Chemicals Strategy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Teverson
Main Page: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Teverson's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Chemicals Strategy
Lord Teverson Excerpts(8 months ago)
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Lord Douglas-Miller (Con)
I thank my noble friend for that question. It might be best if I write to her with the details.
Lord Teverson (LD)
My Lords, I always get the impression that chemicals regulation is at the bottom of Defra’s in-tray. Its performance since Brexit has been atrocious. I also get the impression that the Government’s strategy now is to lighten the burden on industry by reducing the amount of information that is put on UK REACH, but that has a lot of other effects. Can we not get to a point where we save real money for the UK chemical industry, which exports into the EU, by finding a pragmatic way—I mean pragmatic—to align with EU REACH, so that the industry can really perform, export and save a huge amount of money; in fact, billions of pounds?
Lord Douglas-Miller (Con)
The noble Lord raises a bigger point, and this is exactly what the chemicals strategy aims to achieve. I hope that when it is published, and it will be shortly, the noble Lord will be satisfied.