HC Deb 21 January 1999 vol 323 cc569-70W
Mr. Stinchcombe

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department has(a) conducted and (b) commissioned into the possibility of biotechnology causing irreversible contamination of the ecosystem. [66679]

Mr. Meacher

The Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has an ongoing research programme to assess the risk and potential impact of genetically modified (GM) organisms on the environment(a) Research conducted and reports published by the DETR

  1. i. GM Crops and their Wild Relatives—a UK Perspective
  2. ii. Genetic Modification of Fish—a UK Perspective
  3. iii. Dispersal of GM Microorganisms by Abiotic Factors and Soil Invertebrates
  1. iv. Risk Assessment and the Release of GM Microorganisms into the Pylloplane
  2. v. Risk Assessment and the Release of GM Microorganisms into the Rhizosphere
  3. vi. Risk Assessment and the Release of GM Microorganisms into the Environment
  4. vii. Gene Flow in Natural Populations of Brassica and Beta
  5. viii. Selectable Marker Genes in GM Organisms
Research conducted and awaiting publication by the DETR
  1. i. Environmental Impact of GM Crops
  2. ii. Safety of Plant Viral Inserts
  3. iii. Investigation of Feral Oilseed Rape Populations
  4. iv. Review of GM Bioinsecticides
  5. v. Review of Parasitic Nematodes for Biological Control of Invertebrates
 (b) Research commissioned by the DETR and ongoing
  1. i. Environmental Impact of Insect Resistance in GM Plants
  2. ii. Impact of Multiple Tolerance in GM Plants
  3. iii. Environmental Impact of Disease Resistance in GM Plants
  4. iv. Assessment of the Biocontainment of GM Microorganisms in a Model Ecosystem
  5. v. Monitoring Large Scale Releases of GM Plants.

Mr. Stinchcombe

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the potential for biotechnology to produce herbicide resistant weeds. [66683]

Mr. Meacher

All applications for the release of plants genetically modified for herbicide tolerance are accompanied by a risk assessment that considers the potential for the herbicide tolerant crop to become a persistent weed or for it to cross-pollinate wild relatives and produce herbicide tolerant hybrids. The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) considers these applications on a case by case basis and advises the Government on the likelihood that herbicide tolerant weeks will result from the release of the genetically modified plant.

My Department also funds research into the potential of biotechnology to create herbicide tolerant weeds. Completed and current projects are as listed:

  1. (i) GM Crops and their Wild Relatives—a UK Perspective
  2. (ii) Gene Flow in Natural Populations of Brassica and Beta
  3. (iii) Environmental Impact of GM Crops
  4. (iv) Investigation of Feral Oilseed Rape Populations
  5. (v) Impact of Multiple Tolerance in GM Plants
  6. (vi) Monitoring Large Scale Releases of GM Plants.

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