MPs seek clarity from Government on chemicals strategy post-Brexit

• Letter to the Secretary of State
• Environmental Audit Committee

The Committee has held two inquiries since 2016 that covered chemicals regulation after Brexit. It heard concerns from the chemicals industry that the Government had lacked clarity, particularly around the practical regulatory steps it intended to put in place to enable both the import from and export to the EU of chemicals once the transition period ends.

The EAC understands that work on the Government's new Chemicals Strategy has been suspended due to coronavirus, delaying the much-needed clarity and reassurance for industry.

Prior to the outbreak, the Government had announced its intention to create its own independent regulatory regime, UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) modelled on the EU-wide scheme of the same name.

It is unclear how the relationship would work between the UK and EU REACH, and the Committee has expressed its concerns about regulatory divergence, arrangements for businesses, UK regulator responsibilities and access to databases.

As work on the Chemicals Strategy is delayed, the EAC is requesting clarity on how the Government is using this time to prepare businesses for a new regulatory framework, and any guidance on whether the two-year window for new registrations for UK REACH would be extended.

Guidance is also sought on the level of information required to register to UK REACH, with some proprietary data held by EU-based companies, presenting challenges to provide the full data package.
 
The Government has announced that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), alongside the Environment Agency and DEFRA, will be taking over the functions of the European Chemicals Agency.

The EAC has previously recommended that the HSE should outline a formal role in the substance evaluation process for the Committee on Toxicity and the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee, in addition to establishing a forum for engaging with stakeholders and suggesting specialists to feed into decision-making for chemicals policy.

The EAC is asking for an update on progress, and how the HSE model will ensure consistency is maintained to ensure environmental protection.

Chair's comments

Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Philip Dunne MP, said:

“The chemicals industry in the UK is a success story, pre-COVID19 supporting over 150,000 jobs and production climbing year on year. We must make sure this continues post-Brexit. The Committee is concerned that ongoing uncertainty for the sector could damage access to vital chemicals for business following the transition period.

“While the Government has made top-line announcements to establish a UK REACH programme that replicates the EU REACH, and steps for the HSE to mirror the work of the European Chemicals Agency, we remain unclear how these will work in practice, and want to ensure the same, high standards of environmental protection will be maintained.”

The Committee is expecting a response from DEFRA by the end of May.

Further information

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Image: Derek Harper/geograph