Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review whether Brodifacoum is safe and appropriate to be using in the open countryside.

Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs), including brodifacoum, were developed to address public health and other concerns arising from increasing resistance among rats and mice to the longstanding use of existing rodenticides.

During the authorisation process, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducts rigorous evaluation for safety and efficacy using scientific data, with restrictions placed on authorisations as appropriate. In order to avoid secondary poisoning risks to non-target species, current product authorisations restrict the use of SGARs in open areas to farmers, gamekeepers and other trained professionals where other integrated pest management approaches fail to control rodent populations. Some SGARs, including brodifacoum, can only be used in sewers and in and around buildings. There has been no change in the authorised areas of use of brodifacoum products since the renewals of their authorisations from 2017.

A stewardship regime is in place in the UK for professional use of SGARs, including brodifacoum. A cornerstone of the stewardship scheme is the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) Code of Best Practice, which sets out guidance on the safe use of rodenticides. It is a legal requirement to comply with this code.

The stewardship scheme is overseen by a Government Oversight Group (GOG) led by HSE with representatives of other government stakeholders, who meet annually to assess its impact. This year the GOG is conducting a review of the stewardship scheme after five years of operation and will publish its findings in due course. The review will look at the performance of the scheme in three key areas: the governance of the supply chain, improving workforce competence and the monitoring of compliance. The latter includes considering the monitoring of exposure arrangements and looking in more detail at monitoring data.