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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the Chief Executive of the South Tees Development Corporation, published on 16 December 2021, whether she has had recent discussions with the Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel on the land-based excavations set out in paragraph 13 of that report.

The Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel (CMEP) considered land-based sources of toxins in their independent report and their conclusions reflect this consideration. The CMEP has been stood down, but the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, is now consulting with relevant experts who served on the CMEP about the specifics detailed in the South Tees Development Corporation report, to check these specifics do not alter the conclusions of the report.