This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Views sought on GM regulations
24/07/2002
Proposals for the legislation which will govern the
growing of GM crops in future were published today.
The draft regulations are contained within an Executive
consultation document which is being widely distributed.
The public are being given an opportunity to comment before
the legislation is considered by the Scottish Parliament in
the autumn.
The draft regulations will put into effect a number of
changes to the way the deliberate release of genetically
modified organisms is controlled following a strengthening
of the European Directive.
The draft regulations propose that in future:
- there will be a mandatory requirement to invite public
comments on applications (until now it has been voluntary)
and to take account of public views;
- a greater onus will be placed on the applicant to
notify local communities in the vicinity of proposed
trials;
- the scientific scrutiny of applications will cover
indirect and long-term effects of GMO releases on the
environment. This will require that an examination of the
wider impacts on biodiversity (such as is being undertaken
in the farm scale evaluations) will become compulsory
rather than voluntary as at present; and
- post-market monitoring will become a requirement,
under which any GMO that is granted a consent to be used
commercially in the EU must be monitored for unanticipated
effects on the environment.
Along with the other proposed changes, these measures
are intended to produce a regulatory system which can be
more readily understood by both potential applicants and
the public alike. Each stage of the process will be
transparent with information made available to the public
on the release and marketing of GMOs.
Much of current practice in Scotland, for example the
provision of a public register of GMO releases,
discouraging use of antibiotic resistance markers and
extended periods of notifications has been undertaken
voluntarily in advance of the new regulations. The new
legislation will therefore place many current practices on
a statutory rather than voluntary footing.
Comments have been invited by the Scottish Executive
before 15 October 2002. Other parts of the UK are operating
to a similar timetable and, consequently, the UK will not
therefore meet the 17 October target date for
implementation. Ministers consider it important that the
public are given adequate time to consider these proposals
and to comment and have therefore insisted on a 12 week
consultation period.
The UK Government, the National Assembly for Wales and
the Department of Environment for Northern Ireland are
conducting separate consultations on their equivalent draft
legislation. The implementing legislation in all areas of
the UK is derived from the same European Directive and
therefore follows a broadly similar approach subject to
regional legal differences.
Following completion of this consultation exercise, the
comments will be considered and revised regulations will be
placed before the Scottish Parliament. After scrutiny by
Parliament the agreed regulations should come into force
before the end of the year.