UK Government Pours Cold Water on Urgent Reforms to Stem the Flow of ‘Forever Chemicals’ into the Environment

On Monday, the UK Government published its response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) PFAS Inquiry. The message from that enquiry’s report was clear: the Government must act now to address the ‘forever chemicals’ crisis.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) earned the name ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not break down for hundreds or thousands of years. Delaying action on stemming the flow of PFAS substances means that they continue to build up in water, soil, wildlife and humans.

The Government’s response fell well short of the urgent action demanded by the EAC and the Angling Trust, with no commitment to a broad ban on PFAS substances, nor to phased restrictions on PFAS in consumer products. Warm words were spoken about improving UK-EU relations, but our regulations are set to continue to fall behind the EU’s as the Government committed to reforms being in place by December 2028.

Jamie Cook, CEO of The Angling Trust & Fish Legal, stated that “every year we delay action, PFAS builds up in wildlife, humans, and the wider environment. PFAS pollution is not a future risk – it is already present in our rivers, estuaries and seas and accumulating in fish that people catch and sometimes eat. Tinkering around the edges of regulations will not be enough to turn off the tap of PFAS pollution.”

Back in April, we wrote a blog which spelled out our broad support for the EAC’s PFAS Inquiry Final Report. Crucially, the EAC can make recommendations, based on expert opinion, but it cannot create law – that is the job of the Government. In what remains of this blog, we’ll break down how the Government’s response has fallen short of the mark.

1. Regulatory timelines and REACH reforms

UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) is the UK’s chemical regulation which came into force after Brexit, serving as the legal framework for managing chemicals to replace the EU’s REACH regulation. UK REACH has failed to keep pace with the EU, meaning that several harmful substances which have been banned in the EU are still used legally in the UK.

The EAC urged the Government to reform UK REACH by March 2027, to prevent the UK becoming a “dumping ground” for chemicals already restricted in the UK. The Government has said that it wants UK regulations to align more closely and to reduce “unnecessary friction” when trading with the EU.

Despite warm words about the conversations between the UK and EU, the timeline of alignment remains unclear. The Government has set itself the deadline of introducing reforms and necessary regulation by December 2028, opening the door for the UK to keep falling behind the EU for another 2 years or more.

2. Group-based versus substance-by-substance bans

The Angling Trust, in its submission to the PFAS Inquiry, argued that regulating substances one-by-one is too slow, and risks ‘regrettable substitutions,’ whereby banned PFAS substances are simply replaced by different, potentially equally harmful ones. The EAC’s final report agreed, citing the need to move away from this ‘chemical whack-a-mole- approach.

This is another can the UK Government is set to kick down the road. Rather than committing to a broad ban, it stated that it is “waiting to see” the final results of the EU REACH universal PFAS restriction before deciding how a group-based approach might apply in the UK.

3. Restrictions on consumer products and all non-essential uses

PFAS are ubiquitous in consumer products, from food packaging to cookware and school uniforms. In each of these 3 cases, they are also non-essential. The EAC recommended a phased restriction of PFAS in this kind of non-essential consumer product. The Government acknowledged that action could provide “meaningful benefits,” but offered no commitment to it, instead stating that it is still exploring options.

4. Holding polluters accountable

In the EAC’s report, it cited the Environment Agency’s estimated remediation costs for between 2,900 and 10,200 high-risk sites to be between £31 billion and £121 billion. The Angling Trust has long advocated for regulation to be underpinned by the ‘polluter pays’ principle, from PFAS to sewage spills. So did the EAC’s report, which recommended establishing a national PFAS remediation fund, subject to a consultation by March 2026.

Again, the Government stated that this is worthy of consideration, but failed to commit to the recommendation. It pointed to Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as the tool for holding polluters accountable, despite the EAC’s findings that this framework is inadequate for the scale of the PFAS crisis.

Conclusion

Given that UK REACH continues to fall behind the EU, and that the Government is awaiting the results of the EU’s universal ban, the UK’s chemical regulations are set to continue at a snails pace whilst ‘forever chemicals’ continue to build up in our environment and in us.

Given the extreme persistence of PFAS in the environment, further delay to serious reforms to how they are regulated pose a huge risk to environmental and human health. Given the immense cost of clean-up, the best cure is prevention, by enforcing a group-based bans on PFAS substances, restricting non-essential uses, and ensuring that it is polluters, not the public, who pay the price. Given its latest publication, it is clear that the Government has not grasped the urgency of the situation, and the Angling Trust will continue to make the evidenced case for stronger interventions.

Alex Farquhar, Campaigns & Advocacy Officer, Angling Trust