Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:28 pm on 15 December 2021.
Lord Benyon
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
3:28,
15 December 2021
Legislation will come forward—next year, I hope—on gene editing, which is a key measure in finding alternatives to this sort of problem. We are talking about a very small percentage of the area where neonicotinoids were used prior to the 2018 ban, to which the Government are absolutely committed. We are applying very strict conditions—if we go ahead with this; we have not yet made a decision. The last time this derogation was made, those conditions were not met and this spray was not applied. We are a long way from allowing this to go ahead. If it does, it will be under very controlled circumstances.