§ 10. Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement about the control of pesticides.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mrs. Peggy Fenner)Since my right hon. Friend's announcement on 10 May we have carried out a wide-ranging consultation exercise and we have made a number of public statements of our intentions. The comments received from the consultation have been taken into account in preparing primary legislation to ensure the safe and efficient use of pesticides. This will be introduced to Parliament at an early opportunity.
§ Sir John Biggs-DavisonWith regard to the concern about side effects, are the Government resolved that the use of pesticides should be kept to a minimum, as recommended in the seventh report of the Royal Commission on environmental pollution?
§ Mrs. FennerYes, Sir. The proposals that we are outlining—about which some fanners were clearly concerned—quote only maximum uses, and we are always concerned to have the minimum uses.