§ Mr. Michael Spicerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider introducing a policy of the immediate banning of imported plants which are discovered to have been infected by plant diseases such as white rust.
§ Mrs. FennerAll consignments infected with notifiable diseases are immediately destroyed, but the imposition of general import bans once any infection had been found would neither be justified in terms of the risk involved nor consistent with our European Community obligations. The action taken will continue to be determined according to the seriousness of particular incidents and will include the banning of imports if and when this is necessary to safeguard plant health.