Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to align with recent changes to EU classification, labelling and packaging regulations requiring regular and timely updates on non-animal science.

The United Kingdom (UK) is no longer required to implement changes to European Union (EU) legislation automatically following our withdrawal from the EU. This includes Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 of 23 October 2024, which amends the EU Classification Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation (CLP) Regulation. The assimilated Great Britain (GB) CLP Regulation aims to ensure the effective identification and communication of chemical hazards and the safe and secure packaging of chemicals in order to protect human health and the environment. The EU legislation will apply in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Windsor Framework.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which leads on CLP issues in the UK, is currently examining the scientific and technical basis and the wider policy context and it will advise the Government on whether any of these amendments have any merits that could be incorporated into the GB CLP regulations.