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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the purposes of the European Union Directive on the nitrogen content of manure used in agriculture.

European Directive 91/676/EEC seeks to protect water from pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources. Some types of manure contain up to 30kg of nitrogen per tonne of manure. Nitrogen from manure can leach from soil in the form of nitrates and can pollute our water bodies, affecting the quality of our drinking water. Agriculture accounts for 50-60% of nitrate pollution in our waters. We therefore believe that it is important that it is controlled and that the objective of the European Directive in restricting the land application of manure is sound. However, we recognise that such restrictions can affect farm productivity and competitiveness. While the Directive gives a steer to Member States over the types of measure to be adopted, it does allow a certain amount of discretion over the exact nature of the rules. We have therefore adopted rules that take account of agricultural practices in this country and are as cost effective as possible, supporting agriculture as well as protecting the environment. In the longer term, we believe nitrate pollution would be better managed through the more integrated approach to water pollution adopted in the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).