GM Crop Trials (Hansard, 16 July 2001)

§ Lord Whitty

(a) In the last 12 months we have been notified of 107 GM crop trial sites in England. This figure includes sites in the Farm Scale Evaluations programme, sites for National Seed List trials and small plots of land for biotechnology industry research and development trials. Locations of three of the evaluation sites were originally notified to us with an incorrect grid reference which was subsequently corrected.

(b) All sites in which trials of GM crops have been set up can be considered as being adjacent to villages or towns.

(c) There is no requirement in the current legislation to notify parish councils of GM crop trial sites in their areas. For research trials, which includes Farm Scale Evaluations, National Seed List trials and small research and development plots, there is a requirement to advertise a release in a local newspaper circulating in the area. Where this had been done incorrectly we asked the biotechnology company to readvertise with the correct grid reference. As a matter of policy we write to parish councils in whose areas Farm Scale Evaluations are to take place. We are aware of two cases this spring where, despite using the best information available, we wrote to parish councils adjoining the parish council in which the FSE was sited. Information was sent to the correct parishes as soon as we were aware of the mistake.

(d) None of the GM crop trials has been specifically set up to study the effects on worms, soil bacteria and fungi. However, in the Farm Scale Evaluations, worm activity will be included as one of the measurements of biodiversity indicators.

(e) All the GM crop trials have begun after the scientific capture of baseline data. However, the independent Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), which advises the Government on releases of GM crops, rigorously assessed all GM crops before release, and considers the trials to pose a very low risk to human health and the environment. ACRE's decisions are based on current scientific knowledge and baseline data collected over many years.

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The FSE programme has been formulated so that it is self-contained, with no need for baseline data from outside the design of the experiment. In the FSEs, the GM crop and its conventional non-GM equivalent crop are grown on two separate halves of the same field. Apart from herbicide use, both halves of the crop are managed in a similar way. The scientists are sampling both parts of the fields to investigate the diversity and abundance of seeds, plants, insects and larger animals. The form of comparison between the crops is direct, and consequently no information is required on changes in biodiversity before and after sowing.