CBA voices frustration as DEFRA launches new UK REACH 

deadlines consultation

The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has expressed frustration at the need for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to consult on yet another delay to UK REACH registration deadlines.

In December 2021, DEFRA announced it would explore an alternative model for UK REACH and consult separately on extending the existing deadlines – a move that led to the initial extensions. However, lack of progress on the Alternative Transitional Registrational model (ATRm) means that registration dates could be extended by a further three years.

In response to the announcement, CBA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tim Doggett, said, “Despite constant engagement and input from the CBA and other key stakeholders, progress on UK REACH has been excruciatingly slow. Until an effective, workable solution is found, investment, innovation and growth within the UK chemical supply chain and wider UK economy will remain stifled.”

The CBA represents over 170 companies, many of which operate in – and trade between – both the UK and the EU. These businesses face the burden of having to duplicate registrations made under EU REACH in order to comply with UK REACH – an exercise that comes at considerable cost. DEFRA’s own estimates put the financial impact on industry between £2 billion and £3.5 billion.

Doggett added, “UK REACH is a major Brexit casualty. This latest consultation means the final registration deadline could now fall nearly 13 years after the Brexit transition, despite repeated claims by many that ‘Brexit is done!’.

“A recent survey of CBA members found that 80% are facing import and export difficulties due to UK REACH, while nearly 90% believe it is having a negative impact on the UK economy.”

“The CBA has consistently highlighted, from the outset, UK REACH’s impact on the chemical supply chain and on the numerous downstream industries that now come under the regulation’s scope. At the time of the first extension, I stressed that this additional time was not simply for DEFRA to develop the ATRm, because industry needs sufficient time to implement it.

“We remain determined to see a satisfactory outcome on UK REACH and will continue to play a leading role in lobbying for a pragmatic solution by engaging directly with Government, providing specialist input to working groups, and delivering membership support services.”

It is hoped the alternative UK REACH model will reduce the need for duplication and avoid repeat animal testing – while maintaining the highest standards of safety, health, and environmental protection. Such a model would be vital to the CBA’s membership, which employs over 12,000 workers and contributes over £5 billion to the UK economy. A significant proportion of these businesses are family-owned SMEs, many of them high-growth companies of the future, but which require government support to realise their full potential.

DEFRA’s decision to extend UK REACH deadlines has increased concerns about the Government’s support for the chemicals sector.

Doggett concluded, “We welcome Government’s Smarter Regulation programme and we were greatly encouraged by Rachel Reeves’s pre-General Election comments in June 2024 that Labour ‘Would look to improve our trading relationship with Europe’ and that she did not ‘think anyone voted Leave because they were not happy that chemicals regulations were the same across Europe’, however, this is yet to translate into any meaningful action or outcomes.

“The chemical industry underpins almost every part of the UK economy and is designated as Critical National Infrastructure, yet it continues to be overlooked. DEFRA’s decision to quietly drop the promised UK Chemicals Strategy, ongoing delays on UK REACH, and the sector’s omission from the eight growth-driving priorities in the UK Modern Industrial Strategy, all point to a worrying lack of recognition. What is needed is clarity, with clear policy direction, combined with decisive action, to break the inertia and unlock the full potential of this vital sector, before even more ground is lost.”

ENDS

About Chemical Business Association:

The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has a long and illustrious heritage in delivering for its members, having recently celebrated its centenary year in 2023. It is the leading organisation representing the complete chemical supply chain and an award-winning trade association with record levels of membership.

Many CBA members are SMEs and include manufacturers, distributors, traders, warehouse operators, logistics and transport companies, as well as service providers and suppliers who collectively are the main chemical industry interface providing products and services to virtually every sector.

Such a diverse membership gives the CBA a distinct advantage of a 360-degree view and insight of the global chemical supply chain which, combined with the extensive and in-depth expertise of its staff, enables the CBA to provide wide-ranging services and support to its members, as well as to engage and work closely with Government, not to mention other key stakeholders in the UK and overseas.

CBA members contribute in excess of £5 billion to the UK economy and employ over 10,000 people nationwide, handling in excess of 27 million tonnes and making over 2.25 million deliveries of chemicals each year. Health and safety, as well as people and sustainability, are at the heart of the CBA, as it leads and participates in many initiatives such as the ‘Responsible Care Programme’, which it has been part of since 1993.

The Chemical Business Association is the voice of the UK chemical supply chain.

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