HC Deb 14 February 1986 vol 91 c588W
Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will allow access to records of pesticides already approved under the provisions of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.

Mrs. Fenner

We are proposing to make available to the public a full evaluation of each pesticide as soon as it receives provisional or full approval or undergoes a review under the statutory arrangements for pesticide approvals which are to be introduced under the Act. We also propose to consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for access to the study reports submitted under the new arrangements, and to grant access where a request is justified in scientific terms. Details of these proposals are set out in the Consultative Document "Pesticides: Implementing Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985" which is in the Library.

Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the operation of his Department's stated goal of re-examining every approved pesticide every 10 years.

Mrs. Fenner

We are still consulting interested parties on the implementation of part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, including the suggestion that all formulated products should be subjected as a matter of course to full scientific reviews at 10-yearly intervals from the date of their first commercial approval. A 10-year interval between reviews was suggested in the consultative document in the light of the experiences of registration authorities overseas; we will be examining this, and the proposals for review generally, in the light of all the comments received during the consultation period.