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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of (1) the use of paraquat in agriculture in the United States of America and Australia, and (2) the use of neonicotinoids in Australia; and what consideration they will give to the use of such chemicals in the negotiation of trade deals with those countries.

We now have full responsibility for regulation of pesticides, alongside the Devolved Administrations in Great Britain. EU pesticides legislation continues to apply in Northern Ireland, under the terms of the NI Protocol.

We believe it is essential that the use of actives that are known to be hazardous to human health or the environment should be subject to scientific risk assessment, mitigation and regulatory protections. This is why we support the listing of paraquat under the Rotterdam convention. We also believe in evidence based international policy making, through the use of scientific committees, such as the Chemical Review Committee, and support the strengthening of the international science:policy interface for chemicals and pesticides to support global decision making.

Furthermore, as part of the UK ambition to be a global leader to protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems, we continue to work through UN multilateral environmental agreements and frameworks, the wider Defra group and other agencies, to actively promote the widespread use of Integrated Pest Management to minimise the risks and impacts posed by pesticide use.

As we committed to in our manifesto, in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards. Our trade agreements will respect the regulatory autonomy of both the UK and our trading partners, and decisions on standards will remain a matter for the UK Government and Devolved Administrations, including on pesticides.

We will ensure decisions on the use of pesticides are based on careful scientific assessment and will not authorise pesticides that may carry unacceptable risks to people or the environment. All agri-food products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements will, as now, comply with our import requirements.