UK outlines major reforms to CLP, including adoption of new EU hazard classes

In a significant policy shift, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has proposed aligning with the EU’s new hazard classes and amendments to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation in a bid to harmonise chemical safety standards across Great Britain and Northern Ireland and reverse the previous trend of regulatory divergence. 

The move reflects a mixed approach to divergence: in some areas, such as hazard classification, the HSE is moving towards greater alignment; while in others, such as the automatic adoption of EU opinions, it is opting for further divergence.

The announcement forms part of a broader package of major reforms to Great Britain’s GB CLP regime, unveiled by the HSE yesterday and first reported by Chemical Watch News & Insight last September. The reforms also include updates to regulations on biocides and prior informed consent, which were copied over from EU legislation at the end of 2021 after Brexit. 

Previously, the HSE had said that Britain would not follow the EU in adopting controversial new hazard classes for suspected endocrine disruptors and others unless they were included in the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals.

These measures came into force across the EU on 1 May and are also implemented in Northern Ireland, which appears to have prompted a government U-turn to ensure regulatory consistency across the UK.

The government is committed to protecting the UK’s internal market, the HSE said, and it is therefore "considering the incorporation of these measures into the domestic CLP regime on a UK-wide basis, where this is relevant for Great Britain, and with the intention of supporting the smooth operation of the UK internal market and reducing barriers to trade with the EU". 

The cornerstone of the CLP reform proposals is an amendment of Articles 37 and 37A, which set out the procedures for mandatory classification and labelling in Great Britain. 

GB CLP is unusual among British legislation on chemicals in that it requires the HSE to formally respond to the opinions of ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) within a specific timeframe. 

The HSE said reform is needed because the post-Brexit system has imposed burdensome requirements on both businesses and itself, created inefficient processes for scientific updates and lacks the power to make broader regulatory changes. 

The changes will reduce costs to business and align with the government’s goal of reviving economic growth, it added. The following proposals have been put forward for GB CLP: 

• consolidate Article 37 and Article 37A into a single procedure for GB mandatory classifications and break the automatic link requiring HSE to consider all RAC opinions. HSE will retain the ability to consider RAC opinions relevant to GB. This includes the new EU CLP hazard classes "on a case-by-case basis where sufficient justification is provided";
• a fast-track evaluation pathway for classification proposals from territories that adopt the UN GHS; 
• revoke the GB CLP notification database and requirement for GB duty holders to submit notifications to HSE;
• relocate explanatory notes for entries in the GB Mandatory Classification and Labelling (GB MCL) List from Annex VI to the HSE website, allowing the agency to revise these notes administratively rather than through a statutory instrument; and
• introduce powers to amend GB CLP and its supporting regulations to implement general updates and meet international obligations. 

The changes would need to be delivered through a mix of primary and secondary legislation, the HSE added. A two-month public consultation is now open and will run until 18 August. Adoption is expected in 2026, subject to endorsement by both Houses of Parliament. 

Reaction

The CIA welcomed the reforms and said the government needs to act quickly, as it has a window of only 12 months to amend legislation inherited from the EU.

"It's critical that the regulators use stakeholder views gathered during this consultation to quickly and effectively shape a chemicals reform package [...] that provides stability and certainty for industry," it said.

Chloe Alexander, senior campaigner at CHEM Trust, said the NGO was "deeply concerned" by the proposals.

"Removing the requirement on HSE to respond to new EU classifications in our view will result in further divergence from the EU and fewer substances getting mandatory hazard classifications than it," she said, adding this would weaken health and environmental protections in the UK.