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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in (a) cookware, (b) school uniforms and (c) other consumer products; what comparative assessment she has made of regulatory approaches adopted by (i) France, (ii) Denmark and (iii) other countries in developing the UK’s approach to PFAS regulation; and what her Department’s planned timetable is to minimise the effects of PFAS while transitioning to safer alternative substances.

Steps to better understand the sources of these chemicals, tackle how they move around in the environment, and act to reduce public and environmental exposure were set out on 3 February 2026 in the UK’s first-ever PFAS Plan. PFAS Plan: building a safer future together - GOV.UK

This includes actions on food contact materials, school uniforms and other consumer products.

We are closely following the specific measures adopted by France and Denmark which will usefully inform the development of the actions we take forward from the plan.

Our long-term vision is to work in partnership, taking a science-based and proportionate approach, to reduce and minimise the impacts of harmful PFAS on public health and the environment, including through the transition to safer alternatives.