B

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 5 March 2026

Debate

PFAS

Contribution

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. PFAS are considered to be harmful to the environment, and by the time we collect enough evidence that a substance is harmful, it is too late—it is prevalent in the environment and costly to clean up, if that is even possible. Considering this, a precautionary approach would be to not allow these substances to be sold or used in the UK unless they can definitively be proven not to be harmful. Therefore, I urge my noble friend to follow the precautionary principle and signal the Government’s intention to take rapid steps to end the use of PFAS in the UK. If we do not, there is a real risk that we will become a dumping ground for products not suitable for the EU market.

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