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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the trading standards regime in protecting consumers from exposure to formaldehyde.

There is a ban on the sale of the substance formaldehyde and its sale in mixtures when present at or over 0.1% (by weight). In addition, the use of formaldehyde will be further restricted in 2023.

Proposals for a further legal restriction to control formaldehyde releases from articles (which would include wood-based panels) are being considered under REACH. Currently, there is a voluntary agreement to produce wooden panels within these exposure levels and over 95% of EU companies are compliant.

Local authority trading standards departments are responsible for consumer protection issues under REACH; this includes decisions on funding and prioritisation. The Government has not specifically assessed the effectiveness of this regime in relation to products containing formaldehyde.