§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the scope and purpose of all chemical trials currently being conducted on United Kingdom farms.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 9 February 1988]: The agricultural and horticultural industries use a wide range of chemicals, most notably as fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, veterinary medicines, disinfectants and cleaning agents. My Department has statutory responsibilities for testing or monitoring in a number of these areas. We also have a research and development programme to support this work and to explore was of minimising chemical usage. This includes studying the effects of chemicals in crops and food, on the environment and on wild life. Most trials involved are carried out in laboratories or at experimental research stations, though some do take place on farms with the agreement of the farmer concerned and subject to the necessary supervision. Farm trials are also undertaken to assess commercial viability, though the majority of these are conducted by chemical companies and subject to any licensing conditions. In the case of pesticides, this involves authorisation by the granting of an experimental permit under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. For veterinary medicines, companies or individuals may apply for an animal test certificate under the Medicines Act 238W 1968. But in order to protect commercial confidentiality, section 118 of the Act prohibits the disclosure of information relating to such applications.
Centrally held information on the R and D programme does not readily allow the identification of projects which include farm trials and details of these and the many pesticide permits could be provided only at disproportionate cost.