Japanese Knotweed

Lord Howarth of Newport Excerpts

Monday 8th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

That is also an important point. The Welsh Government are a member of the project consortium for the natural control of Japanese knotweed and have been a major funder of the research. The licensing authorities in England and Wales work closely together to ensure a consistent approach. We have kept the Scottish Government updated at key points in the project, although, to answer my noble friend’s first question, Japanese knotweed is not such a significant problem in Scotland.

[Lord Howarth of Newport]

What do the Japanese do about it?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, they are blessed with this psyllid, Aphalara itadori, and that is where we got it from. The issue is to ensure that it is as effective under our conditions as it is under Japanese conditions.