UK Government publishing a series of technical notices to provide businesses and citizens guidance in the event on a ‘no deal’ Brexit

This page summarises the technical notices most pertinent to Architectural Technology professionals and the built environment sector.

The UK Government is publishing a series of technical notices to provide businesses and citizens guidance in the event on a ‘no deal’ Brexit in March 2019. The technical notices were published in groups across August and September 2018 and further information was published in January 2019. The government may publish additional notices so please check back to find out the latest guidance.

The full list of technical notices published to date are available to read online on the website of the Department for Exiting the European Union.

This page summarises the technical notices most pertinent to Architectural Technology professionals and the built environment sector:

UK government's preparation for a no deal scenario
This document puts the UK government’s technical notices in context and outlines the current progress of negotiations.

European Temporary Leave to Remain in the UK
This notice, published 29 January 2019, sets out how EEA citizens will be able to enter the UK in the event of a no deal Brexit. EEA/Swiss nationals will be able to enter the UK as they do now, for an interim period, but in the event of a no deal Brexit would need to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain to stay longer than 3 months. European Temporary Leave to Remain will be a temporary, non-extendable immigration status lasting up to 36 months. You do not need to apply for any immigration status or visa if they do not intend to stay in the UK for more than 3 months. The application will be made online; applicants will need to prove their identity and declare any criminal convictions during their application.

Irish citizens will not need to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain. They’ll continue to have the right to enter and live in the UK under Common Travel Area arrangements.

This system will apply until the end of 2020 - once the UK's new immigration system comes into force in 2021, EEA citizens with European Temporary Leave to Remain would need to apply for a visa under the new immigration system to remain in the UK. Please refer to the guidance for more details.

On 1 February 2019 the European Union announced that it intends that UK citizens coming to the Schengen area for a short stay (90 days in any 180 days) should be granted visa free travel.

Providing services including those of a qualified professional if there's no Brexit deal
This notice outlines how professions and services will be regulated. The MRPQ Directive will no longer apply in the UK and there will be no system of reciprocal recognition of professional qualifications between the UK and the EEA. The UK will put in place a procedure for professionals with EEA qualifications to seek recognition of their qualifications, however this will differ from the current arrangements (see above). 

Accounting and audit if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how accounting, corporate reporting and audit would be handled. The corporate reporting and audit regimes for companies operating solely within the UK will be unchanged; but there will be additional requirements relating to the audits and reporting requirements of UK companies operating cross-border and subsidiaries or parents of EU companies established in the UK. Please refer to the document for more details.

Structuring your business if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how cross border business operations and European specific corporate entities would be affected. There will be no change in who can be an owner, senior manager or director of a UK company, however UK citizens may face restrictions on their ability to own, manage or direct a company registered in the EU, depending on the sector and EU member state in which the company is operating. Please refer to the document for more details.

Construction Products Regulation if there is no Brexit deal
This notice outlines changes that would be made to the Construction Products Regulation. All existing European harmonised standards will become UK ‘designated standards’. This will mean that immediately following the UK’s exit from the EU, the European harmonised standards and UK designated standards will be identical. Products being placed on the UK market will need to comply with UK designated standards and notified to UK approved bodies. Please refer to the document for more details.

Consumer rights if there's no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how consumers’ rights would be protected. The government is taking steps to ensure that after exit UK consumers will retain the protections they currently have when buying from UK businesses, but there may be an impact on the extent to which UK consumers are protected when buying goods and services in the EU. Businesses selling into EU countries should keep apprised of any future changes in EU Member State laws. Please refer to the document for more details.

The UK Government's guarantee for EU-funded programmes if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the impact on those receiving EU funding. The UK government guarantees funding for UK organisations under EU programmes such as the European Development Fund. Please refer to the document for further details.

Horizon 2020 funding if there is no Brexit deal
This document outlines the impact on those who receive or have applied for Horizon 2020 funding. The UK government guarantees that it will fund all successful bids submitted by UK participants before the UK exits the EU, for the full duration of the projects. Please refer to the document for further details.

Trading with the EU if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the impact on businesses trading with the EU. In the event of a no deal scenario, UK businesses importing and exporting goods to and from the EU will be required to follow customs procedures in the same way they do when importing goods from outside of the EU. Please refer to the document for further details.

VAT for business if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the effect on VAT for UK businesses. The UK government states that it is aiming to keep VAT procedures as close as possible to the current procedures. However, businesses will need to prepare for changes when importing and exporting goods and services to and from the EU, in the case of a no deal Brexit. Please refer to the document for further details.

Banking, insurance and other financial services if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the UK government’s new proposals for economic and regulatory arrangement with the EU for banking, insurance and financial services. It provides guidance for UK individual and business customers of UK and EEA firms. Please refer to the document for further details.

Erasmus+ if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the UK government’s decisions on Erasmus+ projects. This includes a commitment to underwrite all successful bids while the UK is still in the EU, dependent on reaching an agreement with the EU. Please refer to the document for further details.

Workplace rights if there's no Brexit deal
This document outlines the impact on workers’ rights. The UK government states that workers in the UK will continue to be entitled to existing rights, including those which come from EU law. There are caveats in some cases of employer insolvency and the European Works Council. Please refer to the document for further details.

European Regional Development Funding if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how current and future European Regional Development Fund projects would be affected. The UK government has announced it will guarantee funding for all EU projects including European Regional Development Fund projects, that would have been funded by the EU between 2014-2020, if there is no deal. Please refer to the document for further details.

Trading under the mutual recognition principle if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice provides guidance on how the importing and exporting non-harmonised goods under the mutual recognition principle would be affected. In the event of no deal the UK would no longer fall within the scope of the mutual recognition principle for goods subject to national regulations rather than EU-wide rules (e.g. textiles, furniture) and UK businesses importing or exporting these to or from the EU market will need to consider the national requirements of the EU country they export to. Please refer to the document for further details.

Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice explains how existing or potential bidders for UK public contracts and public sector buyers would be able to access and publish future public procurement contract opportunities The UK would make a replacement UK-specific e-notification service available to replace OJEU/TED and businesses wishing to access contract opportunities from the UK public sector will need to access the new service. Those who wish to access contract opportunities from the EU may continue to do so via OJEU/TED. Please refer to the document for further details.

Merger review and anti-competitive activity if there's no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how merger review and investigations into anti-competitive activity would be affected. In some cases mergers would be reviewed by both the Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission, while the UK Competition and Markets Authority and regulators with competition enforcement powers will only investigate mergers or anti-competitive conduct that affects UK markets under UK competition law. Please refer to the document for further details.

Data protection if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out the actions UK organisations should take to enable the continued flow of personal data between the UK and the EU. The EU Withdrawal Act will incorporate the GDPR into UK law, however the legal framework governing transfers of personal data from organisations (or subsidiaries) established in the EU to organisations established in the UK would change on exit and businesses would need to take action to ensure EU organisations were able to continue to send them personal data. Please refer to the document for further details.

Upholding environmental standards if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how the UK government will uphold environmental standards. The EU Withdrawal Act 2018 will ensure all existing EU environmental law continues to operate in UK law, and the UK government will establish a new, independent statutory body to hold government to account on environmental standards in relation to England and reserved matters. Please refer to the document for further details.

Travelling to the EU with a UK passport if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how the rules would change or British citizens travelling to some European countries after March 2019. UK nationals would be considered third-country nationals and need to comply with different rules to enter and travel around the Schengen area. Please refer to the document for further details.

Travelling within the Common Travel Area and the associated rights of British and Irish citizens if there is no Brexit deal
The purpose of this notice is to provide clarity on the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements and the associated rights and privileges of British and Irish citizens in the other jurisdictions. The CTA will continue to apply in a no deal scenario and British or Irish citizens in another part of the CTA will not be required to take any action to protect their status or rights. Please refer to the document for further details.

Copyright if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how cross-border copyright would be affected if the UK leaves the EU with no deal. The UK’s continued membership of the main international treaties on copyright will ensure that the scope of protection for copyright works in the UK and for UK works abroad will remain largely unchanged, but various reciprocal copyright mechanisms between the UK and EU would cease to apply and businesses may wish to seek legal advice on how these arrangements could affect their business model or intellectual property rights. Please refer to the document for further details.

Trade marks and designs if there’s no Brexit deal
This notice sets out how holders of EU and UK trade marks and registered and unregistered Community designs would be affected. The UK government intends to ensure that the property rights will continue to be protected and to be enforceable in the UK by providing an equivalent trade mark or design registered in the UK. Please refer to the document for further details.

What is a ‘No Deal’ Brexit?
In March 2017, the UK government officially notified the European Commission of its intention that the UK leave the European Union. This marked the beginning of a two-year period of negotiation between the UK government and European Commission on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship, and means that at 23:00, 29 March 2019 the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the European Union.

The UK government has signalled its intention to enter a transition period that will run between 29 March 2019 and 31 December 2020. This transition period would mean that the UK would still have access to the European Union on similar terms as it does as a full member but will not have decision-making powers within the Union. However, this is contingent on the European Commission and UK government agreeing on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship.

Without this agreement, the UK will be treated as a ‘third country’ from 29 March 2019, with the trade determined by World Trade Organisation rules and UK immediately withdrawn from the rights and responsibilities of the Union – this is the situation commonly referred to as a ‘No Deal’ Brexit. This will affect everything from the rights of citizens not currently resident in their home countries, to the provision of goods and services across border.