PUBLIC AFFAIRS
BPCA and the wider chemicals industry were represented at the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM).
HSE plays a key role in the chemicals sector, responsible for regulating and deciding what biocidal products we can use, and what active ingredients can go into them. Their performance is key to ensuring that manufacturers can develop innovative new products for the sector, and an agreement with the EU could help reduce their workloads and reduce costs to business.
HSE held its AGM on 28 July, which brought together its senior leaders and stakeholders, including British Pest Control Association (BPCA) and other members of the Alliance of Chemical Associations.
Attendees heard from HSE’s Chair, Sarah Newton; Chief Executive, Sarah Albon; and Director of Finance and Planning, David Murray.
HSE’s Chair, Sarah Newton, referenced the UK Government’s work to negotiate a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the European Union, stating that it has “the potential to help grow businesses working in the very important chemicals sector.”
Newton continued:
“HSE remains steadfastly committed to playing our part in supporting the Government’s growth agenda.”
HSE’s Director of Finance and Planning reported on their performance over the past year, and that HSE had exceeded their objective of “delivering 95% of planned permissions for biocides to time.”
The objective was included within HSE’s 2025 to 2026 Business Plan, and refers to legislative timelines that were temporarily extended in 2022. They were extended so that HSE could cope with an influx of applications post-Brexit, as well as the loss of access to historic EU reports.
The same target has been repeated in the 2026 to 2027 business plan, with HSE expecting to provide 190 permissions this year.
Rosina Robson, BPCA Chief Executive, used an included question-and-answer session to ask HSE how they planned to complete 100% of biocides applications on time, giving examples of how delays had caused significant financial losses for members.
HSE did not provide an answer on the day, but BPCA will follow up with officials.
Sarah Albon, Chief Executive of HSE, also spoke to the future of chemicals regulation:
We are working with the UK Government, including Defra, to support negotiations and to secure a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement with the EU; looking at how we can best align with Europe on biocides… This will provide greater certainty for business, reduce regulatory barriers and promote further growth within our critically important chemical industries, who am I pleased to see represented here today.
Sarah Albon, HSE Chief Executive
BPCA is broadly supportive of the SPS Agreement, which the government claims should make trade “easier, cheaper, and more predictable”, but we await the detail of the deal.
The agreement will cover the Biocidal Products Regulation, which governs the authorisation of biocidal products and active substances.
Rosina Robson has reinforced the need for more consistent regulation between the UK and the EU, arguing that “it is beneficial for businesses and their products, the pest professionals who use them, and ultimately public health.”
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