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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the UK has requested a quicker action on a chemical restriction, including additional rapid phase-out deadlines, that have been blocked by (a) other Member States and (b) the European Chemicals Agency.

In 2012 the UK proposed that the substance decaBDE should be classified as a substance of very high concern (SVHC), which would be followed by authorisation procedures to limit its use. DecaBDE was listed as an SVHC, as proposed by the UK, but the EU decided not to proceed with authorisation procedures, and took an alternative route of restriction instead. The restriction was not adopted until 2017. The EU’s decision to opt for a restriction rather than continuing with the authorisation process resulted in a delay in regulatory action.