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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice he will be offering UK regulatory bodies on the licensing of GMOs after the UK’s exit from the EU.

Defra and the devolved administrations (DAs) are the regulatory bodies responsible for decisions on the release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Food Standards Scotland lead on the marketing of GMOs as food or animal feed products. Where licensing decisions are currently taken as part of a centralised EU process, the intention is for the EU rules to be converted into UK law so that a similar regulatory framework will apply after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Discussions are ongoing between Defra, the FSA and DAs on how best to convert the EU arrangements.