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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether decisions will be made by her Department in respect of applications to grow GM crops in the UK before the final results of the farm scale trials are published. [139154] Mr. Morley: [holding answer 17 November 2003]: The final results for three of the four GM crops tested in the farm scale evaluations (beet, forage maize and spring- sown oilseed rape) were published in October 2003. The results for the other GM crop (autumn-sown oilseed rape) will be published next year. Our statutory expert advisers on GMO releases--the Advisory Committee on Release into the Environment (ACRE)--are considering the results for the first three crops and we expect their advice in December or January. Decisions on whether or not any particular GM crop should be authorised for commercial use in the EU are subject to collective agreement by all EU member states. It is not possible to say precisely when these EU decisions will be taken, but we do not expect any decisions on current applications to cultivate GM crops until well into next year. There are currently 21 applications for proposed commercial GM products being processed across the EU, 12 of which include cultivation of GM crops (no such application has been made in the UK). Of the 12 applications for cultivation, 10 have not yet completed their initial assessment by the member states in which the applications were made; the other two have received favourable initial assessments, and have been forwarded for scrutiny and comment to the European Commission and all other member states. Neither is a GM crop involved in the farm scale evaluations and in both cases the UK has objected to the applications on the grounds that the applicants have not yet supplied sufficient information for us to make an adequate risk assessment of the likely effects of the GM crops in question on the environment. The GM forage maize in the farm scale evaluation trials (Bayer T25) already has a consent under EU GM safety legislation for commercial cultivation throughout Europe. This was granted in 1998. Based on the FSE results, the UK will reach a view on whether this consent should be maintained, altered or revoked. Other member states will also need to consider this.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

139154; 413 c718W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Applications Crops EU countries Genetically modified organisms Farms

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk