UK Regulatory News

The extension of the UK REACH registration deadlines is now official! The legislation necessary to implement the extension was laid in Parliament by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs...

The extension of the UK REACH registration deadlines is now official! The legislation necessary to implement the extension was laid in Parliament by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on 20^th April 2023 and the Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 2023 No. 722 that brings it into force was made available from 28^th June 2023. The S.I. 2023/722 will come into force on 19^th July 2023. 

Extensions to the current UK REACH Registration deadlines are as follows:

More information on the extensions can be viewed by visiting the S.I 2023/722 here: The REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)

On 8 June 2023 UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its recommendation to restrict the use of hazardous substances in ink used for tattooing and permanent make-up (PMU) in Great Britain....

On 8 June 2023 UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its recommendation to restrict the use of hazardous substances in ink used for tattooing and permanent make-up (PMU) in Great Britain.  The recommendation follows the publication of the final risk assessment opinion in February 2023 and a 60-day public consultation on the draft socio-economic (SE) opinion which ended on 14 April 2023. The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Welsh and Scottish ministers will now have to decide if the restriction should be brought into law.

The proposed restriction aims to protect people from potential harmful effect that can be caused tattoo and PMU ink.  It targets substances with the following classifications:

• CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic)

• Skin sensitisation

• Skin corrosion

• Serious eye damage

The restriction, however, includes a derogation for 19 pigments including Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7. The fact that HSE’s review of these 19 pigments did not find evidence indicating that they are unsafe if used in tattoo or PMU ink combined with the lack of identified alternatives means that it was deemed appropriate to allow the continued use of these 19 pigments. Originally the derogation also included Pigment Red 83 and Solvent Violet 13, but these two substances were removed because the review identified data indicating potential concern for skin sensitisation for these substances.

In the EU restrictions apply to more than 4000 hazardous chemicals contained in mixtures for tattoo inks and permanent make-up since 4 January 2022 and exactly one year later the ban on Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7 came into force.  

This recommendation of restriction is the first made by the HSE after it became the authority in charge of UK-REACH in Great Britain when the UK left the EU. The HSE recommends a transition period of two years to give manufacturers and suppliers time to adapt to the new legal requirements and to test new inks. Furthermore, artists will have one more year to use up old stock and switch to new inks.

On 10 May 2023 the British government presented an amendment to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill removing the sunset clause that would automatically revoke most retained EU law on 31 D...

On 10 May 2023 the British government presented an amendment to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill removing the sunset clause that would automatically revoke most retained EU law on 31 December 2023.

Originally the Retained EU Law (REUL) was established by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to guarantee legal certainty and continuity in the period after Brexit by keeping all EU and EU-derived law as it was on 31 December 2020 when the UK left the EU.  On 22 September 2022 the Government presented the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to Parliament. The Bill contains a sunset clause that would revoke the majority of REUL on the 31 December 2023 unless positive steps were taken by the government to keep it. REUL consists of around 4,800 pieces of legislation that must be reviewed before it can be decided if they should be preserved, reformed, or revoked.

The amendment to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill presented on 10 May removes the sunset clause from the Bill. Instead it presents a list of approximately 600 retained EU laws that the government intends to revoke at the end of 2023. The list contains REUL that is obsolete now that the UK has left the EU. The remaining legislation will be retained but can be revoked or reformed later after proper assessment and consultation. The full list can be found here. It contains a variety of legislation concerning biocides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), import and export of substances subject to the prior informed consent (PIC) regulation, CLP Annex VIII obligation related to poison centers, food additives and environmental permits. 

On 20 April 2023, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) laid a draft Statutory Instrument (SI), REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2023, before Parliament. The SI will formally ...

On 20 April 2023, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) laid a draft Statutory Instrument (SI), REACH (Amendment) Regulations 2023, before Parliament. The SI will formally extend the submission deadlines under UK-REACH by 3 years.

The table below shows the original and new deadlines for the various tonnage bands and hazard categories.

The changes will come into force after approval by each of the Houses of Parliament. This SI is expected to be enacted and in force by the third quarter of 2023.

The UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published a regulatory management options analysis (RMOA) – a technical document examining the risks posed by the use, import and manufact...

The UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published a regulatory management options analysis (RMOA) – a technical document examining the risks posed by the use, import and manufacture of PFAS and ways to control these risks. The analysis outlines the scope of its possible restrictions on PFASs, which could target "hundreds" of substances that are most persistent and relevant to the GB market.

The HSE's RMOA focuses on a smaller number of substances than the EU's proposal, which aims to ban the entire class of chemicals. The HSE report recommends prioritizing a restriction dossier this year for PFAS use in firefighting foams.

Furthermore, there are recommendations on preparation of Annex XV dossiers under UK REACH to support restrictions on certain uses, such as firefighting foams, coatings, cleaning agents, and consumer articles. Other recommendations include further evaluation of specific substances, a review of F-gas regulations, and the development of statutory standards for PFASs in drinking water in England and Wales.

Moreover, the HSE has defined PFASs more narrowly than the EU and recommends a number of risk management measures to limit the use of PFAS and control exposures to people and the environment in the country.

The next stages of regulatory action will be set out in the UK REACH work program for 2023-24, followed by a detailed risk assessment and legislative proposal.

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will publish its chemicals strategy later this year (no date announced). The UK's chemicals strategy is intended to replace the EU's R...

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will publish its chemicals strategy later this year (no date announced). The UK's chemicals strategy is intended to replace the EU's REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation, which the UK no longer has access to as a result of Brexit. 

The strategy will set out a risk-based approach to regulation diverging from the hazard-based approach taken by the EU. This means that the strategy will focus on managing priority and emerging chemicals of concern, including per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFASs), endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and combination effects of different substances. In addition to managing priority and emerging chemicals of concern, the strategy will also focus on improving the department's understanding of the uses and exposures of chemicals across the UK. 

 The strategy will also map out a new UK REACH alternative transitional registration model and improve understanding of chemicals in the environment by continuing to develop monitoring methods. The strategy will utilize the department's prioritization and early warning system to inform decision-making and regulatory activities.

On 29 November 2022, the UK government published the results of a consultation process on extending the UK REACH deadlines. This consultation was conducted from 5 July to 1 September this year by the ...

On 29 November 2022, the UK government published the results of a consultation process on extending the UK REACH deadlines. This consultation was conducted from 5 July to 1 September this year by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). In total, 289 responses were submitted to the consultation, with the majority coming from the industry. One of the major concerns by the stakeholders was the registration deadline. The DEFRA had put forward the following three options for the consultation:

• Baseline – do not change the current submission deadlines (27 October 2023, 27 October 2025, and 27 October 2027)
• Option 1 – extend all the current submission deadlines of each tonnage band by 3 years to October 2026, October 2028, and October 2030
• Option 2 (option preferred by the government) – extend the first submission deadline by 3 years to October 2026, the second by 2 years to October 2027, and the third by 1 year to October 2028

82% of respondents selected Option 1, which would mean that the three registration deadlines (October 2023, 2025, and 2027) should be extended by 3 years.

The DEFRA acknowledges that Option 1 could lessen burdens on SMEs and downstream users without reducing levels of protection of human health and the environment. The next step is a request for administration consent and introduction legislation on extension of the submission deadlines across all tonnage bands by 3 years.