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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential requirement for businesses that manufacture electrical products to produce separate Northern Ireland-compliant variants if EU Regulation 2023/1542 takes effect in Northern Ireland ahead of Great Britain; and what guidance her Department is providing to such businesses regarding compliance during this period.

The EU Batteries Regulation applies directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. We will shortly publish guidance for businesses in Northern Ireland to help them comply with these new requirements.

Through stakeholder engagement, we understand that batteries placed on the UK market, whether sold separately or incorporated into appliances, are generally manufactured to meet EU requirements.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.