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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the phasing out of pesticide use in public spaces in other European countries.

The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or animal health or pose unacceptable effects to the environment.

There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public. It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control in its operations while protecting people and the environment. We do of course continue to monitor action in other countries and learn from their experiences.