UK to prioritise alignment with EU on chemicals regulation

THE UK will align its chemicals regulation with EU rules unless “very exceptional circumstances” require otherwise, government officials have said. 

Following Brexit, the UK introduced its own regime for the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), replacing the EU framework that had previously applied. However, industry has expressed frustration at what it sees as a lack of clarity over how and when different aspects of UK REACH will take force. 

Speaking at the ChemUK trade show in Birmingham on Wednesday, government officials stressed that UK regulation will remain closely aligned with EU rules in force before Brexit. 

In a video address, Emma Hardy, a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said the government will take EU rules “as a starting point for UK REACH, diverging only where really necessary”. The “very exceptional circumstances” under which the UK may diverge are understood to include issues such as national security. 

Hardy said the government had “given businesses the certainty they need to grow and invest”. 

Addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which Hardy described as “one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time”, she said: “We do not see regulation as the only answer. Industry leadership, innovation and the transition to safer alternatives will be essential.”

Zameer Bhunnoo, a policy adviser at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), explained that alignment with the EU will help address the “significant workload” created by Brexit. He cited the EU’s ongoing review into all biocide active ingredients currently on the market. The review was launched in 2001, when the UK was still an EU member, and was originally expected to be completed by 2011. 

“Come 2026, they’ve got about halfway through,” Bhunnoo said. 

Marc Casale, deputy director of the chemicals and international team at Defra, said alignment with Europe “will avoid the time-consuming, costly and unnecessary duplication of EU assessments.”

Casale also sought to reassure industry that UK REACH progress is “not at all” impacted by the political uncertainty surrounding prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. 

“We are continuing to deliver…as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he said.