Biocides: Find the right enforcement authority

Incident or concern	Occurred in	Report to
People – where someone has carried out a biocidal treatment in your home as part of their work, for example, a professional pest controller	Great Britain	HSE
	Northern Ireland	HSENI
People – where someone has carried out a biocidal treatment in your home not as part of their work, for example, yourself or another member of the general public	Great Britain	Your local authority
	Northern Ireland	Your district council
People – other than the scenarios described above	Great Britain	Depends on the type of place involved HSE or your local authority Refer to list of places and enforcement responsibilities
People – other than the scenarios described above	Northern Ireland	Depends on the type of place involved HSENI or your district council Refer to list of places and enforcement responsibilities
Animals, including wildlife, livestock and pets/companion animals	United Kingdom	Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme Telephone: 0800 321 600
The environment	England	Environment Agency Telephone: 0800 80 70 60
	Wales	Natural Resources Wales Telephone: 0300 065 3000
	Scotland	Scottish Environment Protection Agency Telephone: 03000 99 66 99
	Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland Environment Agency Telephone: 0300 200 7856
Rail networks	United Kingdom	Office of Rail and Road
Authorisation or approval concern that a product does not have the necessary authorisation or approval for example	Great Britain	HSE
	Northern Ireland	HSENI
Trade-to-trade sale wholesale supply	Great Britain	HSE
Trade-to-trade sale wholesale supply	Northern Ireland	HSENI
Retail sale, including online and in physical stores	Great Britain	Your local Trading Standards office
Retail sale, including online and in physical stores	Northern Ireland	Consumerline
Advertisement online, newspapers/magazines etc	Great Britain	Your local trading standards
Advertisement online, newspapers/magazines etc	Northern Ireland	Consumerline

If you're still not sure which authority you should report to, don't worry! All of the authorities work together, so we will make sure your report gets to the right place.

Other ways the authorities work together include:

sharing information, for example HSE can provide other authorities with:
- advice on the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU BPR) and the Control of Pesticides Regulation (COPR), and on how individual products are affected by it
- details of the approval/authorisation status of individual products and the conditions placed on them
- copies of the approval/authorisation documents
supporting prosecutions, for example, by providing witness statements

Enforcement laws

The responsibilities of the different authorities described in the table above come from general health and safety law working in combination with more specific enforcement laws for COPR, GB BPR and EU BPR.

General health and safety law

GB BPR specific law

Biocidal Products and Chemicals (Appointment of Authorities and Enforcement) Regulations 2013 (BPC Regs)

The following laws amend the BPC Regs to enable them to operate effectively as part of GB BPR:

Chemicals (Health and Safety) and Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (CGMO Regs 2019)
Chemicals (Health and Safety) and Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (CGMO Regs 2020) – also implements the Northern Ireland Protocol

EU BPR specific law

Biocidal Products and Chemicals (Appointment of Authorities and Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013

COPR specific law

These laws also define a number of offences and the powers that the authorities may use. Find out more about offences and powers.

Schemes and activities

HSE also runs a number of schemes and activities focussed on the effects of the use of biocidal products in particular areas.

Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS)

The Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) investigates the death and illness of wildlife, livestock, pets (usually cats and dogs) and beneficial invertebrates (usually honey bees, bumble bees and earthworms) that are suspected to be caused by poisoning from biocides (or pesticides).

WIIS is primarily a monitoring tool that provides additional information to HSE, which may prompt the reassessment of authorised products to prevent further incidents. However, enforcement action may also be taken where there is clear evidence of a breach of the law.

Find out more about WIIS.

Adverse effects reporting

Action for approval/authorisation holders

COPR, GB BPR and EU BPR require product approval and authorisation holders to report new information about products and active substances that may affect their approval or authorisation. You should report to HSE without delay if you become aware of:

any data or information concerning the adverse effects of an active substance or biocidal product on:

people – particularly vulnerable groups
animals
the environment

any data or information that might indicate an active substance is contributing to the development of resistance in pest populations
any data or information that might indicate a biocidal product is not sufficiently effective

You should include as much information as possible in your reports, including:

product name
COPR HSE number, or GB BPR or EU BPR authorisation number
type of incident (approved use, accident or misuse)
who or what was affected (person, animal (including type and species) or the environment)
when, where and how the exposure happened
symptoms reported
treatment details
long-term effects
any advice issued

The information reported to HSE may prompt the reassessment of authorised products to prevent further incidents. However, enforcement action may also be taken where there is clear evidence of a breach of the law.

To ensure that HSE is receiving this information, we conduct an annual survey where approval/authorisation holders are required to tell us about any information they have received concerning the adverse effects described above.

Please note: this does not mean you should wait for us to write to you! If you have received information concerning adverse effects, you must tell us without delay.

The results of the survey are compiled into an anonymous report – approval/authorisation holders and products will not be identified. For the latest report, or reports from previous years, please contact us.