Brexit

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Brexit has led to an £850m fall in the value of the UK beauty industry’s exports to the EU, according to a report by a leading economics forecasting organisation. The research, commissioned by the British Beauty Council, blamed customs delays and the increased cost of cross-border trade for putting a dampener on sales. Oxford Economics, which wrote the report, compared exports of beauty products to the EU against those to the rest of the world and found a drop-off to the single market bloc, while sales held steady elsewhere. The small businesses that make up much of the sector have been “disproportionately damaged” by trade barriers, the report found, while decreased availability of EU workers has caused a skills shortage.

Brexit ‘shaved £850m off beauty industry’s exports to EU’ | Brexit | The Guardian

The UK government is to diverge from the EU’s standards for monitoring water quality in England, it can be revealed. Campaigners fear the change of approach could lead to more pollution in England’s rivers and waterways if the new measuring methods are less rigorous. While in the EU, England was covered by the water framework directive (WFD), which meant a national chemical and ecological survey of rivers was conducted annually. After Brexit, the WFD was transposed into English law but the government removed the requirement to conduct annual tests. This is the latest example of the UK diverging from EU environmental standards. Recent analysis found that many toxic chemicals and pesticides banned in the bloc since Brexit are not outlawed for use in the UK. Ministers are also attempting to rip up EU-derived sewage pollution rules for housebuilders. In 2019, the last time the full water assessments took place, just 14% of rivers were in good ecological health and none met standards for good chemical health. The government has said it does not intend to deliver a complete update until 2025, the latest permissible date under the new WFD..

England to diverge from EU water monitoring standards | Rivers | The Guardian