Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on a timescale for the phasedown of the use of fluorinated gases in asthma inhalers.

Defra has a legal duty to undertake a comprehensive review of the F-gas Regulation. As part of this work, Defra will identify additional action that can be taken with regard to F-gases and their contribution to net zero. At COP26, Defra committed to an accelerated hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown. Defra intends to publish an assessment report by the end of 2022 as the first stage of the review. It will focus mainly on analysing the effects of the current Regulation, together with the current state of play in relevant industry sectors and international commitments. The second stage of the review will involve a public consultation on proposals for any legislative changes.

The F-gas Regulation currently includes an exemption from the HFC phasedown for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The continuation or removal of the exemption for MDIs will be considered as part of the policy development and analysis into future options, as well as implications of the HFC phasedown on MDIs. To support this work there is ongoing engagement between Defra, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.