Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many patents have been filed for climate-ready crops between 2015-17.

In the period 2015-17, 283 patent applications were published that may have effect in the UK and relate specifically to plants modified to cope with climate stresses, in particular drought, cold or salt resistance. Of these, 85 were European patent applications and 198 were international patent applications filed under the Patent Co-Operation Treaty.