HC Deb 17 June 2003 vol 407 cc181-7W
Mr. Cawsey

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government policy on(a) licensing the commercial production of GM crops, (b) the importation of GM foods and farm crops and (c) the patenting of genetic resources for food and farming. [116298]

Mr. Morley

The licensing of the commercial cultivation of GM crops in, and import of GM crops into, the EU is subject to EU Directive 2001/18/EC, which establishes the framework by which collective EU decisions are made on whether or not to authorise individual GMOs for use on the single market. The import of GM foods and GM food ingredients is subject to EU Regulation 258/97. The UK and all other EU member states are fully signed up to this EU legislation, and our policy is to act in accordance with its requirements.

Our policy with respect to the applications to market GMOs currently under consideration is set out in the statement issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 24 March 2003. A copy is in the Library and on the Defra website.

Patenting of genetic resources is the responsibility of the Patent Office but I understand that patents are available in Europe for inventions relating to genetic resources, according to the provisions of EC Directive 98/44 which has been enacted into UK law. Such inventions have to meet the usual patentability requirements including novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. Plant varieties are specifically excluded by the Directive and are not afforded patents under UK patent legislation. In addition, pre-existing agricultural resources such as indigenous seeds cannot be the subject of patent rights.

Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efforts have been made to publicise the national debate on genetically modified organisms and GM foods; and on what television and radio programmes Ministers in her Department have appeared since 1 May 2003 to provide advanced information on the national GM debate. [117632]

Mr. Morley

GM Nation?—the public debate on GM issues—is being run by an independent Steering Board. The announcement of the debate and appointment of the Board were well publicised in the media last July. All meetings of the Steering Board are held in public and the minutes of the meetings and other key documents are available on the debate website, which has kept the debate in the public eye throughout the year. The Steering Board is responsible for publicising the debate at arm's length from Government.

The Steering Board announced their detailed plans for the debate through a press release issued on 13 May 2003. This was pro-actively sent to over 150 national, regional and specialist correspondents and received wide coverage. Professor Malcolm Grant, chair of the Steering Board, sent a letter to all local authorities and hundreds of other organisations at the same time, inviting them to get involved and host their own regional or local meetings. Professor Grant launched the debate on 3 June 2003 at a well-attended press conference, which attracted extensive media coverage. In addition, members of the Steering Board have given interviews to national and local media to help publicise the GM debate.

Since 1 May 2003, Ministers have given interviews on aspects of the GM public debate to BBC Radio 4 Farming Today, the Today Programme, Radio 5 Live, BBC Breakfast Television News, BBC News 24 and Channel 4 News.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the(a) location and (b) date of comment of genetically modified crop trials in Shrewsbury and Atcham since 1997. [114768]

Mr. Morley

Information is not held on a constituency basis, so the following tables list trials of GM crops carried out in Shropshire since 1997 under consents issued in accordance with Directive 90/220/ EEC. Table 1 lists those under part B consents, and Table 2 national list trials under part C consent. Further information on the consents and the programmes of work they covered can be found on the UK public register of GMO releases and at the website http://defraweb/environment/gm/index.htm.

Note:

I have taken "date of comment" as mentioned in the question to mean "date of consent".

GM crop trials in Shropshire since 1997
Table 1 Part B releases
Consent reference mumber GM crop Date of consent Location (nearest village) Grid reference Year of trial
96/R21/4 Sugar beet February 1997 Eyton SJ 653 146 1998
Eyton SJ 652 144 1999
96/R22/8 Fodder beet March 1997 Telford SJ 653 1461 1998
Lilleshall SJ7171671 1997
Eyton SJ 650 144 1999
97/R19/13 Sugar beet March 1997 Eyton SJ 653 1461 -1998
Eyton SJ 652 144 1999
Eyton SJ6513 2000
99/R22/16 Sugar beet March 2000 Beckbury SJ770 0182 2000
99/R22/17 Fodder beet March 2000 Ash Parva SJ 572 3842 2000
Ellerdine SJ603 2152 2001
99/R21/6 Sugar beet May 2000 Eyton SJ 652 1371 2000
00/R13/10 Sugar beet April 2000 Eyton SJ 652 137 2000
00/R33/7 Winter rape August 2000 Hinstock SJ 685 2592 2001
00/R33/9 Spring rape February 2001 Ash Magna SJ 573 3842 2001
Bagley SJ410 2662 2001
Ellerdine SJ6032132 2001
Hinstock SJ 683 2552 2002
Bagley SJ 399 2622 2002
Horton/Newtown SJ 505 3132 2002
01/R33/11 Winter rape July 2001 Bagley SJ 398 2752 2001
Bagley SJ 398 2682 2002
1National List Trial Site
2These sites were part of the Farm Scale Evahuation Programme.
GM crop trials in Shropshire since 1997
Table 2 national list trials of GM maize—T25
Consent reference number Date of consent Location (Parish)
C/F/95/12/07 August 1998 Eyton
Ercall Magna

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable has been set for(a) the economic review of GM crops, (b) the GM public debate and (c) the GM science debate to (i) begin, (ii) end and (iii) be reported on. [114047]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 20 May 2003]: The study into the overall costs and benefits associated with GM crops conducted by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and the GM Science Review were announced on 31 May 2002, and work started immediately. They will submit their reports to Government at the end of June 2003.

The GM public debate was announced on 26 July 2002 and the first meeting of the independent Steering Board, which is managing the debate, was on 13 September 2002. Initial desk research and foundation discussion workshops were conducted in the autumn. The main phase of deliberative debate, 'GM Nation', was launched on 3 June and will continue through to mid-July 2003. The Steering Board will submit their report to Government in September 2003.

Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will explain the mechanisms whereby local communities can discuss the Government's approach to genetically modified organisms; and what timetable they should adhere to if they wish to make a final contribution to the consultations. [117552]

Mr. Morley

The Public Debate Steering Board, which is managing 'GM Nation? The Public Debate' at arm's length from Government, is encouraging local communities to participate in the debate. Organisations and individuals can be provided with copies of a debate toolkit in order to facilitate their own debates locally. The toolkit comprises a video, CD-ROM, booklet and feedback questionnaire, and is available from COI Communications, who have been appointed by the Steering Board to run the debate. COI can be contacted on 020 7261 8616 or through the public debate website at: www.gmnation.org.uk The completed feedback forms and any other output from their discussions should be returned by 18 July 2003 in order for the comments to contribute to the final report from the Steering Board.

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has had regarding the licensing of GM crops from(a) other EU member states, (b) the United States of America and (c) other nations. [114026]

Mr. Morley

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses issues raised by GM crops, including licensing, with her counterparts from other EU member states, the United States and other nations. However, details of these exchanges are not recorded centrally.

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what weight will be given to(a) the GM public debate, (b) the economic review and (c) the scientific review in making decisions on the future licensing of GM crops. [114028]

Mr. Morley

Decisions on the future licensing of GM crops are taken collectively by member states at EU level, based on an objective assessment of the application's compliance with Directive 2001/18/EC. The reports from the GM public debate, the economic study into the overall costs and benefits associated with GM crops and the GM Science Review will help to inform Government's policy-making on GM, including their policy on the cultivation of GM crops.

Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what property of the genetic modification of seed enables genetically-modified crops to give a higher yield than conventional crops; and if she will make a statement. [115908]

Mr. Morley

The yield of crops is dependent on a number of factors, but it is especially sensitive to the environment in which the crop is grown. In particular, the presence of pests and diseases (for example, weeds, damaging insects or fungal disease), or unfavourable conditions such as drought, limit the yield of most crops.

The current generation of genetically modified (GM) crops are largely intended to increase yield by reducing the impact of pests. Herbicide-tolerant crops allow more effective weed control, whereas insect-resistant crops help reduce the impact of damaging insects. The extent to which these approaches improve yield depends on how important the pest concerned is in adversely affecting yield. For example, in Europe and North America damaging insects are generally controlled through the use of chemical insecticides, so insect-resistant crops do not show a large yield increase. There is, however, the potential for the reduction in chemical insecticide use, which may reduce costs and bring environmental and health benefits. In contrast, recent work has shown that insect-resistant crops may have a much greater impact on yield in developing world agricultural systems where there is lower use of chemical insecticide and there are significant losses to insect pests.

In the future it may be possible to increase the efficiency with which plants capture energy from sunlight, either through GM or by conventional plant breeding. This would be expected to improve yield independently of control of pests or other environmental impacts.

Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what liability provisions are in place to protect those who might suffer harm as a consequence of future GM releases. [118574]

Mr. Morley

Under European and UK law, all releases of genetically modified organisms require prior authorisation. This is only given once the relevant authorities are satisfied that the application complies with the terms of the legislation and that all appropriate measures are being taken to avoid adverse effects on human health and the nvironment. There are specific provisions in Part VI of the Environmental Protection Act giving powers to the courts and the Secretary of State to emedy harm where the commission of an offence has caused harm. Otherwise currently there are no specific liability provisions in relation to GM releases. Depending on the circumstances, a claim for redress, however, could be made through the courts under existing general legal principles.

The independent Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission is preparing a report to Government on GM crop liability. Among other things, this is likely to include an examination of how existing general legal principles might operate here. We will consider this issue further in the light of that report.

Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the decisions relating to(a) the commercialisation of GM crops and (b) the future licensing of GM releases will be fully devolved to the competent authorities in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Northern Ireland. 1118576]

Mr. Morley

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have fully devolved competent authority responsibilities under EU Directive 2001/18/EC, which controls the deliberate release and marketing of GMOs in the EU, including the commercialisation of GM crops.

Under this legislation, the Devolved Administrations have full competence to take decisions on proposed releases of GMOs for non-commercial purposes in their respective territories in accordance with Part B of Directive 2001/18.

In the case of commercial releases of GM products under Part C of Directive 2001/18, which provides access to the whole EU single market, the Devolved Administrations have similar competence under national legislation to that of my Department. This includes powers to issue such consents in accordance with the requirements of the Directive. Decisions on Part C consents are, however, arrived at in consultation with other member states and the European Commission and are, if necessary, subject to qualified majority voting. The UK position on any particular application is agreed between my Department and the Devolved Administrations, with my Department representing the agreed UK position in EU discussions and procedures.

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what overall budget has been set for the public consultation and debate on GMOs; and how much has been budgeted for(a) the debate website, (b) advertising the public meetings and (c) other costs related to holding the public meetings. [119259]

Mr. Morley

Government are providing £500,000 to fund the public debate on GM issues. This includes contributions from the Devolved Administrations.

  1. (a) A total of £42,435 has been budgeted for the public debate website (www.gmnation.org.uk)
  2. (b) The Public Debate Steering Board decided to allocate their resources to the content of the debate and the associated regional events rather than on publicity. The dates and times of the public meetings were publicised on the website, in the press releases of 13 May and 3 June 2003 and at the launch of the debate on 3 June 2003, and the debate has received extensive media coverage.
  3. (c) Approximately £100,000 was budgeted to hold the six public regional launch events, and to provide facilitation for the other large scale meetings organised more locally.
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she intends to incorporate the views of the United Kingdom public gathered during the GM public debate and contained in the final GM debate report to inform the Government's opinion on the 19 Part C marketing consent applications received by various member states of the EU. [105660]

Mr. Morley

The public debate, which is being managed by an independent Steering Board, will help to inform the Government's policy-making on GM, including its policy on the cultivation of GM crops. Final decisions on any of the current 19 applications notified under EC Directive 2001/18 are unlikely to be taken at EU level until the end of the year. by which time we will have the report of the public debate. The Directive also requires that the public be given an opportunity to comment on each application.

Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what ways the GM Public Meeting in Birmingham was advertised; and if she will make a statement. [117905]

Mr. Morley

GM Nation?—the public debate on GM issues—is being run by an independent Steering Board at arm's length from Government. The Steering Board is responsible for publicising the debate.

The Steering Board announced their detailed plans for the debate through a news release issued on 13 May 2003, which included the date of the first meeting on 3 June 2003 in Birmingham and details of how to obtain further information and register interest in attending. This was sent to over 150 national, regional and specialist correspondents. Letters were also sent to all local authorities and hundreds of other organisations, detailing the events and inviting them to get involved and host their own regional or local meetings. Members of the Steering Board gave interviews to national and local media to help publicise the GM debate programme and details about all the regional meetings, including the one in Birmingham, were widely reported.

Information about the meetings was advertised on the GM debate website, which is linked to many other Government and interest group websites. Other organisations also issued press releases or website items advertising the events, including the one in Birmingham. For example, Friends of the Earth issued a press release on 19 May 2003, which included details about the event in Birmingham.

Back to