Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Synthetic Chemicals

23 April 2026 · 6 other contributors

Opened by Toby Perkins Lab Chesterfield

Environment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Toby Perkins raised concerns about synthetic chemicals in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • Toby Perkins presented the Environmental Audit Committee's ninth report on addressing risks from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as forever chemicals.
  • PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in various applications but accumulate in the environment and human body due to their resistance to breaking down, leading to serious health and environmental risks.
  • The UK faces a growing legacy of PFAS pollution alongside continued emissions, necessitating decisive action.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

Toby Perkins

Toby Perkins presented the Environmental Audit Committee’s ninth report on addressing risks from perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as forever chemicals. PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in various applications but accumulate in the environment and human body due to their resistance to breaking down, leading to serious health and environmental risks. The UK faces a growing legacy of PFAS pollution alongside continued emissions, necessitating decisive action. Although the Government’s PFAS action plan is welcome, it focuses disproportionately on monitoring rather than prevention and remediation. The Committee recommends restricting PFAS in non-essential consumer products, implementing group-based regulation to prevent harmful alternatives, setting clear limits for enforcement and remediation, and enforcing the polluter pays principle for clean-up costs.

Other contributors (6)
  • Neil Hudson

    Question

    Does the Minister agree that the Government now need to take this work further and move into areas of prevention and solutions, including placing pressure on water companies to enforce PFAS limits?

    Minister reply

    Toby Perkins agreed that the Government needs to be ambitious on PFAS issues. He welcomed the existing PFAS plan and emphasised the importance of enforcement by the Drinking Water Inspectorate and setting similar limits for food and agriculture.

  • Christopher Bloore Con Redditch

    Question

    I congratulate my hon. Friend and his Committee on their important and timely report, which reflects the contamination issues found in Redditch's new fire and police hub. The work relied on containment rather than destruction, echoing many of the Committee’s findings. Does my hon. Friend agree that this local example underlines the urgency of expanding safe, scalable destruction capability beyond incineration?

    Minister reply

    I absolutely agree. We recognise that firefighting is a major polluter and has made significant progress in finding PFAS alternatives, but it remains an essential use where derogations may be necessary. However, when PFAS are used in cosmetics and other non-essential items, we should aim to be more ambitious with bans.

  • Julian Smith Con Skipton and Ripon

    Question

    I commend the Committee Chair and the Government on the PFAS plan. Communities impacted by PFAS need confidence in statutory authorities like the Environment Agency and local authorities, especially after considering the report’s recommendations.

    Minister reply

    We do not want to panic communities but ensure they are confident that the Environment Agency has the necessary tools, resources, and legislative power to take action where there have been contamination breaches.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Question

    I thank the Select Committee for their work on synthetic chemicals. Given environmental issues are devolved matters, what discussions or inquiries did the Committee and Chair have with Northern Ireland Ministers regarding potential impacts?

    Minister reply

    The Committee debated the impact of divergence from EU regulations on Northern Ireland at length, particularly concerning agriculture. While we have not yet communicated directly with the Northern Ireland Assembly, we would be happy to do so following this report.

  • Emma Hardy Lab Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle

    Question

    I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting PFAS contamination issues. As he noted, many were not talking about it until recently. I hope he will continue to work with the Government to address this issue seriously.

    Minister reply

    We look forward to working with the Minister and will support her within the Department to ensure this issue is taken as seriously as it should be.

Shadow Comment

Neil Hudson

Neil Hudson congratulated Toby Perkins on the timely report about PFAS. He acknowledged that the previous Government started work with the Environment Agency and HSE to look at monitoring and risk but highlighted that more needs to be done, particularly in prevention and solutions such as enforcing Drinking Water Inspectorate guidelines.

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