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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the changes made in the prospective regulations for the use of asulam in 2020; and what alternative means of controlling bracken will be available in species-rich environments in lowland England.

Asulam is an herbicide active substance that has been used for a number of years to control bracken in the form of the formulated product “Asulox”.

All uses of herbicides are subject to strict regulation to protect people and the environment on the basis of a scientific risk assessment. The usual regulatory process involves approval of the active substance followed by authorisation of the product. However, asulam is not currently approved and so the use of Asulox to control bracken requires an application each year for so-called emergency authorisation. Emergency authorisation requires: a strong case for the importance of bracken control; a strong case that there are no alternatives to asulam use; ensuring that the use of asulam will be limited and controlled; and providing appropriate levels of protection for people and for the environment.

The application for use of Asulox this year has been assessed by the Health and Safety Executive, which concluded that restrictions were necessary. These include a buffer zone to protect aquatic organisms and a restriction to allow aerial application only. Ground-based application has not been allowed as alternative products containing amidosulfuron are available for this purpose. Amidosulfuron products are authorised for use where bracken is present on grassland (which includes moorland and rough grazing). Bracken can also be controlled by mechanical methods such as cutting, crushing and rolling.