Draft Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Rachel Maclean Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2020 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Rachel Maclean)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

This draft statutory instrument is made under powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and will be needed at the end of the transition period. As hon. Members are aware, we have conducted intensive work to ensure that a well-functioning legislative and regulatory regime for transport continues. In this case, the regime covers the transport of dangerous goods by road and rail.

This instrument uses powers under the 2018 Act. It is subject to the affirmative procedure, because it transfers an European Union legislative function to a public authority in Great Britain in that it gives the Secretary of State power to derogate from the standards set in three international agreements concerning the carriage of dangerous goods by road, rail and, to a lesser extent, inland waterways through the issuing of domestic exceptions to those agreements. This instrument also ensures that bodies that inspect transportable pressure equipment in Great Britain continue to be able to perform inspection activities for such equipment on the non-EU market through the introduction of a new, optional, UK-only compliance mark.

The regime for the transport of dangerous goods in the UK derives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe model regulations on the carriage of dangerous goods. For road transport, since 1968 that has been implemented in the UK through our being a signatory to the European agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road, known as ADR. Thus, the UK is committed to the ongoing implementation of the requirements of that agreement, which predates our EU membership. ADR does not automatically have legal force and is now implemented in the EU by the dangerous goods directive of 2008.

The EU also introduced the related directive on transportable pressure equipment in 2010, which mandates the requirement for such equipment to have access to and free movement within the European market. Those directives are applied domestically through the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009, as amended.

For the rail transport of dangerous goods, the UK is also a signatory to the convention concerning international carriage by rail—COTIF—and predecessor conventions since 1980. The convention falls under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail. The regulations concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by rail, or RID, form part of COTIF. As with ADR, the dangerous goods directive implements RID in the EU, and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations, as amended, implement its requirements domestically.

A number of powers and requirements in the directives are predicated on the UK being a member state of the EU. This draft instrument will ensure that Great Britain continues to work to the same requirements and standards in the carriage of dangerous goods at the end of the transition period, providing legal certainty for the participants.

The carriage of dangerous goods is devolved to Northern Ireland, so this instrument will ensure that transportable pressure equipment assessed in Northern Ireland in accordance with the transportable pressure equipment directive continues to be recognised in Great Britain through acceptance of the UK’s NI mark. That implements the requirement of the Northern Ireland protocol relating to unfettered access of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

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[Rachel Maclean]

I thank the hon. Member for Reading East very much for his comments and will now respond to his points. He highlights the importance of safety in the carriage of dangerous goods in both his constituency and many others. I am sure that every hon. Member here agrees with that and will be glad to see this draft SI pass into law to ensure just that outcome.

It is important that the regulations are passed, because they will achieve the protection of our environment in relation to such matters. As I have laid out, this SI ensures that GB continues to work to the same standards and requirements. I have been very clear throughout that that is the case, and Members are supporting the SI.

The hon. Gentleman raised concerns from some stakeholders, and I want to reassure him that we work closely with stakeholders, including the UK liquefied petroleum gas industry and the fuel tanker working group. In preparation for the SI, we issued a public consultation in 2018, and we received seven responses from industry. They did not raise any concerns about our approach, but they did influence the subsequent drafting. We continue to listen to industry on all matters on which the Government legislate. I hope that this explanation provides the assurance that the hon. Gentleman is looking for that we work with industry and we take its concerns seriously.

In conclusion, this statutory instrument is essential to ensure that we continue to have an effective regulatory framework for the carriage of dangerous goods following the transition period. I hope that the Committee has found this sitting informative and that it will join me in supporting the regulations.

Question put and agreed to.