DEFRA it is to appeal against arecent High Court rulingwhich said
the government had not done enough to protect rural residents from
exposure to pesticides.
The verdict was reached in November, following a seven-year
battle by anti-pesticide campaigner
Georgina
Downs.
The court ruled that the current system for authorising
pesticides in the UK does not comply with the
relevant EU Directive.
One implication is that farmers may have to set up buffer strips
near rural housing and give rural residents a warning before
spraying.
But in a debate in the
House of Lords on
Tuesday (16 December), junior DEFRA minister
Lord
Hunt confirmed that DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn had been given
leave to appeal.
"It is not appropriate for me to go into the details of that
appeal," he said. "But at the end of the day, we all want to see
good practice and proportionate regulation."
A DEFRA spokesman later said that the High Court's decision
would make it impossible to authorise pesticides for use in the UK.
"This would have a very serious impact on farming and food
production and would put the UK out of line with the rest of
Europe."
The spokesman added that the protection of the health of those
who live, work or visit the countryside remained a top government
priority.
Responding to the news, Ms Downs expressed her "absolute
disgust" at the appeal and accused the government of "the utmost
complacency". "The government's decision to appeal this decision
continues to demonstrate its absolute contempt for rural residents
and communities and is a disgrace," she said.
"Heads should be rolling, following such a landmark High Court
judgment, but instead it's 'business as usual' with the
government's relentless attempts to protect the [pesticides]
industry as opposed to the health of its citizens."
Meanwhile, negotiations are reaching their final stage in
Brussels into new rules for authorising pesticides at EU-level,
using a system of hazard-based "cut-offs".
Representatives of the EU Commission, the European parliaments
and the French presidency will be locked in meetings on Wednesday
night (17 December) to try and reach a compromise set of rules.
Between 14% and 23% of existing pesticides are likely to be
banned, with devastating effects on some crop yields, according to
the
UK Pesticides Safety Directorate.