My Lords, it is a pleasure to be taking part in this debate. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, on his knowledgeable introduction to this amendment, which seeks to provide safeguards for the vital REACH section of the Environment Bill. Many of his comments will be reinforced by my contribution.
During the run-up to Brexit, my noble friend Lord Fox and I had a meeting down at Marsham Street with the then Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Gardiner of Kimble, and Defra officials on the implications for the UK of not transferring the REACH regulations from EU to UK law. We were assured by officials that a better regime covering Great Britain—excluding Northern Ireland, which would remain within EU REACH—would be established. I regret to say that we were not convinced, and I am still not convinced. This landmark Bill gives the Secretary of State the power to alter the UK REACH system. This could cause deregulation and instability. Despite reassurances that the UK would not diverge from EU protections just for the sake of it, divergence looks set to widen over time.
The noble Lord, Lord Whitty, has already referred to that fact. During the debate on the use of pesticides, reference was made to the mixture of different chemicals and the cumulative effect that these have, which far outweighs the damage that the individual chemicals do on their own. The EU chemicals strategy has powers to restrict the cocktail effect, in order to reduce the exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Can the Minister assure us that the Secretary of State is not likely to relax the UK REACH standards, which could enable exposure to this risk?
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During the last year, the UK REACH has initiated restrictions on just two chemicals, compared to 18 under the EU REACH standards. Of course, there were going to be differences between what the UK and the EU implemented on a variety of measures. That was the whole point of Brexit, but there are some areas where the public will want to know that they are safe and protected from extremely toxic and dangerous chemicals. As a country, we are trailing behind: the ECHA has taken action to prevent more than 90% of the pollution caused by intentionally added microplastics, whereas the Government point to the UK ban on microbeads in wash-off cosmetics as our contribution. This measure only prevents less than 9% of microplastics entering our wastewater systems.
The Government are dragging their feet. UK REACH will be considering unspecified criteria on whether toxic chemicals will be suitable for Great Britain, but it will not be publishing either the criteria or the substances. The amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, would ensure, in sub-paragraph (1C), that the Secretary of
State reports to Parliament on whether the UK is aligned with the EU on chemicals and on the candidate list of substances of very high concern—SVHCs. Entry on the candidate list means that companies have immediate obligations to provide information on the safety and protective measures in place for their product. Of course, this may involve businesses in some additional bureaucracy, and I understand the viewpoint of the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe. Surely, however, it is better for this to be open and transparent, so that the public are aware of potential dangers, than for them to be unwittingly exposed to toxic chemicals that damage their health. Prevention is always better than cure.
Can the Minister say how many substances the Government have included in the SVHC list between January and today, and whether they have considered and rejected substances that include endocrine disruptors and, if so, why? Given that the deadline for companies to submit information on substances to be placed on the authorisation list is the end of October 2025, would it not be better for the Government to automatically adopt the ECHA’s recommendations until that time? Would the Minister care to comment?
The UK gave an undertaking that it would not diverge from EU standards just for the sake of divergence. If that is the case, then it would seem appropriate for this clause to be on the face of the Bill. Companies that manufacture and export to the EU are obliged to operate the same standards existent in the EU. Any divergence from EU standards is likely to cause these companies additional costs, as they will have to meet two different standards in what could well be the same chemical product if they wish also to trade in the UK. The noble Lord, Lord Whitty, has given details on this. I look forward to the Minister’s comments and fully support the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, in his amendment.