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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department will set out a date by which the sale of precision bred seeds will be made legal.

A consultation was held from 14 February to 17 April 2025 seeking feedback on a proposed plant varieties and seed framework for precision bred plant varieties. The proposal included a Precision Bred Plant Varieties List for England. The main agricultural and vegetable plant varieties require evaluating and registering on a variety list before seed and other plant reproductive material can be marketed to ensure that they are new and improved. A new list in England is required for precision bred plant varieties in addition to the existing GB and Northern Ireland variety lists.

This Government is negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the EU to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls, including plant varieties and seeds. The EU have accepted there are several areas where GB will retain its own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiations, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to support the use of new innovative technologies.