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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure that plant and timber imports are free from sudden oak death. [149113] Mr. Bradshaw: The Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1320, as amended) sets out the controls on the import, movement and keeping of plants within the EU. The Order requires all plants entering the UK from third countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and are subject to inspection at import. For trade within the EU, specific disease control measures are applied at the place of production and plant passports may be issued that travel with consignments allowing their free movement between member states. From May 2002 measures to control the movement of plants susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum into and within the UK where introduced under the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) Order 2002. Following the agreement of community wide measures this Order was superseded in November 2002, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2573). The latter applied specific disease control measures at the place of production to rhododendrons and viburnums, the two types of plant which have been most often found to be infected in Europe. Findings of Phytophthora ramorum in imported and UK origin plants are of concern and inspections at UK nurseries and ports of entry are to be stepped up to ensure that all consignments of plants moved into and within the UK are free from Phytophthora ramorum and meet plant passport requirements. Any consignment found to be infected, or not to have the correct documentation, will, as now, be destroyed. The regulations controlling imports of wood and wood products are set out in the Plant Health (Forestry) (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1283, as amended). These require that imports of wood of oak from North American countries are treated to protect against, in particular, another fungal organism Ceratocystis fagacearum, the cause of Oak wilt disease. The Forestry Commission concluded that these controls are effective against Phytophthora ramorum but that they needed to be extended to bring under regulation wood from other trees that are known to host this pathogen and which originate in the USA. The Forestry Commissioners therefore implemented emergency measures in June 2002 by way of the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 1478). This Order was superseded in November 2002, to implement the European Community measures against Phytophthora ramorum, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2589). The Forestry Commission enforces the controls on wood and wood products through its system of import inspections carried out at ports of entry.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

417 c1153-4W; 149113

Session

2003-04

Subjects

EU law Disease control Imports Plants Trees Phytophthora ramorum

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk