Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Environment Agency (Z11a)
Letter from the Chief Executive, Environment
Agency, to the Chairman of the Sub-Committee, 18 February 2005
PESTICIDES VOLUNTARY
INITIATIVE
For the avoidance of doubt, can I clarify the
context in which I praised the Pesticides Voluntary Initiative
last year since this appears now to be being quoted out of context.
My comment was made last October in the context
of a panel discussion on how the Environment Agency is committed
to working with British business to reduce unnecessary "red
tape" while ensuring effective regulation and proper protection
of the environment. I indicated that the crop protection industry
had worked well with government to work up and introduce the Voluntary
Initiative. What I did not cover, since it was a single comment
in a longer speech on a completely different issue (!) was that
this was not an unalloyed endorsement of the Voluntary Initiative
as a success in delivering outcomes for the environment.
I continued to hold the view that we need to
see the VI in the context of a basket of measures in a National
Pesticides Strategy and we have continued to discuss these with
the industry and industry bodies and with Defra since then. I
was endorsing the success of effective working together not necessarily
a fully effective scheme evaluated as delivering the right environmental
outcomes.
I wholly endorse the evidence given by the Agency
team at your session on February 8 and believe that my statement
back in October and our evidence this week are entirely consistent
when taken in their proper context. I have written separately
to the Crop Protection Association with the view that the way
in which my statement is being quoted or interpreted is causing
confusion and potentially misleading.
I hope this helps clarify the position.
Barbara Young
Chief Executive, Environment Agency
February 2005
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