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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the support available for the biopesticide industry.

Biopesticide applicants in the UK are supported via the Biopesticide Scheme. Support provided through the scheme includes dedicated Health & Safety Executive (HSE) biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval.

We are considering where approvals and permissions for biopesticides might be made simpler and faster without compromising the environment or human health standards. This would aim to reduce the burden for manufacturers and bring more biopesticides to the market.