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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the anonymity of the expert panel on public confidence in the results of the enquiry into crustacean deaths in the North East.

The expert panel was set up by the Defra Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, to independently scientifically review all the available evidence of the unusual crustacean mortality event in the north-east of England in autumn 2021. The Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, was consulted as the panel was formed and had oversight of the membership and the Terms of Reference

The identities of the panel members have been made public. Names and affiliations of members have been released and published.