The decision by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to extend UK REACH deadlines, with a further consultation has increased concerns about the Government’s support for the chemicals sector.
UK REACH is the United Kingdom's domestic regulatory framework for chemicals, mirroring the EU REACH regulation for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. Under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the EU REACH Regulation was brought into UK law on 1 January 2021.
REACH is designed to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that chemicals can pose, while also enhancing the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.
In December 2021, DEFRA said it would explore an alternative model for UK REACH and consult separately on extending the existing deadlines – a move that led to the initial extensions. However, lack of progress on the Alternative Transitional Registrational model (ATRm) means that registration dates could be extended by a further three years.
The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has expressed frustration at DEFRA's call to consult on yet another delay to UK REACH registration deadlines. CBA members contribute more than £5bn to the UK economy and employ over 10,000 people nationwide, handling in excess of 27m t and making over 2.25m deliveries of chemicals each year.
In response to the announcement, CBA CEO, Tim Doggett, said: ‘Despite constant engagement and input from the CBA and other key stakeholders, progress on UK REACH has been excruciatingly slow. Until an effective, workable solution is found, investment, innovation and growth within the UK chemical supply chain and wider UK economy will remain stifled.’
Chemical businesses face the burden of having to duplicate registrations made under EU REACH in order to comply with UK REACH – an exercise that comes at considerable cost. DEFRA’s own estimates put the financial impact on industry between £2 and £3.5bn.
Doggett added: ‘UK REACH is a major Brexit casualty. This latest consultation means the final registration deadline could now fall nearly 13 years after the Brexit transition, despite repeated claims by many that ‘Brexit is done!’.
A recent survey of CBA members found that 80% are facing import and export difficulties due to UK REACH, while nearly 90% believe it is having a negative impact on the UK economy.
The CBA has highlighted, from the outset, the impact of UK REACH on the chemical supply chain and on the numerous downstream industries that now come under the regulation’s scope. It is hoped the alternative UK REACH model will reduce the need for duplication and avoid repeat animal testing – while maintaining the highest standards of safety, health, and environmental protection.
The CBA has expressed concern that while the chemical industry underpins almost every part of the UK economy and is designated as Critical National Infrastructure, it continues to be overlooked. The CBA cites DEFRA’s decision to drop the promised UK Chemicals Strategy, along with the ongoing delays on UK REACH, and the sector’s omission from the eight growth-driving priorities in the UK Modern Industrial Strategy.
These views were echoed by the CEO of the British Coatings Federation (BCF), Tom Bowtell who said: ‘The BCF welcomes this [UK REACH] consultation, which offers options to further extend the REACH registration deadlines, as the delays in finding a permanent UK REACH solution mean the existing dates, due to begin next year, are now untenable. New dates must be agreed to give companies assurance and time to comply properly with UK law.'
Bowtell added: "However, yet again we find ourselves having to respond to a consultation about how long that extension should be without having sight of what the actual registration model is. Likewise, commenting on what percentage of dossiers should be compliance checked by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is difficult to do without knowing what amount of data is being collected as part of the registration model, as well as the timescale."
Further reading:
• Industrial Strategy: The outlook for science
• UK Government to explore new model for UK REACH
• Government asked to rethink UK-REACH
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