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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the (a) phasedown and (b) phaseout of fluorinated greenhouse gases takes into account the requirements of the pharmaceutical industry for (i) developing sustainable inhalers using climate-friendly gases and (ii) securing regulatory approval of such medicines.

Defra is in the process of reviewing the F-gas Regulation, which includes an exemption from the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The review will consider the implementation of the current F-gas Regulation and options for future policy development.

To support this work there is ongoing engagement between Defra, NHS, DHSC and other stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical industry and patient representatives. Through this engagement, Defra will ensure future policy development takes account of the technical considerations and the practical requirements of the key stakeholders in this sector.