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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase awareness of plants that can cause severe allergic reactions.

Defra already provides focussed information on certain plants which can cause severe allergic reactions. For example, information on the dangers of Giant Hogweed can be found on the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat website at:

http://www.nonnativespecies.org/index.cfm?pageid=152.

In addition, for ragwort, a native plant that can in specific circumstances be toxic to grazing livestock, Defra has worked with the British Horse Society in increasing awareness that draws on our published Code of Practice on the management of ragwort.