News Details

On 12 February 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its response to the 2025 consultation on proposed reforms to Great Britain’s chemicals legislation.

The consultation, which ran from 23 June to 18 August 2025, covered proposed amendments to the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging (GB CLP), and GB Prior Informed Consent (GB PIC) regimes. The HSE received 237 online responses, 45 complete email responses and 7 additional partial responses.

Legislative Amendments to Proceed Across BPR, CLP and PIC

In the response report, the HSE confirms its intention to proceed with legislative amendments across the three regimes, using powers under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act and primary legislation.

For GB BPR, recognition of foreign biocidal approvals will be limited to the EU. A risk-based “call-in” system is also planned to replace the current fixed renewal dates for active substances.

For GB CLP, the HSE confirms that it will remove the statutory link to ECHA RAC opinions and introduce a fast-track mechanism for EU classifications. The GB notification database requirement will also be revoked.

For GB PIC, the HSE intends to remove the Special Reference Identification Number (SRIN) procedure and amend the waiver process for explicit consent, alongside introducing amendment powers to ensure the regime can be updated efficiently.

The HSE reiterates that existing levels of health and environmental protection will be maintained.

The full report can be accessed here.