Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) - Call for Views

Overview

The Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment (RAINE) Committee is looking at the Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) on the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, currently being considered in the UK Parliament, and wants to hear from you.

The part of the Bill which relates to Scotland is clause 42. Clause 42 would allow the UK Government Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs to make “supplementary, incidental or consequential provision in connection with any provision of or made under this Act”.

The Scottish Government does not recommend the Scottish Parliament give its consent to the UK Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill in relation to clause 42. This is because the Bill does not require Scottish Ministers’ consent before the Secretary of State can make provision under clause 42. This would also mean there would be no opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise such provisions.

Any “supplementary, incidental or consequential provision” made under clause 42 would relate to the main provisions of the Bill.  These main provisions would remove the plants and animals produced using modern biotechnologies, and the food and feed derived from them, from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) regulations if every feature of its genome could have occurred naturally or been produced by traditional methods. These provisions do not, however, extend to Scotland.

More detailed information on the Bill and LCM are available on the Scottish Parliament website.

What does the Committee want to know?

The Committee welcomes your views on the inclusion of clause 42 in the Bill.

How to submit your views

Please submit your views using the online submission form, linked below.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language. 

The call for views closes at 5pm on 23 January 2023.