Written question asked by Countess of Mar (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 March 2010.

Agriculture: Genetically Modified Crops

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they voted in favour of authorising the three genetically modified maize varieties MON863xMON810, MON863xNK603 and MON863xMON810xNK603 in the Council of Ministers; and whether they consulted the competent authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland prior to the vote.

Answer: The UK voted in favour of authorising all three maize varieties in line with the scientific evidence in each case. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the lead government department under the EU GM Food and Feed Regulation (1829/2003/EC) and is the single UK-wide competent authority for the GM food and feed safety aspects of this legislation. The FSA consults Defra on the environmental risk assessment of food and feed applications, and Defra in turn consults the competent authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on the environmental aspects prior to any votes.

Secondary information