§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the expected timetable for the UK regulatory authorities to consider the report being produced by the European Commission on the environmental and health effects of the insecticide Lindane; and if the report will be published. [66015]
§ Mr. RookerThe Austrian authorities submitted an initial evaluation of Lindane to the European Commission last month, as part of the EU' s routine review programme for plant protection products. The process of peer review and decision-making by the Community is likely to take until the first half of the year 2000 but could be expedited if issues of human or environmental safety arise. The first phase, scientific peer review, is scheduled to run between March and October. The UK regulatory authorities will participate in this work and will therefore be considering the Austrian report ahead of the meetings.
If action is called for by the Austrian evaluation, the Government will not hesitate to take steps or to press the Commission to do so. After a decision has been taken by the Commission, the report from the decision making process will be made publicly available.