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Written Question
REACH Independent Scientific Expert Pool
Thursday 27th May 2021

Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the (1) number, and (2) composition, of experts that will be recruited to the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Independent Scientific Expert Pool.

Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott

As set out in the statement on use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (Agency statement on transparency and the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (ISA) (hse.gov.uk)) the secretariat for the REACH Independent Scientific Expert Pool (RISEP) will be provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) . However, the work of this secretariat is limited to organisation, and support of RISEP experts in administration and protocol matters. Agendas and notes of Challenge Panels involving RISEP members will be made public, with accredited stakeholders also in attendance to ensure transparency.

In establishing independent scientific knowledge and advice within the UK REACH system, experts from HSE (as the Agency with UK REACH) and the Environment Agency (EA) used experience and “hands-on” knowledge of their work within the EU REACH scientific expert process (on the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) and the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)). This enabled HSE to define the skills and experience necessary to ensure robust independent scrutiny and challenge to produce high-quality opinions, to inform decisions by the Secretary of State for Defra with the consent of Ministers for Wales and Scotland. The REACH SI mandates the Agency to include information about the qualifications or relevant experience that are suitable in order to provide knowledge and advice to the Agency within the statement produced on the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (Agency statement on transparency and the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (ISA) (hse.gov.uk)).

The actual composition of experts used to help the Agency produce specific opinions will be dependent on the type of dossier – for instance for an environmentally driven restriction any Challenge Panel would be made up of more independent environmental scientists than human health. All opinions will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. We have not set a minimum number of experts, but as a contingency we have ensured that we are able to co-opt members of other committees should we need to so. However, due to the large response we have had to the recruitment it is thought that this will not be required.

HSE was also able to use discussions with stakeholders and prioritisation exercises with Defra, and officials from the Scottish and Welsh governments to inform decisions around the number of experts required within the process on the basis of estimates of the numbers of restrictions and applications for authorisation expected.


Written Question
REACH Independent Scientific Expert Pool
Thursday 27th May 2021

Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards exist to ensure the secretariat of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Independent Scientific Expert Pool is independent from the rest of the Health and Safety Executive.

Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott

As set out in the statement on use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (Agency statement on transparency and the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (ISA) (hse.gov.uk)) the secretariat for the REACH Independent Scientific Expert Pool (RISEP) will be provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) . However, the work of this secretariat is limited to organisation, and support of RISEP experts in administration and protocol matters. Agendas and notes of Challenge Panels involving RISEP members will be made public, with accredited stakeholders also in attendance to ensure transparency.

In establishing independent scientific knowledge and advice within the UK REACH system, experts from HSE (as the Agency with UK REACH) and the Environment Agency (EA) used experience and “hands-on” knowledge of their work within the EU REACH scientific expert process (on the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) and the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC)). This enabled HSE to define the skills and experience necessary to ensure robust independent scrutiny and challenge to produce high-quality opinions, to inform decisions by the Secretary of State for Defra with the consent of Ministers for Wales and Scotland. The REACH SI mandates the Agency to include information about the qualifications or relevant experience that are suitable in order to provide knowledge and advice to the Agency within the statement produced on the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (Agency statement on transparency and the use of independent scientific knowledge and advice (ISA) (hse.gov.uk)).

The actual composition of experts used to help the Agency produce specific opinions will be dependent on the type of dossier – for instance for an environmentally driven restriction any Challenge Panel would be made up of more independent environmental scientists than human health. All opinions will be looked at on a case-by-case basis. We have not set a minimum number of experts, but as a contingency we have ensured that we are able to co-opt members of other committees should we need to so. However, due to the large response we have had to the recruitment it is thought that this will not be required.

HSE was also able to use discussions with stakeholders and prioritisation exercises with Defra, and officials from the Scottish and Welsh governments to inform decisions around the number of experts required within the process on the basis of estimates of the numbers of restrictions and applications for authorisation expected.


Written Question
Pension Funds: Investment
Tuesday 24th July 2018

Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to issue any guidance to pension fund trustees to encourage them to invest in green assets without breaching their fiduciary duty; and if so, when.

Answered by Baroness Buscombe

The Government does not seek to encourage or direct pension schemes to invest in any particular class of assets. However, it does want to support pension fund trustees to be clear about their responsibilities when making investment decisions and to remove any uncertainty caused by the current regulations.

The 2017 Law Commission report ‘Pension funds and social investment’ found that some trustees are confused about their fiduciary duty to consider the long-term sustainability of investments. The Government agrees it should clarify that trustees have a duty to consider risk and opportunities in the long-term, including those arising from environmental, social, governance and climate change considerations. We have consulted on regulatory changes which, subject to the outcome of the consultation and Parliamentary approval, will make this clarification with effect from 1 October 2019.

Following the changes we anticipate that The Pensions Regulator will update existing Codes and guidance for trustees.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
Wednesday 20th December 2017

Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what decisions they will take on the post-Brexit indexing of UK pensions paid to UK citizens resident in the EU, following their interim agreement with the EU on citizens' rights.

Answered by Baroness Buscombe

We have now reached agreement with the EU to maintain State Pension up-rating for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. For UK State Pension recipients living in the EU on the specified date this includes those who are already receiving their UK State Pension as well as future UK State Pension recipients. We will wish to discuss State Pension up-rating for individuals not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement in future talks.


Written Question
Trade: Northern Ireland
Tuesday 25th July 2017

Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to increase annually the state pensions of UK citizens living in EU member states once the UK has withdrawn from the EU.

Answered by Baroness Buscombe

In its publication: The United Kingdom’s Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU of 26 June 2017, the Government has set out its offer, at paragraph 44, to continue to export and uprate the UK State Pension within the EU, subject to reciprocity.

The Government wishes to reach a reciprocal agreement as quickly as possible to provide as much certainty as possible to the three million EU citizens in the UK and around one million UK nationals in Europe and for their lives to continue broadly as now.