or have already done so. We therefore expect limited impacts, if any, on the flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
In addition, manufacturers of CE-marked EU-compliant radio equipment can continue to place those products on the GB market. As is already the case, consumer products that connect to internet or a network placed on the GB market will continue to need to comply with the existing regime of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, which came into effect in April 2024.
Manufacturers in Northern Ireland producing qualifying goods in scope of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 continue to benefit from unfettered access to the rest of the UK internal market, as set out in the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. While we expect the impacts to be limited, we will continue to monitor the functioning of the internal market.
Improving cyber-resilience in the UK remains a Government priority, and the Government continue to review the operation of cyber-security regulations applicable in Great Britain. We are looking at further options for securing digital devices, as evidenced by our recent call for views on enterprise-connected devices, and will take into account arrangements in Northern Ireland. The Government also intend to review the operation of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, with an initial post-implementation review to be conducted in 2026.
We are taking steps to support industry to comply with these new requirements. My officials in the Office for Product Safety and Standards published a factsheet for businesses earlier this year, providing information on how to comply. The OPSS will also provide further guidance for industry for this instrument.
The statutory instrument enables the effective implementation in Northern Ireland of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, which applies additional essential requirements for manufacturers of certain radio equipment. The instrument amends the UK’s 2017 regulations and will enable the EU delegated regulation to be enforced effectively. Implementation and the effective enforcement ensures our compliance with international law, which facilitates Northern Ireland’s continued unique dual access to both the UK internal market and the EU single market. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Pritchard. Here we have another egregious example of how my constituents are disenfranchised when it comes to making laws that govern aspects of their lives. All of us in the United Kingdom were subject to the EU regulations on radio equipment through the Radio Equipment Regulations 2017. [Interruption.] Does the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark wish to intervene?
Jim Allister
It is only in Northern Ireland, however, that without any consent or consultation, additional laws under the 2022 legislation are going to be enforced.
The basic premise of this House and of a democratic society is that people get a say in the laws that govern them. That is not so for my constituents. These are laws being imposed courtesy of the Windsor framework, which simply decrees that the United Kingdom has abandoned all claim to make laws in over 300 areas, and has subjected itself to imposing whatever laws are made in those areas by a foreign Parliament and a collection of foreign Ministers. That is the absurdity of how my constituents are governed in those 300 areas of law, of which the draft regulations represent but one.
The draft regulations apply to everyday items: the baby alarm in the bedroom down to the living room—[Interruption.]
The Chair
Order. I am the Chair of this Committee, not the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark. If he wants to intervene, he should do so by rising—if I see him. I was allowing the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim some leeway, but could he keep within the scope of the regulations?
Jim Allister
The scope of the regulations includes baby alarms, the alarms that hang around an elderly person’s neck, and the smartphones in our pockets—any internet-dependent radio device. That is a vast array of things. The upshot is that laws that do not apply in the United Kingdom, and that have not been instigated or approved either by the devolved institutions or by this sovereign Parliament, are to be imposed upon my constituents. Would any Member of this House sit silent if it were their constituents who would be affected? I suggest that they would not; they would think that they were sent here to make the laws that govern them. That is the essence of the matter.
Indeed, this has illustrated just how much in subjection we are. In paragraph 7 of the explanatory memorandum, the Government say that they did not carry out a consultation. They did not carry out a consultation because a consultation could make no difference. They have signed up to enforcing whatever Brussels wants, not what those they might consult—the people affected—want. The absurdity is illustrated by the Government saying in the explanatory memorandum that they have
“not undertaken a formal public consultation as this instrument’s provisions are confined to the implementation of provisions as required by the terms of the Windsor Framework”.
In other words, “We have to do it. It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not. It doesn’t matter whether those to whom it will be applied like it or not. Just lump it, because we have to do it, courtesy of the Windsor framework.” That is why I began my remarks by talking about the disenfranchising of my constituents, of which this is but another example. Neither this Government nor the last, who put this upon us, ever want to face up to that.
The Government admit that the measure will affect small business. In paragraph 9.3 of the explanatory memorandum, the Government say that the instrument
“does impact small or micro businesses”,
and add in paragraph 9.4 that
“we are unable to take any mitigating actions to minimise the regulatory burdens on small or micro businesses.”
What are the Government saying? “We can’t help you. Yes, it’s going to have a negative effect on micro and small businesses, but we can’t do anything to help you. Suck it up.” That is no way for a sovereign Government to treat any part of their own country, yet that is the tragedy of how my constituents are being treated.
The Government try to dress it up by saying, “Oh, but you have dual access.” Dual access is a joke. It has not produced one job in Northern Ireland. That has been confirmed by Invest Northern Ireland. We might have dual access, but the raw materials we need for anything we want to manufacture have to come through an international customs border, nullifying any effect of dual access. That is no excuse whatsoever, and it is another sorry commentary on any Government that they come before a Committee such as this and plaintively say, “We didn’t write this law. We can’t change this law. We’re just going to impose it on those who had no say whatsoever in it.” That is absurd and wrong.
Gareth Davies (Grantham and Bourne) (Con)
It is a great pleasure to see you in the chair, Mr Pritchard. I welcome the relatively new Minister to her first delegated legislation Committee; I am sure there will be many more. It is a great pleasure to see her for the first time in her place.
I welcome the opportunity to address this statutory instrument on behalf of the official Opposition. As the Minister helpfully set out, the instrument gives effect to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 in Northern Ireland and allows it to be legally enforced. The radio equipment directive requires that the radio equipment sold or used within the EU market must meet what are known as essential requirements. Under the terms of the Windsor framework, Northern Ireland remains subject to EU regulations in this area, specifically on radio equipment. The Radio Equipment Regulations 2017 have been amended on numerous occasions, as the Minister will be aware. Today’s instrument makes further amendments to requirements relating to internet-connected radio equipment such as smartphones and fitness trackers.
The Minister alluded to this in her speech, but the Department for Business and Trade states that these regulations enhance cyber-security, and that many businesses are already compliant with the regulations because they export to the EU; therefore, in the Department’s view, there should be no significant impact on the supply of products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Despite that assessment, let me ask for clarification on two points. The explanatory memorandum says,
“Many UK businesses also supply the EU markets…and have already taken steps to come into compliance with the Radio Equipment Directive.”
What estimate does the Minister have of the percentage of radio manufacturers who are likely to be compliant? It would be helpful for colleagues to have an understanding of the progress made already, without this regulation in place. Secondly, will the Minister outline whether the standards are in keeping with those in other international markets, in particular the United States? What assessment has the Department made of the competitiveness of these regulations in relation to those other markets? Other than that, we will not oppose the measure and I look forward to the Minister’s answers.
Kate Dearden
I thank the shadow Minister for his warm welcome and kind words; I look forward to working with him. I also thank the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim for his contribution. As I explained, this instrument ensures effective implementation in Northern Ireland of the Commission delegated regulation that applies additional essential requirements for manufacturers of certain radio equipment. I hope my introductory speech laid out why we are bringing this SI today, the reasons behind it, our intentions and our work with stakeholders and businesses so far, many of whom have already prepared to comply with the new essential requirements, which came into force on 1 August this year.
The shadow Minister asked about the precise percentage. We have worked with the stakeholders and trade associations that have come into compliance. Although I am not able to give a precise percentage today, we will keep him updated, as we are keen to continue discussions with industry stakeholders, including the trade associations. As I mentioned, we have not identified any significant impacts of this instrument, as many businesses have already adapted. Crucially, we expect the impact on the flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to be limited. He also mentioned the impact of our work with the US and other competitive markets. Again, we will be happy to discuss that further with him.
The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim will be aware that we remain committed to implementing the Windsor framework in good faith, and taking forward commitments in a way that best delivers for the people in Northern Ireland. We are keen to work constructively with all stakeholders—the EU, the Northern Ireland Executive, political parties, businesses and civic society in Northern Ireland—to achieve that.
Kate Dearden
The hon. Member spoke for a considerable time, but I will be kind and give way.
Jim Allister
The Minister talks about implementing in the interests of the people of Northern Ireland. How can it be in the interests of people to impose laws that they are not consulted about, that they did not make and cannot change? How can that be in anyone’s interest in a democratic society?
Kate Dearden
Regarding this instrument, it is an essential requirement that as products are developed, we ensure that they do not harm networks and that we protect personal data and guard against fraud. As devices become smarter and more connected and embedded in daily life, we have to keep pace with the regulatory framework. That is why this instrument is so important to protect consumers and networks.
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
It is always a pleasure to listen to the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim as he makes the case for his constituents. Is the Minister able to set out whether there is practical regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of this SI? What is the practical implication for the principal concern the hon. Gentleman raises on behalf of his constituents? Quite often the regulatory alignment remains the same, even if the base legislation for that regulation may derive from different places.
Kate Dearden
There is divergence but little impact in practice, as I mentioned in my introductory remarks. The draft regulations are crucial to ensuring our compliance with international law in relation to Northern Ireland’s continuing dual access. I thank the shadow Minister for his support and would be happy to write further to him about competitive states. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions and am pleased to commend this SI to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.