Japanese Knotweed

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Lord Davies of Oldham

Tuesday 10th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, there are 74 local action groups in Great Britain. They range from the south-west to the north-west, Nottingham, Devon, Yorkshire and the Peak District. I have already mentioned Bristol and Cornwall. A Norfolk group has been very successful in saving a great special area of conservation. To answer the noble Lord, these groups are spread across the country. I hope that the success of all the local action groups will bear fruit, with others nearby thinking that this is a good thing to do as well.

[Lord Davies of Oldham (Lab)]

My Lords, five years ago, when I was happy enough to be a Minister in Defra, the scientific community was convinced that we were about to take an initiative which could well conquer Japanese knotweed with the introduction of a psyllid which consumes it. It was regarded that that would be a national solution to a whole range of very costly problems we have with Japanese knotweed, not least the enormous cost to our rail system of seeking to keep it clear of the weed. What happened to that development, and why are the Government talking now only about local initiatives, not a national one?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I specifically raised in my first Answer the biocontrol scheme that we are progressing, and we are looking at the results. It was never intended that we would be able to eradicate it. What we were hoping was that this would reduce the invasive capacity, but we are looking at the psyllid experiments and assessing them. There has been a further release in river courses because that is an area where we think it may adapt best, but we are waiting for further results on the matter.