Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to consult on forthcoming ACRE advice on qualifying higher plants in the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 before implementation; whether adherence to that advice will be voluntary or obligatory.
We have no plans to consult on the guidance prepared by the ACRE on qualifying higher plants (QHP) in the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 before its implementation. Plant developers will be responsible for ensuring that the correct process is followed and will be required to confirm on the notification to Defra that they have consulted the guidance in reaching a decision about the QHP status of their plant.
We have more than thirty years of experience of GMO field trials and there is no evidence that any of these have affected commercial crops or the wider environment.