§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require the Advisory520W Committee on Pesticides to take account of the effects on biodiversity in reaching decisions about the clearance of pesticides. [81449]
§ Mr. RookerThe remit of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides is to give advice to Ministers, either when requested to do so or otherwise, on any matters relating to the control of pests in furthering the general purposes of Part HI of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. These purposes include
the continuous development of means … to safeguard the environment … ".The Committee's members include people with expertise in environmental matters.
All pesticides are approved on the basis of a thorough evaluation of the risk that they pose in use. No pesticide may be used unless Ministers, advised by the Committee, have given approval to that use. When considering whether to recommend that a pesticide should be approved by Ministers, the Committee will take into account, amongst other things, the possible effects of that pesticide on non-target wildlife and the environment. If the risk is considered to be too great, then no approval is recommended.