§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he intends to take following appeal court judgment (Regina v Secretary of State for the Environment and MAFF ex parte Watson) in respect of current national seed listing trials deemed to be in breach of current regulation; [52492]
(2) following the Appeal Court judgment (Regina v Secretary of State for the Environment and MAFF ex parte Watson), what is the earliest date he expects genetically modified plant varieties to be available for commercial planting. [52493]
§ Mr. RookerI do not expect genetically modified plant varieties to be commercially available in the UK before the 1999 growing season at the earliest. As regards the action I propose to take in respect of varieties currently in trials, the Court of Appeal took the view that the position ought to be resolved speedily across the board. I am therefore seeking urgent legal advice as to how this can be done most effectively for all plant varieties currently in National List tests and trials, where those varieties are of a species to which Regulation 11(3) of the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982 (as amended) applies.