§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce bureaucracy in REACH. [133489]
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§ Alun MichaelThe UK government's concerns about the workability of REACH have been addressed in our response of 16 July 2003 to the European Commission's internet consultation on the draft legislative proposals for REACH which can be found on the Defra website at http:/www.defra.gov.uk/environment/chemicals/reach/ukresponse.pdf
More recently on 20 September 2003 the Prime Minister along with the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany sent a joint letter to the European Commission addressing these same concerns, details of which have been made available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/chemicals/pdf/trilateral.Pdf
Our aim is to support the principles of REACH which are intended to protect public health and the environment while making sure that bureaucratic burdens on the chemical industry are kept to the minimum necessary for effectiveness.