1st Special Report - The Future of Chemicals Regulation after the EU Referendum: Government Response to the Committee’s Eleventh Report of Session 2016–17

This is the government's response, published 29 September 2017.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government says it will use the Repeal Bill to convert EU law into UK law, amending REACH and related chemicals regulation, and that it "intend[s] to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the UK and EU chemicals sector on registration, regulation and trade".

• On transposing REACH, the government says it "will use the Repeal Bill" to convert EU law into UK law and use the powers to amend REACH and related chemicals regulation "to make them work properly in the UK".
• On uncertainty over registrations, the government "recognises the costs" industry has invested and says registration status is "a key consideration". It says it remains bound by REACH until exit, including the May 2018 registration deadline for the 1 to 100 tonne band, and is raising awareness through the HSE.
• On the costs of a stand-alone UK system, the government says these "will be affected by many factors, including negotiations" and that "it would not be appropriate to pre-judge their outcome".
• On international experience, the government says it is "looking into how chemicals are regulated in a number of different non-EU countries" as part of considering options for the UK's regime "in the longer term".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error