HC Deb 15 January 1998 vol 304 cc259-60W
Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions information has been withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality from reports placed on the public register on the effects of the release of genetically modified organisms. [22877]

Mr. Meacher

To date, no information contained in reports on the release of genetically modified organisms has been withheld from the public register on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which advisory bodies are consulted in advance of a decision to withhold information from the public register of applications for consents to release genetically modified organisms on the grounds of national security. [22882]

Mr. Meacher

We cannot envisage any circumstances where it would be necessary to withhold information from the public register on the grounds of national security.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions following consent to release new information has been made available under section 111 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 regarding risks of damage to the environment by the release of genetically modified organisms. [22879]

Mr. Meacher

The relevant section of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for the provision of new information regarding risks of releases is section 112. To date, no new information has been notified by a consent holder.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions information has been withheld from the public register for reasons of prevention to damage to the environment in respect of(a) commercial and (b) other applications for consent to release genetically modified organisms. [22880]

Mr. Meacher

On no occasion has information been withheld from the public register for reasons of prevention of damage to the environment in respect of(a) commercial and (b) other applications to release genetically modified organisms.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many reports on the effects of release have been received in respect of consents to release genetically modified organisms. [22876]

Mr. Meacher

To date, there have been 133 consents granted for the release of genetically modified organisms in Great Britain. Under section 112 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, consent holders are required to notify the Secretary of State of the effects of any release on the environment. For every consent, a report must be submitted at the end of the release and for many consents a period of post-release monitoring is required for which a report must also be submitted. These reports are placed on my Department's public register and in the regional offices of the Environment Agency, and are freely available to the general public on request.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions information has been withheld from the public register for reasons of national security in respect of(a) commercial and (b) other applications for consent to release genetically modified organisms. [22883]

Mr. Meacher

On no occasion has information been withheld from the public register for reasons of national security in respect of(a) commercial and, (b) other applications to release genetically modified organisms.

Mr. Tyler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions reports on the release of genetically modified organisms have revealed new risks of damage to the environment. [22878]

Mr. Meacher

To date, reports on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not revealed any new information regarding risks to human health or the environment.

In addition to these reports, my Department funds a research programme to identify possible new risks of the release of genetically modified organisms to human health and the environment.