Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 with UK commitments to dynamically align with EU pesticide standards as part of the future UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement

The Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 makes amendments to assimilated law for three areas of chemical regulation: GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemical Substances and Mixtures Regulation (GB CLP); and the Export and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Regulation (GB PIC). The changes being made are set out in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) response to its consultation that ran between 23 June 2025 and 18 August 2025. HSE is committed to minimising divergence with the EU across all regimes.

GB BPR is now included in the negotiations between UK and the EU on a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. Until the agreement is concluded, the changes to GB BPR made by this instrument are necessary to resolve critical issues in the GB biocides regime which could otherwise lead to a large group of biocidal products and active substances being removed from the GB market. The implications for GB BPR will be further analysed when the final shape of the Agreement is known.