Pesticide appeal win is right says the CLA

The CLA said that Defra’s victory was "the right one".

In a case brought to the High Court in November by Georgina Downs, it was decided that Government had failed to protect residents from pesticide spraying on a neighbouring farm.

However, Defra appealed on the grounds that the Government had complied with it’s obligations under EU law and has won.

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "Defra’s decision to appeal was absolutely the right one and we are delighted the appeal was won. Pesticides and their use are strictly controlled by the EU, and rightly so, but the CLA believes further regulation would be unnecessary and would have a huge impact on farmers’ land management.

"The CLA will be reviewing the judgement in full."

Defra Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, said:

"We welcome the Court of Appeal’s judgement that the Government has complied with its obligations under European law, and we welcome the public debate on this matter. The action brought by Georgina Downs, who I have met, has raised a number of issues concerning pesticide policy.

"The protection of the health of those who live or work in, or visit the countryside is our priority. It is essential that the system for approval and use of pesticides is rigorous. There is already careful testing and evaluation of pesticides on behalf of all EU countries, and individual products are only authorised for use in the UK after further national consideration.

"We have always been, and continue to be committed to developing the system for regulating pesticides in the light of advances in scientific and technical knowledge, to see how best to protect human health. The Government has the benefit of advice from an independent expert scientific body, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). The Government accepted a number of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) in 2006, and has been implementing them.

"Following the view of the ACP and the RCEP on bystander exposure, we have commissioned research to test and, if possible, further improve the scientific basis for assessing the possible exposure of residents and bystanders to pesticides. The final results will be available in 2010. This includes work to develop a new Bystander and Resident Exposure Assessment Model.

"We have been working with the farming industry to encourage best practice to minimise exposure, and to improve the availability of information for residents, bystanders and others, e.g. the Good Neighbour Initiative. We have also supported a new EU directive that aims to give greater assurance that pesticides will be used safely.

We will therefore, in the light of the issues raised by Georgina Downs and the EU Directive, consult this autumn on:

• How to give people access to farmers’ records of spraying activity near their properties;

• How to give prior notification of spraying activity to residents;

• Monitoring of how pesticides are being used;

• New training requirements for operators; and

• What else should be included in our National Action Plan.

"Once we have agreed how to implement any changes, we will amend the Pesticides Code of Practice and update our UK Pesticides Strategy."