Written question asked by Patrick Mercer (Conservative) on Wednesday, 19 April 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 April 2006. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 May 2006 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ammonium Nitrate Fertiliser

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government plans to introduce restrictions on (a) the commercial sale of and (b) the levels of nitrate in ammonium nitrate fertiliser.

Answer: The Government have no immediate plans to restrict either the commercial sale of, nor the levels of nitrate in, ammonium nitrate (AN) fertiliser.I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the then Minister for Rural Affairs (Alun Michael) of 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1493W, which outlined the measures taken at the time to control the supply of AN fertilisers. Subsequent to that response, the Government invited the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) to develop a voluntary fertiliser assurance scheme, to ensure robust safety, security and traceability of all inorganic agricultural and horticultural fertilisers throughout the supply chain up to the farm gate. The resulting Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme, (FIAS), was launched on 9 January 2006. Details of the Scheme can be found on the AIC website at www.agindustries.org.uk.The voluntary and statutory measures governing the manufacture and supply of AN fertilisers are kept under continuous review and further measures will be taken if necessary.

Secondary information