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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on genetic editing to prevent diseases in (a) plants and (b) livestock.

The secondary legislation necessary to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England has successfully passed through Parliament and was passed into law on 13 May 2025. Through this enabling regulatory framework, crops with a range of beneficial traits including increased disease resistance can be developed more quickly. The Government is considering the requirements for a regulatory framework for precision bred animals as outlined in the Act.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.