Consultation on potential amendments to the PCBs Regulations for England and Wales

Overview

We are seeking your views on a small number of proposed changes to the Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Regulations for England and Wales. 

The amendments are being proposed in a draft Statutory Instrument (SI) which is available to view as part of this consultation. The purpose of the SI is to clarify four regulations where volumes of PCBs are referred to. The first regulation relates to a requirement to remove pieces of equipment containing PCBs by the end of 2025, the second relates to a requirement to remove pieces of equipment at the end of their useful life, and the third and fourth relate to decontamination and labelling of pieces of equipment respectively.

This consultation was launched on 19 May 2023 and it will close on 30 June 2023.

Respondents are invited to respond to any of the five questions about the draft SI that are relevant to them and their organisation, and they are not expected to respond to all five questions if not all are applicable. 

A summary of the responses will be published following the end of the consultation period.      

Why your views matter

Your views are important in helping the UK government and Welsh government ensure that the PCBs Regulations for England and Wales have added clarity with respect to four individual regulations. 

Whilst environmental policy is a devolved matter, the UK government and the Welsh Government have agreed to work together to clarify the four regulations being amended so that they will more clearly state their original intent. The specific amendments proposed in this consultation will have effect only in England and Wales. The Welsh Government has been involved in the preparation of this draft SI and consultation. This is a joint consultation carried out by the UK and Welsh Governments. 

What happens next

We will process all responses to this consultation received by the closing date of 30th June 2023 and will collate them into a summary. This summary of responses will be published and placed on the UK government website at www.gov.uk, and may also include publication on the Welsh Government website at www.gov.wales

We will use the consultation responses to inform the final statutory instrument.