Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to replicate the relevant functions of the European Chemicals Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

The resourcing of EU Exit work is one of the key priorities of the Department and will be subject to on-going assessment. The resources we need in the future will be dependent on the policy choices we make for the regulation of chemicals when we leave the EU.

The department is working across Government and with industry to assess the potential effect to businesses of the UK no longer having access to the services provided by the European Chemicals Agency.

This work is on-going and will help inform our negotiating position. Our priority is to maintain an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals to safeguard human health and the environment, respond to emerging risks and allow trade with the EU that is as frictionless as possible.