STATUS UPDATE ON THE FUTURE OF UK CHEMICALS REGULATIONS POST TRANSITION PERIOD
03 June 2020
The Chairman of the Environment Audit Committee recently wrote to Rebecca Pow MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DEFRA regarding the concerns raised by industry to the Environment committee regarding the future UK regulatory requirements for REACH post the Transition Period.
These concerns, have been raised by BEAMA and other members of the UK REACH cross sector group.
Attached here is the full reply from Rebecca Pow which clarifies the Government’s approach to establishing a UK REACH system and the development of the UK Chemicals Strategy, a commitment made as part of the UK resource and Waste Strategy.
Some key points to note:
- She clarifies that the UK will establish its own independent chemicals regulatory framework, UK REACH, from 1st January 2021. This, combined with their position on not remaining within the jurisdiction of the European Courts of Justice (ECJ), means that they are not seeking associate membership of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA and participation in EU REACH. This is something BEAMA and other UK trade bodies pushed for but this letter clarifies this appears to be off the table as far as the current negotiations go.
- UK Government have already brought REACH into UK law, and made preparations for the systems and capacity needed to ensure the effective management and control of chemicals. They clarify UK REACH will retain the principles and fundamental approach of the EU REACH. Including aligning the ‘UK comply with REACH system’ with that of the existing ECHA IT system.
- BEAMA appreciate the current lack of guidance regarding compliance with the new UK REACH system. This would very much be along the same lines of the no-deal guidance we previously received, although government removed that from the website once the withdrawal agreement was confirmed. So we are waiting for guidance and this is something we are pressing government on for REACH and a number of other areas of importance to our members. DEFRA state in the letter they are carrying out a comprehensive review of their previous guidance for businesses so that have what they need to be ready for UK REACH.
- The timescales for phased submission of data are also being kept under active review, appreciating that businesses may find it difficult to obtain data within the 2 year period set out from January 2021.
- In the letter it also states to support businesses to meet the separate regulatory requirements of the UK and EU markets, they aim to agree data and information sharing mechanisms with the EU, in line with the relevant provisions set out in UK and EU regulation and existing third-country mechanisms.
- Further guidance will be provided for Northern Ireland traders placing certain highly regulated goods, including chemicals, on the Great Britain market.
- Work on the UK chemicals strategy will resume as soon as possible - but this has been delayed due to pressures surrounding COVID 19 and the delay in the Environment Bill.
BEAMA continues to keep pace with developments on this topic, and will continue to push for more guidance for our members to ensure you can prepare for these changes. This isn’t the outcome our members wanted, but we will work with you and DEFRA to ensure the transition to UK REACH can be made with as limited impact on your business.
If you have any comments on this please email [email protected]
