The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Science and Technology in Agriculture has welcomed a commitment from Defra Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble that the Government will launch a public consultation in the Autumn on post-Brexit regulation of precision
breeding techniques such as gene editing.

The Earlham Institute, the Quadram Institute, The Sainsbury Institute and the Norwich Research Park support the precision breeding amendment after Clause 42 of the Agriculture
Bill, sponsored by Lord Cameron of Dillington, Lord Krebs, Baroness Hayman and Lord
Rooker. The proposed amendment would provide new powers for the Secretary of State to
consult on and, if appropriate, make a simple change to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 giving scientists, farmers and breeders access to novel gene editing technologies.

Julian Sturdy MP, chair of the APPG on Science & Technology in Agriculture, has called on
the Government to embed data science and sustainability metrics – measuring the external
impacts of farming per unit of food produced - at the heart of a policy agenda focused on
securing the optimum balance between food production, resource use and environmental
impact.

Julian Sturdy MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, has welcomed this week’s R&D Roadmap announcement by Government as a
clear signal that the UK is set on a pro-science, pro-innovation trajectory to deliver economic
growth and to help address global challenges such as climate change, food security and sustainable development.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Science and Technology in Agriculture is calling on the Government to support changes to the Agriculture Bill which would pave the
way for the UK to ditch damaging EU rules blocking access to precision breeding tools vital for agricultural improvement at home and overseas.

Breaking away from restrictive EU rules on gene editing should be a no-brainer for Government, and we have provided a means to do this through the Agriculture Bill, says Julian Sturdy MP, chair of the Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG.

The Agriculture Bill, now awaiting consideration in the House of Lords, has attracted widespread media attention of late - mostly in relation to the demands of some MPs to set minimum standards for future imports.

That particular objective was kicked into touch by the Boris Johnson government a couple of weeks ago. But another amendment is now set to steal the limelight, with a cross-party group of politicians, scientists and farmers seeking to have a clause inserted that would allow the use of gene editing once we are past the Brexit transition period. If introduced, it could give British plant and animal breeders access to technologies which, until now, have been denied them by EU legislation

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Science and Technology in Agriculture is calling on the Government to support changes to the Agriculture Bill which would pave the way for the UK to ditch damaging EU rules blocking access to precision breeding tools vital for agricultural improvement at home and overseas.

An influential grouping of cross-party MPs and Lords is calling on the Government to support changes to the Agriculture Bill which would pave the way for the UK to ditch damaging EU rules blocking access to precision breeding tools vital for agricultural
improvement at home and overseas.

Text of letter sent by email from Dr Tina Barsby OBE to Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Defra Secretary of State

Text of letter sent by email from Julian Sturdy MP to Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Defra Secretary of State