About The Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD)
Who Are We?
The Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) is a Directorate of the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). We employ around 250 scientific, policy and support staff based at two locations; Mallard House York and Redgrave Court Bootle.
Our Objectives
The primary aim of the Directorate is to ensure the safe use of biocides, industrial chemicals, pesticides and detergents to protect the health of people and the environment.
The Directorate contributes specifically to HSE and Defra’s objectives.
We support HSE’s mission which is ‘the prevention of death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work’. By early intervention in the supply chain we seek to prevent the adverse effects of chemicals on people and the environment.
We also contribute to three of Defra’s departmental strategic objectives:
- A healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment
- A thriving farming and food sector with an improving net environmental impact
- A sustainable, secure and healthy food supply
Our Responsibilities
The Directorate is responsible for the regulation of biocides, pesticides, detergents, chemicals as they are regulated by REACH, and duties under the Classification and Labelling regime. We work closely with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (which has strategic policy responsibility for pesticides, chemicals and detergents). The Directorate also delivers a number of other responsibilities including Prior Informed Consent (imports/exports legislation), specialist expertise to other parts of HSE (e.g. toxicology expertise) and international representation of UK interests in chemicals regulation; and we also provide the secretariat function to a number of Committees and Fora.
Our major role is to deliver Competent Authority functions within EU legislation regulating chemicals, pesticides, biocides and detergents where HSE is the appointed authority for the UK. The principal programmes covered are:
- The REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Regulation;
- The Biocidal Products Directive (BPD); and also ongoing regulatory responsibilities under the UK Control of Pesticides Regulations (CoPR);
- Plant Protection Products Directives and Regulations;
- Detergents Regulations;
- EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation
All of our regulatory work is based on scientific evidence to ensure that controls on the sale, supply and use of chemicals are effective.
Statement of Service Standards
Currently under review, to reflect our new organisation.
Communications Strategy
The Communications Strategy 2008-2009 sets out the way we aim to communicate and outlines the methods, standards and responsibility for Corporate Communications (This has not yet been amended to reflect the creation of CRD).
Reports and Surveys
Annual Report & Accounts
The new Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) which brings together pesticides, biocides, chemicals and detergents regulatory work into a single organisation is a Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive, and as such we are no longer required to produce an Annual Report. However, this abridged Annual Report and Accounts covers 2008/09 in order to report to our stakeholders and interested parties that we met our high-level performance targets as set by Ministers.
Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys
Our most recent Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey was published in January 2009.
Business Planning
Business Plan
This is the second business plan of the new Chemicals Regulation Directorate. The plan gives a detailed picture of the areas of work we expect to be engaged in during 2010/11.
Sustainable Development Action Plan
Our Sustainable Development Action Plan sets out our key commitments to sustainable development and what we will do to ensure that we can deliver, monitor and report on these commitments.(This has not yet been amended to reflect the creation of CRD)