Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the defence sector of the UK leaving the REACH chemical framework after the UK leaves the EU.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recognises the importance of the continued availability of specialist chemicals from the EU to the Defence Sector after we have left the European Union. BEIS is working closely with the chemical industry to understand the impacts resulting from UK’s exit from the EU. We want to minimise the regulatory and market access barriers for UK businesses, including for those in the chemicals sector. We want to ensure that UK companies including our Defence Sector have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets – and to let European businesses do the same in the UK.