GM Science Review: Background

Text of Margaret Beckett's Press Release of 26 July 2002

This was published by Defra and is reproduced here for convenience.

PUBLIC TO CHOOSE ISSUES FOR GM DEBATE - BECKETT

A public debate on GM issues will start in the autumn, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said today.

Mrs Beckett said the Government's intention is to create a dialogue between all strands of opinion on GM.

Mrs Beckett's remarks accompanied the publication today of the government's response to advice put forward by the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) on the conduct of a public debate on GM.

She said:

"The Government wants a genuinely open and balanced discussion on GM. There is clearly a wide range of views on this issue and we want to ensure all voices are heard.

"We share the AEBC's analysis that the public debate will help deepen public understanding of all the issues surrounding GM. If there are gaps and uncertainties in knowledge these need to be ascertained, acknowledged and addressed.

"The Government wants to provide people with the opportunity to debate the issues openly and reach their own judgements."

The Government's response sets out the three main components to the overall programme of dialogue. These are:

• a public debate
• a review of the scientific issues relating to GM;
• a study into the overall costs and benefits of GM crops which will be carried out by the Prime Minister's strategy Unit.

The Government accepts the AEBC's recommendation for a steering board, independent of Government, to oversee the debate. The Government is inviting Professor Malcolm Grant, the chairman of the AEBC, to head this board and to appoint other members, including others from the NGO community, the biotechnology industry, the health professions, consumer organisations, as well as individuals involved in the scientific and economic research.

Professor Grant will report on progress made by this steering board to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Government will assign a budget of £250,000 for the programme.

The Government is asking for a report on the debate in June 2003.

Notes for editors

1. There will be two-way interaction between the three components of the debate. Outputs from both the science and costs and benefits components will be available for consideration under the public debate, which will cover the generality of issues. Equally, feedback from the public should help frame the direction of the technical work. Each component will have its own management arrangements and independent advisers. The three strands will report to, and be brought together by ministers.

2. The terms of reference for the overall dialogue include the identification of the questions which the public has about GM issues, and the provision of evidence-based information to the public on scientific, economic and other aspects of GM.

3. The government is also announcing today its proposal to launch, in September this year, a study process that will consider the costs and benefits of GM crops, including their effect on conventional and organic farming interests. This work will be carried out by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit1.

4. In the coming weeks, the Unit will post on its web-site its scoping study for the project. The study will be an open process, with submissions invited and all stages published on the web. The study is likely to report early in 2003.

5. The Government's response to the AEBC is set out below.

6.The GM debate web pages are available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/gm/debate/index.htm

Annex

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO AEBC ADVICE SUBMITTED IN APRIL 2002

Introduction

1. The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC) submitted advice to Government on 26 April on the conduct of a public debate about GM issues. Government is grateful for this advice.

2. Government announced on 31 May that it welcomed AEBC's advice that it should encourage public discussion and examination of GM issues. Government said that there should be a full and informed debate. Government also announced two related pieces of work on economics and science.

3. Government has an open mind on GM issues. It is committed to genuine, balanced discussion, and also to listening to what people say. It agrees that in order for the discussion to be a success it needs to be run on the basis of independence, openness and integrity. It looks to the AEBC, which has established a reputation for the independence of its judgement and the transparency of its processes, to continue to play a major role in securing these objectives.

4. Government intends that there will be three main components to the overall programme of dialogue: a public debate overseen by an independent steering board, and other strands looking at the economics and science of GM. The intention is to create a dialogue between all strands of opinion on GM issues, in the light of the fullest available factual information. There will therefore be throughout a two-way interaction between the three components. Outputs from both the science and economics components will feed into the public debate. Equally, issues emerging from the public debate should help frame the direction of the technical work. It is envisaged that each component will have its own management arrangements and independent advisers. They will work closely together to ensure a coherent debate overall. The three strands will report to, and be brought together by, Ministers. Further work may be commissioned as seems necessary.

Terms of reference for dialogue

5. Government shares AEBC's analysis that the public debate will help to deepen public understanding of the issues surrounding GM, and will be an important example of public participation in discussion of scientific issues. Government specifies the following terms of reference for the overall programme:

• To identify, using methods which focus on grass roots opinion, the questions which the public has about GM issues, avoiding as far as possible the polarisation that has characterised so much of the discussion to date, and getting to the heart of the issues;
• To develop, from this framing of the issues and through a wholly open process, the provision of comprehensive evidence-based information to the public on scientific, economic and other aspects of GM;
• To provide people with the opportunity to debate the issues openly and to reach their own informed judgements on this subject;
• To provide information to government on how questions raised by the public have shaped the course of the debate, including on the scientific, economic and other aspects of GM.

The Public Debate

6. Government fully supports AEBC's wish to involve as many people as practicable in the dialogue, in ways that capture their attention. Government endorses the broad approach in the programme proposed by AEBC. Government sees this as bold and innovative. Government has taken professional advice on the programme from COI communications, the Government's executive agency for communications procurement. Government is making this advice available to the chair of the AEBC.

7. Government will assign a budget of £250,000 for the programme. This budget will be linked to objectives, with targets built in to measure effectiveness. Government will wish to be satisfied that the programme will provide value for public money.

8. Although the primary focus of the dialogue will be to reach and engage the general public, the Government hopes that stakeholder bodies will also participate. The Government attaches importance to the need for full involvement in the dialogue and urges all interested organisations to participate.

Timing

9. Government wants to ensure a clear separation between this overall dialogue and the much later decision-making process on the very specific issue of possible commercialisation of particular GM crops. That process will be based on an objective assessment of all the available evidence including the Farm Scale Evaluations, other scientific evidence and information about the costs and benefits to the UK. Government looks forward to the submission of a report in June 2003 on the Government financed part of the dialogue.

Management of the Public Debate

10. Government accepts the AEBC recommendation for a steering board, independent of Government, to oversee the public debate.

11. Government is pleased to accept AEBC's offer of willingness to contribute to membership of the steering board and in particular their proposal that the AEBC chair, Professor Malcolm Grant, should chair the steering board. AEBC has advised that the board should consist of a few AEBC members and one or two other individuals with particular expertise in running programmes of this sort. Government endorses this advice. We invite Malcolm Grant to appoint other members. In appointing members, we anticipate that he will have regard to the need to maintain diversity and to have a balance of views and perspectives. The board might include members drawn from the NGO community, the biotechnology industry, the health professions and consumers' organisations, as well as individuals involved in the scientific and economic research. Board members may be from AEBC or from elsewhere. As foreseen in the AEBC advice Government intends that there will be Government representation, at official level, on the steering board. This will be to ensure financial accountability and efficient running of the programme.

12. Government will appoint a project manager for the programme. The project manager will advise the steering board on the appointment of contractors for each element of the project. Government invites the steering board to consider COI's advice in developing the programme.

13. Government wishes to invite the steering board to take responsibility for supervising progress in delivering the programme. The chair of the steering board will report on progress to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

14. Government accepts AEBC's advice that an evaluation group should be appointed to produce a report. We invite the steering board to assume responsibility for this group, which needs to be appointed as soon as possible.

15. Government notes the advice that there would be value in forming a separate group, at an early stage, to assess the process for stimulating a debate with the aim of testing its applicability to other areas of public policy. We invite the AEBC also to pursue this aspect.

Other Elements of the Dialogue

16. Alongside this response the Government is announcing at the same time the launch of the economics study by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit2. The study will consider the costs and benefits of GM crops, including their effect on conventional and organic farming interests. It will consider the implications for developing countries of growing GM crops. In due course, the Unit will post on its web-site its scoping study for the project. It will start in September. The study will be an open process, with submissions invited and all stages published on the web. The study is likely to report early in 2003.

17.The science component will review the scientific issues relating to GM, including the work recommended in AEBC's report 'Crops on Trial'. It will include an assessment of the current state of scientific knowledge on GM issues, focusing on public concerns about the potential risks to human health or the environment from GM crops and food. The assessment will be undertaken by the Government's and DEFRA's Chief Scientific Advisers with independent advice from the Food Standards Agency. It will draw on all available expert and scientific advice.

18.The Government will also be publishing soon further information on the science component of the dialogue. There will be an open review of the science. It will begin with concerns already identified from public meetings and correspondence and will encompass other issues as they are identified in the public debate. Work in progress will be published on the website and meetings will be held in public. We are committed to an independent, comprehensive and transparent process. We are discussing the scope of the review with AEBC.

19.The steering board for the public debate will receive regular reports on the work of the science and economics work streams. Government will seek the views of the steering board on the ways in which the three components are interacting.

26 July 2002