§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to reduce the use of pesticides; and if he will make a statement. [24453]
§ Mr. RookerIt is Government policy to minimise the use of pesticides to that required for effective pest and disease control. This policy is pursued in a number of ways including a rigorous pesticide product approvals 95W process, a wide ranging R&D programme, and surveillance monitoring of pesticide residues in food. In addition, the Statutory Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and Holdings, laid before this House on 12 January, will be published in March.
The Government are also reviewing the role that economic instruments such as charges or taxes might play in reducing the impact of pesticides and aims to give organic farming a higher priority.
Finally, the Government have given their full support to the recently established Pesticides Forum which, last August, published an Action Plan for encouraging responsible pesticide use, including plans to improve arrangements for technology transfer and promote techniques, such as integrated crop management, designed to minimise pesticide use.
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the presence of traces of DDT in(a) milk and (b) other dairy products imported from New Zealand. [24451]
§ Mr. RookerMilk is not normally imported into the United Kingdom from New Zealand. However, in 1993 and 1996 the surveillance programme of the Working Party on Pesticide Residues included butter imported from New Zealand. Residues of DDT at very low levels were detected on both occasions, but there was no cause for concern from these findings and no exceedance of maximum residue levels (MRLs).
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department has evaluated into the long-term effects of pesticide residues in food; and if he will make a statement. [24452]
§ Mr. RookerIt is standard practice for the possible effects of each active ingredient used in pesticides and its residues in food to be assessed before products containing that active ingredient are approved for sale. This assessment is undertaken on the basis of extensive testing of the active ingredient in animals, including long-term testing at much higher doses than would occur in the food supply.
The results of assessments by Government scientists are reviewed by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides who advise Ministers in six UK Government Departments on the approval of pesticides. The Working Party on Pesticide Residues undertakes an annual surveillance programme to ensure that residues in food remain at acceptable levels.
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to ensure that those farmers who have been excluded from requiring a certificate of competence before using pesticides now have such certificates; and if he will make a statement. [24454]
§ Mr. RookerI propose to remove the age exemption to ensure that all users of agricultural pesticides are properly trained. This will require amendments to the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 (as amended) and the Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997.
We shall be consulting interested parties on this and related matters.