Technical Committee update

Testing

o GPA continues to invest in fire testing, with an ongoing plan of partition tests to BS EN 1364-1:2015. The focus is on providing substantiation as an industry to areas where historically theoretical thinking was the only principle. Over the course of 2026 we will be publishing a series of papers, outlining our findings.

Standards & Regulations

o With industry representation at BSI, we review and comment on standards during their development and periodic review. During this meeting we provided comment to BS EN 13381-1:2020 & BS EN ISO 717:2020 - Parts 1 & 2. Further BSI Committee work is ongoing within working group B/544 (plastering, rendering and drylining standards). The focus being a full review of BS 5234-1:1992 and BS 5234-2:1992.

o Turning to regulations and the CPR (Construction Product Regulations, The Working Plan for the implementation of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) was published in December 25. Gypsum originally given a priority of No 25 out of 34 sectors however, due to its importance in the construction industry, it’s now been elevated to No 11 with our timetable Milestone 1: Q3 2026 Milestone III: Q3 2027, Standardisation request: 2028. Our first engagement in this area is the GPA providing representation at Eurogypsum. Further updates will be provided as the work progresses.

Publications

o GPA through our website The GPA publish a library of Technical Advise Notes, these are periodically reviewed and new documents created. Peer review was undertaken to maintain accuracy to the contents. Further documentation is ongoing and will be available throughout 2026.

Note – The GPA meeting is held under Competition Act 1998 legislation, with GPA Secretariat in attendance.