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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to use its consultation on the future of food, farming and the environment to reduce the use of toxic pesticides in British farming practice.

“Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit” consulted on how public money for public goods can be at the heart of our new agriculture policy.

The consultation has now closed and we are analysing responses. The environment is an essential public good and the Government is clear that it is right to minimise the use of pesticides and to make the greatest possible use of other techniques, including non-chemical alternatives, to protect crops.

That is why the 25 year environment plan – “A Green Future” – included a firm commitment to putting Integrated Pest Management at the heart of our approach to support sustainable crop protection with the minimum use of pesticides. We can do more with improved crop husbandry, the use of natural predators and plant breeding to ensure resilience to pests and diseases. This will enable reduced and more targeted use of pesticides.