Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Not Addressed
The Government should draw on international best practice and collaborate with established PFAS research programmes...
Recommendation
The Government should draw on international best practice and collaborate with established PFAS research programmes to ensure that the UK is fully aligned with and contributing to this global evidence base. This will enable the Government to make evidence-based decisions more quickly and reduce the cost to the UK taxpayer. A synthesis report summarising the UK’s international engagement, findings and planned actions should be published within six months of this Committee’s report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response addresses the implications of PFAS restrictions on waste management infrastructure and firefighting foams, failing to engage with the recommendation to draw on international best practice, collaborate with research programmes, or publish a synthesis report on UK international engagement.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
recognising that PFAS is a global challenge that no country can address alone. The government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of international efforts to better understand and address the risks these substances pose to people and the environment. As set out in the PFAS Plan, the UK is already playing an active role in a range of international initiatives to improve understanding of PFAS risks and strengthen global chemicals management. Through the Stockholm Convention, we contribute to international assessments of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and support the development of global controls on the most concerning PFAS. We are also supporting efforts to establish PFAS as a permanent issue of concern under the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), helping to drive greater international coordination on research, monitoring and risk management. In parallel, the UK continues to financially support the OECD’s work on PFAS nomenclature, testing methods, hazard assessment and alternatives assessment, which provides an important foundation for regulatory action worldwide. We are also exploring opportunities to further strengthen scientific collaboration through emerging international research and evidence partnerships, including through the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP), which has the potential to play a significant role in coordinating global scientific evidence and identifying future research priorities. Closer engagement with EU research and regulatory initiatives is an important part of our approach. This government is committed to strengthening scientific cooperation with our EU partners and ensuring the UK remains connected to world-leading research and expertise. This includes our participation in PARC, one of the world’s largest collaborative chemicals research programmes, which is generating valuable evidence on PFAS hazards, exposure pathways, monitoring approaches and alternatives assessment. Beyond intergovernmental collaboration, we recognise the important contributions made by universities, research institutes, industry and NGOs in advancing understanding of PFAS and developing safer alternatives. For example, Defra held a series of workshops earlier this year focused on sewage sludge, including academics, industry, and NGOs, to identify future research priorities and co-develop research proposals. These will further our understanding of the risks posed to human and environmental health by contaminants of concern, including PFAS, and provide recommendations for improved management. Through the PFAS Plan, we are strengthening links between researchers, regulators and industry, supporting the sharing of data and expertise, and building communities of practice focused on PFAS management and alternatives development. This international engagement is embedded within our domestic policymaking processes, helping us make full use of existing evidence, avoid unnecessary duplication of research, and benchmark our approaches against international best practice, to ensure UK action on PFAS is proportionate, effective and informed by the best available science. Human exposure pathways
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