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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has (a) analysed and (b) commissioned research on the potential long-term health impacts of organophosphate exposure on agricultural workers since 2014.

The Government commissioned a considerable amount of research to investigate whether there is a link between the use of organophosphate sheep dips and chronic ill-health. The outcome of this research was provided to the independent Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment who have published two statements in 2009 and 2014.

The independent scientific advice is that the research evidence does not support a link between the use of sheep dips and chronic ill-health. Therefore, it would be unlikely that further public inquiry would reach a different conclusion, making it difficult to justify committing public funds to an inquiry.