§ Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what she estimates will be the length of time needed for trials of the new insecticide NRDC 143 before it can be released for general use.
§ Mrs. ThatcherI understand from the Agricultural Research Council that a firm date cannot be given for the completion of the basic research on NRDC 143 at the Rothamsted Experimental Station; that field tests by manufacturers licensed by the National Research Development Corporation to produce the insecticide are likely to take several years; and that it will have to be notified to the Pesticides Safety Precautions Scheme, administered by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, for safety clearance.