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MINISTERS TOLD: COME CLEAN ON GM SEED RULES

Friends of the Earth Cymru has today written to Welsh Agriculture Minister Mike German, to ask whether the Welsh Assembly Government would support plans to make it more difficult for people to object to new genetically modified (GM) crops [1].

The group has written to Mr German after receiving what it described as an "astonishingly evasive" answer from his predecessor Carwyn Jones [2]. Mr Jones has since become Minister for Open Government in the Assembly.

The move came after Friends of the Earth Cymru received a document, apparently from within the UK Government Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs. The memo suggested ways the Government could restrict the grounds on which people can object to the adding of GM Seed varieties to the UK National Seed List [3]. Such a plan would require the support of the Welsh Assembly.

Friends of the Earth Cymru wrote to Mr Jones to ask if he had seen such plans, and whether he would involve Assembly Members in discussion of any proposed changes. Carwyn Jones' response to the Friends of the Earth Cymru letter was brief. He replied that, "It is the policy of the National Assembly Government not to comment on leaked documents".

The group's letter to Mr German does not ask him to comment on any leaked document but to
answer factual questions about how the Assembly Government would deal with such a scenario.

Julian Rosser, Head of Campaigns at Friends of the Earth Cymru commented:

"At a time when public trust of politicians is so low it is a great pity that Carwyn Jones should be hiding behind a defence that he won't comment on leaked documents. The Assembly is supposed to be committed to freedom of information - and of course opposed to GM crops.

"Carwyn Jones should have made clear that the Assembly Government would scupper any plans to restrict people's rights to obect to GM crops. Now we can't be sure where they stand.

"The issue of GM crops will be one of the toughest challenges that even Mr German will have to deal with in Government. Formerly a leading supporter of Friends of the Earth Cymru's GM-Free Welsh Environment Campaign, he has become the man who can stop GM crops being planted in Wales or commercialised in the UK.

"It is now time for Mike German to assert the principles he held before he joined the Cabinet.
He must make it clear that the Coalition Government will have no part in restricting people's
rights to object to GM crops."

Notes

[1] A copy of the letter follows the notes.
[2] Letter from Carwyn Jones to FOE Cymru, 14 June 2002.
[3] Before a Seed Variety can be marketed in the UK it must be added to the UK National Seed List. Members of the public may object to the addition of a seed to the list and have the right to make written representations or appear at a hearing to explain their opposition. The submission appearing to come from DEFRA proposed that "the Seeds (National List of Varieties) regulations 2001 be amended to restrict the criteria which may be challenged by written Representations or a Hearing to those related to Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) and Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU)". This would be a restriction of the grounds on which the public may object to the commercialisation of GM crops in the UK.

Appendix

Mike German
Minister for Rural Affairs & Wales Abroad
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA

22 July 2002

Dear Mike

Restrictions to discussions at hearings on proposals to add GM varieties to the National List

Firstly, please accept my congratulations on your return to the Cabinet. We are, of course, pleased to have an Agriculture Minister with such a clear record of opposition to the planting of GM crops in Wales.

I wrote to Carwyn Jones on 20 May enquiring about Whitehall plans to restrict the grounds on which people may oppose the addition of GM seeds to the National List. The letter resulted from a document which appeared to be a draft submission from a DEFRA official suggesting such plans were being discussed.

Mr Jones' reply was disappointing. He wrote to me on 14 June, telling me that it is the policy of the National Assembly Government not to comment on any leaked documents. His answer gave me no more information on the policy or actions of the Assembly Government with regard to the National Seed Listing procedures. I note with some amusement that Carwyn has since been designated Minister for Open Government.

So, without expecting you to comment on any leaked documents, I am writing to you to enquire if you aware of any plans within Whitehall (e.g. DEFRA) to restrict people's ability to oppose the addition of GM seed varieties to the National List of Varieties of Seeds.

I am particularly concerned about any possible attempts to amend the Seeds (National List of
Varieties) Regulations 2001 to restrict the criteria which may be challenged by written representations or hearings. If, for example, these criteria were limited to those relating to Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) and Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU), then the statutory ability of the people of Wales to examine GM crops in an official, public forum would be severely curtailed. Continued high levels of public concern make it unacceptable that the UK Government and devolved administrations should take any such administrative action which would exclude from public hearings these considerations, whether or not these are responsibility of other bodies and subject to other legislative controls. I would assume that the National Assembly for Wales would be directly consulted about any such proposals.

I would be grateful if you would let me know:

• if any proposals to amend the Seeds (National List of Varieties) Regulations 2001 have
  been seen by the Welsh Assembly Government;
• if any such proposals been approved by the Assembly Government;
• if you would involve the ARD Committee, or a Plenary session of the Assembly, in
  reaching an Assembly view on changes to the Seeds (National List of Varieties) Regulations
  2001.

We are at a critical juncture, in narrow window of time between the closing of the Chardon LL Hearing and inevitable subsequent proposals to List new GM varieties, particularly the Aventis seed variety, Sheridan. Any Government proposals to remove GM safety from the National List representations and hearings will inevitably appear to be an attempt to forcibly silence legitimate GM objectors. Friends of the Earth Cymru believes that this would indeed be the effect of any such proposal and we urge you to use your powers to block any such legislative change. The National List Regulations are the only statutory opportunity that concerned Welsh people have to examine GM crops in a public forum.

I will not have to remind you that it was entirely due to information that came to light as a result of the Chardon LL hearing that the paucity of the science underpinning the T25 maize Part C consent was brought into the public domain and the legal non-compliance of the French DUS testing regime was exposed. As a result of the new evidence uncovered by Friends of the Earth and other objectors, ACRE felt compelled to hold a public review of the safety assessment of T25 GM maize in February of this year at which they were able to consider further new evidence (arising from the Chardon LL hearing) as to the safety of T25.

Any proposals by the UK Government to restrict the criteria which may be challenged by written representations or hearings during the National List procedures would prevent such a detailed examination taking place in the future. At this stage of GM crop development, we consider such examination in public to be a vital safeguard. The cost to the public purse of ensuring that such full hearings are able take place would be dwarfed by the expenditure needed to rectify the harm caused by a poorly tested GM seed variety entering the market.

For GM seed varieties, it is the genetic transformation event which distinguishes them from their non-GM parental varieties. It is right and proper that genetic modification should be at the centre of the deliberations at a National List hearing, especially in the complete absence of any other equivalent statutory opportunities for citizens to raise legitimate concerns regarding the commercialisation of GM crops. The special position of GM varieties in the context of seed listing is specifically and clearly recognised in the European parent Directive (98/95/EC), and in particular Art. 4(4) of that Directive which requires that a GM seed variety may not be added to a National List unless all appropriate measures have been taken to avoid adverse effects on the human health and the environment.

We strongly urge you to resist any UK Government proposal to remove or restrict the right of people in Wales to have their objections heard in the way proposed in this document.

Yours sincerely

Julian Rosser
Head of Campaigns & Development

cc. All members of the Assembly Agriculture & Rural Development Committee.