Pesticides

(asked on 14th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to restrict the use of pesticides by farmers; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 20th October 2020

A strict system is in place in the UK for regulating pesticides to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. A pesticide may only be placed on the market if the product has been authorised by our expert regulator, the Health and Safety Executive, following a thorough risk assessment. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks are not authorised.

This strict, science-based regulation is supplemented with policies to encourage safe and minimal use. The 25 Year Environment Plan promotes reducing reliance on chemical methods of pest control over time. Our approach to this will be set out in the revised National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides which we will be consulting on later in the year. Encouraging the development and uptake of Integrated Pest Management, which is about designing farming systems to minimise the need for pesticides and to make use of alternative approaches, is central to the Plan.

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