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Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food

Answer

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 14 May 1998, Official Report, column 200, for what reasons he will not make available to the public the results which are held by him of seed tests and trials to establish value for cultivation and use until a proposed decision on whether the seeds should be added to the national list has been published in the "Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette". [46205] Mr. Rooker: Proposed decisions about addition to the national list are published after careful consideration of the data resulting from tests and trials, and subject to the necessary marketing consent being in place under directive 90/220/EEC. Addition to the national list is a statutory pre-requisite to marketing, and it is only when proposed decisions are published that the formal representations procedures at sections 21 and 22 of the Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 1982 (as amended) apply. Any person with a sufficient interest can obtain the results of tests and trials when considering whether to make representations against proposed decisions.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

314 c415W; 46205

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Disclosure of information Genetically modified organisms Seeds Technology Research Science